While a car recall is a notification I would never ignore, I don’t recall throwing out a single food or drink or pet food because of a recall.
Hundreds of food recalls occur every year, so it’s hard to keep track, although I follow the FDA’s recall notification page and read about recalls every day.
As far as the current recall goes, the list of recalled products is so long that it would take a lot of effort to go through every drawer and cabinet in the kitchen, bathroom, and “extra” refrigerator in the garage.
Apparently I’m not alone.
In fact, only a small group of people pay attention to most recalls, which food experts say is a mistake.
According to Food & Wine, William Hallman, a behavioral scientist and professor at Rutgers University, said at the Food Safety Summit in May 2025: “Only 13% of Americans have ever visited a government website for food recall information, and only 3% have subscribed to email or text message alerts.”
But this latest recall is the result of widespread warehouse contamination, prompting the FDA to recall thousands of everyday products. The products included pharmaceuticals and pet food, soft drinks and candy, all of which seemed unrelated: What they had in common was that they were all stored in the same distribution facility in Minnesota.
Tylenol bottles are part of a comprehensive recall. Photo by VALERIE MACON on Getty Images
The new recalls affect branded products such as Tylenol, Aleve and Advil; candy, including Haribo Gummy Bears, Sour Patch candies and Twix; beverages such as Welch’s Grape Juice and Coffee Mate; and Purina dog and cat food, among many other categories.
Minnesota-based wholesale distributor Gold Star Distribution LLC issued a recall on Dec. 26 “due to rodent and bird contamination at its Minneapolis facility.”
The recall is not issued by the manufacturer itself and only applies to products stored or distributed at Gold Star’s Minneapolis facility.
“Products stored in unhygienic conditions may become contaminated
Contact with contaminated surfaces or exposure to associated airborne particles
with animal feces. Exposure to contaminated products may cause serious health effects
Risks to consumers, including the possibility of bacterial contamination, which may
Causing illness or infection, including salmonella,” the advisory said.
According to an official statement from the FDA, “The FDA determined that the facility was operating under unsanitary conditions, including the presence of rodent excrement, rodent urine, and bird droppings in areas where medical devices, pharmaceuticals, human food, pet food, and cosmetics were stored.”
