The Biggest Food Recalls In Whole Foods' History

While Whole Foods Market may be known for its high prices, organic fare, and selection of specialty goods, the company has also been in the news over the years for its food recalls. This goes to show that recalls don't discriminate: Every store has had its fair share, from bargain markets and supercenters to upscale natural grocers. If it seems there have been more recalls in recent years, you would be correct. In 2023, food recalls reached a five-year high, with a grand total of 506 recalls issued by the FDA.

With roots in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods has over 500 locations in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. Though some point to Amazon's 2017 acquisition as the reason for Whole Foods' product quality decline, the truth is that the retailer has been affected by food recalls for many years prior to this change. Recalls have ranged in size, impact, and seriousness, with some only affecting select stores or regions and others making national headlines. To inform and educate consumers, we put together a list of some of the largest food recalls in Whole Foods' history. This list isn't comprehensive and doesn't serve as a source for current recall information. To learn about ongoing recalls, visit Whole Foods' product recalls page.

From June to August 2008, Nebraska Beef recalled an astonishing 6.6 million pounds of beef due to contamination with E. coli 0157:H7. Inflicting stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea to those infected, this strain of E. coli can disproportionately harm vulnerable groups of people, including young children, the elderly, and the immunocompromised. In some cases, a dangerous type of kidney failure can develop as a complication. Numerous supermarkets and other businesses were affected by the recall.

In August 2008, Whole Foods issued a voluntary recall of fresh ground beef in stores across 23 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and Canada. However, this recall soon expanded to include four more states. In a letter from the Global Vice President of Procurement, Whole Foods shared that its own tests found no sign of E. coli in any of its beef products. 

Still, the CDC counted 49 confirmed cases of illness from Nebraska Beef in 2008, including 27 cases of hospitalization and one instance of kidney failure. Though no illnesses were directly linked to Whole Foods, the recall hurt the company's reputation as a premier spot for safe, clean meat. In response, the chain vowed to strengthen its process for selecting beef suppliers.

One of the most infamous food recalls of all time concerns the humble peanut and the now-defunct Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). From 2008 to 2009, peanut butter and other peanut products from PCA caused a massive salmonella outbreak that resulted in the deaths of nine people and more than 714 sick individuals across the country. Salmonella, a bacterial disease that can cause stomach cramps, vomiting, fever, and diarrhea, is especially dangerous to vulnerable populations. 

In January 2009, PCA issued several recalls, eventually recalling all products from two plants, dating back two years. The recall was so widespread that the FDA recommended consumers hold off on eating any foods containing peanut butter or paste. Whole Foods, along with many companies, issued its own recalls, listing cookies, energy bars, candy, trail mix, bulk nuts, and ice cream among the potentially affected products.

In historic court proceedings, PCA owner and president Stewart Parnell was found guilty of several federal charges, including conspiracy and fraud. The 2014 decision came after it was revealed that Parnell knowingly shipped out salmonella-tainted products, making it the first time a company executive faced a federal felony conviction in a food poisoning case. While no illnesses were linked to Whole Foods specifically, the company suffered major damages, and consumers remained wary of all peanut butter for some time to come.

In July 2014, Wawona Packing Co. issued a fruit recall after detecting the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in lots of peaches, nectarines, plums, and other stone fruits. Listeria is a type of bacteria that can cause serious illness in people who are pregnant, immunocompromised, or aged 65 and older. While grocery stores and markets rushed to pull recalled fruit from their shelves, Whole Foods also issued its own recall of made-in-store items containing the contaminated fruit. Affected products included salsas, pies, cakes, salads, juices, as well as salmon, turkey, and chicken meals prepared with peaches and other stone fruits.

Whole Foods stores in all states except Washington, Florida, and Oregon were subject to the recall. However, stores in Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada were hit the hardest, as these regions sold the majority of the recalled made-in-store products. Despite the large scale nature of these recalls, no illnesses were ever definitively connected to Wawona Packing stone fruit. The California-based fruit supplier later merged with another major stone fruit producer, but as of 2024, the company's future remains uncertain.

Only one year after the mass recall of Listeria-contaminated stone fruit products, Whole Foods was hit with another recall. This time, the store's line of ready-to-eat foods fell victim. In February 2015, Whole Foods recalled about 33,191 pounds of food that contained an undeclared ingredient. The culprit here was none other than the peanut, a common allergen that can cause hives, swelling, digestive issues, and troubled breathing in people who are allergic. For some, exposure to peanuts may also lead to ​​anaphylaxis, which can be life-threatening.

The recall affected stores in 12 states and Washington, D.C. The problem came to light when a Whole Foods spice supplier discovered that cumin used in some of the store's products had potentially been tainted with peanuts. The contaminated cumin may have found its way into various ready-to-eat items, including chilis, burritos, quesadillas, carnitas, and barbacoa beef. Thankfully, there were no reported allergic reactions associated with the recalled products.

In January 2016, the new year brought exciting products to Whole Foods, but it also brought another food recall. Citing a misbranding error, the chain recalled frozen pizzas from stores in Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York. It was no small quantity, either; the company ended up recalling 73,898 pounds of pizza in total.

The error in question concerned the type of meat used in two different versions of frozen pepperoni pizza. Though the labels on the products listed uncured beef pepperoni, the pizzas were actually made with uncured pork pepperoni. The packaging didn't mention pork at all. While this error may not be as bad as recalls involving salmonella or Listeria, consuming unwanted pork can cause harm to those with allergies or intolerances to pork. Others may abstain from pork for cultural or religious reasons. Fortunately, there were no reported cases of anyone falling ill. The only consequence of the mix-up was the destruction of unimaginable quantities of pizza.

Raw milk cheese can be deliciously tender and rich in flavor, but it also comes with serious risks. Cheese made with raw milk is more likely to harbor Listeria monocytogenes since it does not undergo pasteurization, a process of heating foods at certain temperatures to kill bacteria and other harmful microorganisms. This nightmare became a reality for the New York-based Vulto Creamery in 2017, when its cheeses were discovered to be the source of a Listeria outbreak. In March, the creamery recalled all of its raw milk cheese, but the damage was already done.

Unluckily, the contaminated cheese had been shipped to stores nationwide, including several Whole Foods locations. The natural foods company quickly pulled the cheese from nine stores in the Northeastern U.S., soon expanding the recall to include another eight stores in the same region. While Whole Foods reported no illnesses associated with cheese purchased from its stores, other Vulto Creamery customers weren't as fortunate. The outbreak resulted in two death, and eight people fell ill and were hospitalized, including one newborn. In 2024, Vulto Creamery and its owner, Johannes Vulto, pleaded guilty to misdemeanors concerning the distribution of the tainted cheese over state lines.

In November 2019, Mann Packing Co., Inc. announced a mass recall of vegetables sold in the U.S. and Canada due to a possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The vegetable supplier, acquired by Del Monte Fresh Produce the previous year, is based in Salinas, California. However, the recall reached far beyond the Golden State, as the afflicted vegetables were sold at Meijer, Wegmans, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Kroger stores (to name just a few) nationwide.

In response, Whole Foods recalled various foods prepared with Mann Packing produce. The long list included fresh salads, prepared-in-store meals, and crudités platters. Individual items from the store's hot and salad bars were also part of the recall, including raw and cooked vegetables, stir-fries, and dishes such as sesame orange chicken and turkey Alfredo pasta. The recall wasn't limited to one region or state; stores nationwide had received and used Mann Packing vegetables. All things considered, it's extremely fortunate that no illnesses were reported in connection to the recalls.

In April 2020, right at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Whole Foods faced another challenging recall. This time around, no supplier or manufacturer was at fault; only Whole Foods was to blame for its failure to mention an ingredient in a ready-to-eat product. The Minestrone Soup, made with vegetables, beans, pasta, and spices, also contains milk, a common allergen. If someone with a milk allergy accidentally consumes milk, they may experience digestive problems, hives, difficulty breathing, and even anaphylaxis, which can be deadly. In all, stores in 32 U.S. states (plus Washington, D.C.) were affected by the recall. Thankfully, no adverse reactions were reported from the mislabeled soup.

This wasn't the first time Whole Foods came under fire for undeclared allergens. From 2019 to 2020, in a span of only 13 months, the grocery store chain recalled over 30 different items for this very problem. In December 2020, the FDA issued the company an official warning letter on the matter. Whole Foods responded by announcing multiple changes to its food safety oversight process, such as the creation of an allergen recall task force and improvements to its supplier approval program.

It seems that cheese recalls are a common theme at Whole Foods, for in July 2021, the grocery store was notified of another Listeria scare, this time concerning two types of cheddar from the Cahill brand. The suspects, Whiskey Cheddar and Cheddar with Porter, were sold in 44 stores across the U.S., spanning 22 different states.

Whole Foods initiated the recall after the distributor's routine testing detected the bacteria. Cahill, a long-standing cheese producer based in Limerick, Ireland, launched its own recall, also pulling several additional cheese varieties in the process. In an internal investigation, Cahill was able to narrow down the source of the contamination to one piece of equipment in its facilities. The company announced that after removing the afflicted equipment, all tests of its products came back free of Listeria. Luckily, there were no reported cases of illness linked to the recalls. Today, Cahill's cheeses are once again available at Whole Foods stores in the U.S.

In April 2022, Bakkavor USA announced a recall of its Red Lentil Dal, sold exclusively at Whole Foods stores. The prepared foods manufacturer was alerted by a supplier of a possible Listeria contamination in the pickled curry cauliflower, a key ingredient in the dal. Though Bakkavor is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Red Lentil Dal had a nationwide presence. As a result, the meal was recalled from Whole Foods stores in every state except for Hawaii.

No illnesses were reported from the recall, and the dal has since returned to Whole Foods stores everywhere. Though Bakkavor wasn't directly responsible for the pickled cauliflower contamination, the company soon faced its own issues with Listeria. In August 2022, the FDA inspected Bakkavor's facilities and found the bacteria present on multiple surfaces that came into contact with food. In a warning letter, the FDA also disclosed the facilities were in violation of several food safety regulations. As of 2024, Bakkavor has made significant changes to address the FDA's demands.

Also in April 2022, Van Law Food Products, Inc. launched a recall of its Organic Creamy Caesar Dressing, sold under the Whole Foods 365 brand name. The dressing, a flavorful mix of classic Caesar ingredients plus additions like tamari sauce and shiitake mushrooms, also contained some unexpected components: soy and wheat. These add-ins were not declared on the product's packaging, creating a potentially disastrous risk for those with soy or wheat allergies.

Affecting stores in 11 states nationwide, the recall initially only impacted bottles of dressing with a November best-by date. However, in September of the same year, Van Law Food Products expanded the recall to include bottles with September through June 2023 best-by dates. This second phase of the recall affected 26 states, and the error was attributed to a mix-up with another product's back label. Despite the significant recall, there were no reported illnesses or complications from the undisclosed allergens. Today, the dressing has returned to Whole Foods stores with all its ingredients clearly labeled.

Not too long after Whole Foods' Caesar dressing mishap, the company found itself facing yet another allergen-related recall. In November 2023, Raw SeaFoods, Inc. alerted the public to the presence of undeclared milk and sesame in its Lightly Seasoned Atlantic Salmon Burgers. Although Raw SeaFoods is based in Fall River, Massachusetts, the burgers were sold at Whole Foods stores all over the country.

The issue came to light when a vendor noticed sesame seeds in the burgers, prompting an investigation. The burgers were processed and prepared with a long list of ingredients, including panko breadcrumbs, flour, parsley, and lemon juice. However, while the product label listed soy, fish, and wheat, it failed to declare all possible allergens, posing a serious risk to consumers with sesame or milk allergies. As of writing, no illnesses have publicly surfaced from the recall, but the burgers have yet to return to Whole Foods stores.

Perhaps one of the largest recalls in recent memory concerns the California-based dairy company Rizo Lopez Foods, Inc. In February 2024, the FDA and CDC announced an investigation into the source of a widespread Listeria outbreak that had been ongoing for years. The culprit was cheese, sour cream, and yogurt from Rizo Lopez Foods, sold under many different brand names at grocery stores nationwide and in Canada.

The 2024 recalls included whole milk and part skim ricotta cheese sold under Whole Foods' 365 label. Other affected brands included Don Francisco, H-E-B, Casa Cardenas, Tio Francisco, and Trader Joe's. While soft queso fresco and cotija cheeses were the main subject of the recalls, many salad and taco kits, dressings, and other prepared foods were also found to be contaminated with Listeria. 

In April 2024, the CDC declared the outbreak to be over. However, the damage was already done: 26 people from 11 states became sick after consuming Rizo Lopez products. Among the reported illnesses, 23 people were hospitalized and two died. The CDC admitted that there were likely many more people who never reported their illnesses, so the true number of cases is unknown.

As news of the Rizo Lopez recalls was dying down in April 2024, Whole Foods found itself entangled in another recall. This time around, organic walnuts from Gibson Farms were linked to an outbreak of E. coli. The tainted walnuts were sold primarily in bulk bins at natural food stores and co-ops in at least 19 states. The walnuts were available in the salad bars at 10 Whole Foods stores. In all, there were 13 reported illnesses from the walnuts, including seven hospitalizations, all located in California and Washington.

While no Whole Foods stores were linked to any E. coli-related illnesses, the recall has joined a long list of many in the company's recent history. 2023 was a tumultuous year for the natural foods store, with the company seemingly unable to catch a break amid 21 product recalls. Though compared to last year's numbers, 2024's recall numbers are minimal (there have been six recalls as of writing), Whole Foods still has a lot of work to do to ensure its products are safe for customers to enjoy.