"This increase is likely due to a combination of factors, including failures in sanitation and compliance throughout the supply chain, as well as improved detection methods and stricter safety measures that have led to more effective identification of foodborne illness outbreaks and contamination incidents," Darin Detwiler, a food safety advisor and professor at Northeastern University, told HuffPost.
Food recalls ebb and flow over time, said Donald W. Schaffner, chair of the department of food science at Rutgers University. For example, the USDA issued 124 recalls in 2019. That dropped to 31 in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and climbed back up to 65 in 2023.
If food recalls are, in fact, becoming more common, it's natural to wonder if the manufacturers are at fault. Detwiler thinks it's unlikely companies have intentionally deprioritized food safety. But have other pressures - such as labor shortages, inflation and increased demand - negatively affected food safety practices? It's plausible.
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