Are Food Recalls Really on the Rise?

Several outlets in the center and on the left analyzed food recalls in the US recently. How might this relate to the "MAHA" movement, and how legitimate are public concerns?

"The Number Of Recalls Doesn't Tell The Full Story:" WBAL 11 (Center bias) cited a recent trend in "high profile" cases like cyclosporiasis, which reportedly infected more than 28,000 people as of mid-August. The outlet gave voice to Consumer Watchdog Director for the US Public Interest Research Group Taylor Murray, who said, "Does it mean that there's more enforcement, or that there's more hazardous food?... We don't know the answer to that."

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WBAL 11 highlighted roughly 162 food recalls during the first half of 2026, compared to 320 for all of 2025, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Department of Agriculture (USDA), but it noted that the FDA does not post every recall.

It also highlighted an increase in active investigations into foodborne illness outbreaks over the summer, compared to recent years, but quoted Murray who cautioned, "You can't go around living your life thinking that there's some kind of bacteria boogeyman in your refrigerator all the time."

A USA Today (Lean Left) analysis agreed, "Are food recalls actually becoming more common? It might feel that way, but statistically speaking, not really." It noted, "On average, the FDA has classified 126 food recalls per month during the current Trump administration so far, vs. 135 during the Biden administration and 164 during the first Trump administration."

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However, the outlet criticized that the Trump administration's federal workforce cuts "reduced surveillance to just two pathogens." It gave voice to environmental health expert Robert Custard, who said, "The number of recalls does not necessarily correlate with the level of surveillance… [but] when you do less testing, you're going to find less problems. When you find less problems, you end up with fewer recalls."

"The Amount Of Recalled Food is Skyrocketing:" The New Republic (Left) more assertively stated, "Obviously, there has been a sharp increase in the number of recalls. It's not immediately clear whether this can be attributed to increased enforcement or more hazardous food – but the rapidly rising rate of recalls makes you wonder: Is this what making America healthy again looks like?" The outlet criticized the 46 total food and drug recalls in August 2026 – "a notable increase from August 2025 when just 26 products were recalled… and from August 2024 when 24 products were recalled."

The Washington Post (Lean Left) contended, "It's difficult to lay the outbreaks at the feet of any one agency or presidency. But what surely isn't helping: the Trump administration's slash-and-burn approach to the regulatory bodies meant to safeguard Americans." The outlet highlighted the administration's cuts to both the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), resulting in food safety check suspensions – including for the Cyclospora parasite. However, it did not solely blame the administration, pointing to "Big Food" as the greater enemy of its story and stating, "In naming [Health Secretary Robert F.] Kennedy [Jr.] to his cabinet, Trump elevated a longtime foe of Big Food—and crystallized such opposition as a mainstream conservative position."

Outlets on the right scarcely covered this story, but One America News Network (Right) reported on an early-August recall for nearly 30,000 pounds imported beef that failed to undergo mandatory federal reinspection. The outlet criticized, "By bypassing this protocol, the affected beef poses potential undisclosed health risks, though federal authorities confirmed that there have been no documented reports of adverse reactions or illnesses linked to its consumption so far."

Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary. (Images via WBAL 11)