The Bizarre Reason Golf Balls Once Led To A Hash Brown Recall In The US - Tasting Table

"In 2017, McCain Foods USA, Inc. announced a recall of its southern-style frozen hash browns because they could possibly be contaminated with pieces of golf balls (yes, really). As a result, the FDA had to shout "Fore!" at consumers. According to the official FDA announcement, consumption of the extraneous golf ball materials "may pose a choking hazard or other physical injury to the mouth." Although (happily), no injuries were formally reported in connection with the affected product, per the FDA report."

"The report stated only that the golf balls "may have been inadvertently harvested with potatoes used to make this product," - which leaves it unclear as to how the golf balls ended up in potato fields in the first place. Whatever the case, by some bizarre turn of events, a few projectiles (or a lot? The FDA release doesn't specify exactly how many balls were in the mix) got swept into McCain Foods' spud harvest."

"Online commenters speculate that someone may have been using McCain's potato field as a driving range - or, alternatively, that there might have been a legitimate range next door. A Redditor in a thread in r/golf dedicated to the debacle posits, "It's because people whack balls into potato fields all the time, and the similarities don't allow the harvesting machines to grade them out easily. Usually, they are pic"

In 2017, McCain Foods USA, Inc. recalled southern-style frozen hash browns because the product could contain pieces of golf balls. The FDA warned that consuming the extraneous material may pose a choking hazard or other physical injury to the mouth. No injuries were reported in connection with the affected product. The FDA stated that golf balls may have been inadvertently harvested with potatoes used to make the product, leaving uncertainty about how golf balls ended up in potato fields. Online speculation suggested golf balls could have been hit into potato fields, making them difficult for harvesting machines to remove during processing.

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