While a car recall is a notice I never ignore, I can never recall throwing away a single food or beverage or pet food product because of a recall.
There are hundreds of food recalls every year, so they can be hard to keep track of, even if I follow the FDA’s recall notices page and read about recalls every day.
In the case of a current recall, the list of recalled products is so long that it would take quite a bit of effort to go through every drawer and cabinet in my kitchen, bathrooms, and the “extra” refrigerator in my garage.
It seems I’m not alone.
A small minority of people actually pay attention to most withdrawals, which nutrition experts say is a mistake.
“Only 13 percent of Americans have ever visited a government website for food recall information, and only 3 percent subscribe to email or text alerts,” said William Hallman, a behavioral researcher and professor at Rutgers University, at the Food Safety Summit in May 2025, according to the Food & Wine report.
But this latest recall, a widespread contamination of the warehouse, has prompted the FDA to recall thousands of products every day. The products include medicine and pet food, soft drinks and candy, and all appear to be unrelated: what they have in common is that they were stocked at the same distribution facility in Minnesota.
The new recall affects brand-name products such as Tylenol, Aleve and Advil; candy, including Haribo Gummy Bears, Sour Patch and Twix candies; beverages such as Welch’s Grape Juice and Coffee Mate and Purina dog and cat food, among many other categories.
Gold Star Distribution LLC, a wholesale distributor based in Minnesota, issued the recall on Dec. 26 “due to the presence of rodent and avian contamination” at its Minneapolis facility.
The recall was not issued by the manufacturers themselves, but only applies to products stocked or distributed through the Gold Star facility in Minneapolis.
“Products stored in unsanitary conditions can be contaminated by
contact with contaminated surfaces or exposure to associated airborne particles
with animal waste. Exposure to contaminated products can cause serious health problems
risks to consumers, including the potential for bacterial contamination, which may
lead to disease or infection, including Salmonella,” the announcement said.
“The US Food and Drug Administration determined that the facility was operating under unsanitary conditions, including the presence of rodent droppings, rodent urine, and bird droppings in areas where medical devices, drugs, human food, pet food, and cosmetics were held,” according to the FDA’s official statement.