This Major Company Once Recalled More Than 2 Million Pounds Of Canned Meat

Beans, chiles, and tomatoes are just a few of the canned foods you should always keep in your pantry. However, canned meat is another great staple food. While the major benefit of these products is their convenience, keep in mind that canned meat is a lot tastier than you might think. (Spam is surprisingly good in breakfast dishes!)

Canned meat is also praised for its longevity. An unopened can typically lasts two years or more, provided that it's fully intact and undamaged. That humble hunk of steel encasing the meat is doing important work by keeping germs at bay. However, when there are defects, you end up with major issues, such as a massive recall of over 2 million pounds of canned meat products.

In 2023, Conagra Brands found issues with a number of its canned meat products, including Vienna sausages, chicken, and potted meat from Armour, Kroger, Goya, Great Value, and Prairie Belt brands, among others. The company detected damaged and spoiled cans in its warehouse, which led to a widespread investigation. Out of concern that people may have faulty cans at home that lack obvious defects, Conagra Brands enacted the recall and urged consumers to check their pantries and discard any items affected. Fortunately, no reports of illness or injury occurred in conjunction with this packaging issue.

The Conagra canned meat recall was featured in our list of the biggest canned food recalls in U.S. history, a list that also included canned tuna and chili sauce. And this wasn't the first time that the company's canned goods have been subject to a recall. Conagra enacted a recall of its Hunt's tomato paste in 2019 due to concerns about defective packaging that could potentially encourage the growth of mold. However, this recall was much smaller and only affected a limited number of cans.

While can defects might not seem like a major issue, consider that the USDA advises that consumers never eat food from defective cans due to concerns about botulinum toxin. It is associated with severe health effects (including death) and symptoms like fatigue, weakness, and blurry vision. 

The Conagra incident in 2023 was complicated because the packaging flaws might not have been readily identifiable to consumers, but it's still important to know what different types of can defects can mean in terms of food safety. Small dents aren't likely to affect the food, unless they're situated on the rim of the can. On the other hand, large dents indicate that a canned meat should be discarded — no matter where they're located. Leaks (one of the factors identified in the defective canned meat at the Conagra warehouse) are highly problematic, as is bulging. A bulging can indicates the presence of bacteria.