Food recalls to be aware of while planning your 2023 holiday meals

Holiday food recall awareness overview: 

• Who: Twin City Foods, Kraft Heinz, Unilever, Trader Joe’s, Sunnyvale Smoked Meats, Greenhead Lobster Products and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service initiated food recalls recently that could affect holiday cooking plans. 
• Why: The companies initiated the recalls over a variety of safety concerns, including foreign object and bacterial contamination. 
• Where: The food recalls impact consumers nationwide. 

Gathering around the dining table and sharing home-cooked meals with loved ones during the holiday season is a tradition millions of families look forward to every year. 

Before planning holiday meals, however, it is important for families to be aware of recent food product recalls. 

These include cheese slices, frozen vegetables, soup, multigrain crackers, smoked sausage, frozen and refrigerated lobster and half-hams. 

Potential listeria contamination causes recall of frozen vegetables 

Frozen vegetable producer Twin City Foods recalled a variety of Food Lion, Signature Select and Kroger brand frozen corn and mixed vegetables in August over concerns they may be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes. 

The recall involves 22 different frozen super sweet corn and mixed vegetables sold under the three brands with best-by dates from February 2024 to January 2025. 

Some holiday dishes this food recall could affect include chicken and turkey pot pies, hot corn casserole, green bean casserole and baked vegetable rice pilaf. 

Kraft Heinz recalls cheese slices over plastic wrapper defect

Kraft Heinz initiated a recall for 83,800 individually wrapped Kraft Singles American processed cheese slices in September over concerns a thin strip of plastic film can remain on the cheese slices after the rest of the wrapper is removed, causing a choking or gagging hazard. 

The recall involves certain 16-ounce packages of Kraft Singles American Pasteurized Prepared Cheese with best-buy dates of Jan. 10, 2024, to Jan. 27, 2024, and certain 3-pound multipacks with best-buy dates of Jan. 9, 2024, to either Jan. 13, 2024, or Jan. 16, 2024. 

Some holiday dishes this food recall could affect include macaroni and cheese, sandwiches, cheeseburgers and grilled cheese sandwiches. 

Unilever recalls 3 Knorr tomato-based soup mixes over undeclared egg

Unilever recalled three types of its Knorr brand tomato-based soup mix products in August over concerns they may contain undeclared egg, a common food allergen. 

The recall involves Knorr Estrellitas con Tomate Tomato Based Star Pasta Soup Mix, Knorr Fideos con Tomate Tomato Based Pasta Soup Mix and Knorr Letras con Tomate Tomato Based Alphabet Pasta Soup Mix with best-by dates before and including July 6, 2024. 

Some holiday dishes this food recall could affect include a variety of soup, stuffed peppers and meatloaf. 

Trader Joe’s recalls multigrain crackers over potential metal contamination 

Grocery store Trader Joe’s initiated a recall for its name brand Multigrain Crackers with Sunflower and Flax Seeds in August over concerns they may be contaminated with metal pieces. 

The recall involves certain 10-ounce boxes of Trader Joe’s Multigrain Crackers with Sunflower and Flax Seeds with best-buy dates from March 1-3, 2024. 

Some holiday dishes this food recall could affect include pecan pralines, stuffing or dressing, cranberry-brie pie crust bites and charcuterie boards. 

FSIS recalls around 15,876 pounds of Hillshire smoked sausage 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service initiated a recall for around 15,876 pounds of Hillshire Farms smoked sausage over concerns the meat may have been contaminated with bone fragments. 

The recall involves ready-to-eat meat and poultry packed sausage products produced by Hillshire on June 14, 2023. 

Some holiday meals the food recall may impact include jambalaya, black-eyed peas and potato soups, cream cheese smoked sausage pasta, shrimp and grits and Spanish chicken. 

Company recalls refrigerated, frozen lobster due to potential listeria contamination

Greenhead Lobster Products recalled all of its lobster produced from May 9 to Oct. 19, 2023, after discovering the presence of listeria in the environment in which the recalled lobster was processed. 

The recall involves Greenhead Lobster Fresh Cooked Lobster Meat sold in a 1- or 2-pound package or 12-pound case with a best-by dates of May 9, 2025, to Oct. 12, 2025, for frozen lobster and May 27, 2023, to Oct. 30, 2023, for refrigerated lobster. 

Some holiday meals the food recall could affect include lobster rolls, lobster macaroni, lobster fra diavolo and baked stuffed lobster tail. 

Listeria contamination concerns prompt Costco half-ham recall 

Sunnyvale Smoked Meats recalled a Kirkland-brand half-ham product last month over concerns the item, sold exclusively at Costco, may have been contaminated with listeria. 

The recall involves Kirkland Signature Master Carve Half Ham, Natural Juices Boneless Smoked Half Ham purchased at Costco from Sept. 26-29, 2023. 

Holiday dishes the recall could affect include glazed ham and celebration ham. 

Are you going to adjust your holiday cooking plans because of a food recall? Let us know in the comments.

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