PHOENIX — From eggs to romaine lettuce, crackers and raw turkey—the recall list is overflowing this year.
Most recently, more than 145,000 half-gallon cartons of Vanilla Almond Breeze Almond Milk are being recalled because the product may contain actual dairy milk. The product was shipped to 28 states, Arizona was not on the list.
Multiple agencies are involved in food safety. The USDA keeps a close eye on meat, poultry and eggs. Medicine, animal feed, cosmetics and more than 80 percent of the food we eat is monitored by the FDA. The CDC monitors foodborne illnesses.
What exactly is the process of recalling foods? With guidance from the FDA, we can verify that it is actually rare for the FDA to request a recall. The reason why?
Almost all recalls are voluntary by the actual company.
Most companies discover a problem, contact the FDA and issue a recall.
In other cases, the FDA inspects a manufacturing facility and determines the potential for a recall.
If a contamination goes unnoticed and causes illness, the FDA receives reports of the health problems from agencies like the CDC, and products are pulled.
The FDA makes sure all reasonable efforts have been made to remove or correct a product before allowing a product to be re-released. The FDA also makes sure that the contaminated products are destroyed or suitably reconditioned and investigates why the product was defective in the first place.
You can stay updated on recalls at www.fda.gov.