Trader Joe's keeps issuing recalls. Rocks, insects, metal in our food. Is it time to worry?

Trader Joe’s − a grocery chain with a loyal clientele and social media following and more than 500 stores across the country − has a lot of fans. But after issuing a slew of recalls in less than two months, is it time to worry?

This week Trader Joe's alerted customers that Texas Tamale Company Gourmet Black Bean Tamales may contain undeclared milk.

Previously, it pulled multigrain crackers that may contain metal, two different kinds of cookies that may contain rocks and broccoli cheddar soup and cooked falafel that may contain insects.

Trader Joe’s has urged customers to discard the recalled products or return them for a full refund.

Why did Trader Joe’s recall these products?

Food recalls have a variety of causes, from undeclared ingredients or allergens to physical contamination. The Trader Joe’s recalls were caused by physical contamination.

Contamination with foreign materials such as metal, rocks and insects concerns Teresa Murray, who directs the Consumer Watchdog office for PIRG.

“This seems so easy to prevent,” she said. 

Why have there been so many Trader Joe’s recalls?

Trader Joe’s says the close timing of the recalls is coincidental. 

The grocery chain works quickly to investigate potential problems and remove products from shelves “if there is any doubt about its safety or quality” without waiting for federal regulators, Nakia Rohde, a public relations manager, said in a statement. 

“We will never leave to chance the safety of the products we offer,” Rohde said. “We pull the product from our shelves as soon as we are aware of an issue.”

Trader Joe’s then alerts customers through in-store signs, on its website and through email alerts, she said. 

Does Trader Joe's have a recall problem?

The string of recalls suggests Trader Joe's needs to pay closer attention to quality control, said University of Notre Dame professor Kaitlin Wowak.

"Modern supply chains are longer and more complex than ever before, which makes it increasingly more difficult for companies to ensure the quality of every single product they sell," Wowak said. "With so many recent recalls due to things like products potentially containing rocks, metal, or insects, it suggests that Trader Joe’s needs to take a closer look at their suppliers."

Darin Detwiler, professor of food safety and corporate social responsibility at Northeastern University, says the grocery chain’s proactive approach is a positive sign. 

“The fact that they are being open and upfront about it is the way they should be responding,” he said in an email. “We would never want to learn that a retailer was asked or mandated to conduct a recall and that they did not or that they dragged their feet or that they were not communicating this to their customers.”

Is six recalls in two months unusual?

In all of 2022, there were 25 recalls because of foreign materials such as plastic or metal in food, according to a U.S. PIRG Education Fund analysis. Trader Joe’s has had four in one month alone, Murray said.

Still, it’s hard to know if the number of food recalls is disproportionately high without more information on the number of food products Trader Joe’s sells compared with other retailers, she said.

“It does seem that Trader Joe's has had quite a few of late,” Murray said. 

Wowak says shoppers should be worried. "When any firm has so many recalls within a short period of time, it’s only natural for consumers to lose confidence in the firm and shop elsewhere until the recalls have stopped for a while," she said. "This is especially true when it comes to food products as consumers need to have confidence that the food they are eating and giving to their families is safe."

Are food recalls becoming more common?

Wowak says the number of product recalls across sectors is, on average, increasing because of longer and more complex supply chains, among other things.

"When there are more entities involved in the manufacturing and transportation of food products, it gets increasingly harder for a firm to carefully oversee each entity and step in the process, which can lead to mistakes or product quality issues that result in product recalls," she said. "Additionally, food products tend to have more processing and ingredients now days than they have in the past, which can increase the chance of a product quality issue at any step along the way."

But Murray says food recalls announced by the FDA or USDA are not becoming more common. 

According to Murray, FDA recalls have remained at about the same level for four of the last five years. USDA recalls for the last three years have been only half of the pre-pandemic average, she said.

She speculates that people are less likely to go to the doctor for possible food contamination unless they are gravely ill – which is how regulators find out about problems and then work with manufacturers to recall products.

Shortages of food inspectors, both working in companies and for the government, who catch problems may also play a role, Murray said.

Finally, Murray says, it’s possible that food is getting safer – with one big exception.

Recalls and alerts involving Salmonella – the No. 1 cause of food-contamination hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S. – nearly doubled in 2022 from 2019, according to PIRG’s analysis of government data. 

Should you worry about food recalls?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data suggests the rates of food-borne illness have remained fairly stable in recent years, affecting about 1 in 6 Americans every year.

While the Trader Joe’s recalls are fairly minor, “we should always take a recall seriously, regardless of the nature of the item or the reason for the recall,” Detwiler said.

“Customers should check that the products they purchased from Trader Joe’s are not ones that have been recalled,” Detwiler said. 

He also recommends being your own watchdog. 

“Even outside of a recall, if a consumer ever sees, tastes, feels, or smells anything that does not seem right, do not consume the item and consider communicating with the store,” Detwiler said. “Many times they will offer a replacement item – especially for meats or produce that went bad too soon.”

How to protect yourself from contaminated food

Murray says babies, young children and people who are elderly, pregnant, immuno-compromised or anyone in fragile health should take extra precautions.

Also at risk are the 6% of people with a food allergy. “If you're one of them, you should be more careful because 42% of recalls are for undeclared allergens,” she said. 

Murray recommends signing up for push notifications for FDA and USDA recalls. 

People should also take extra care with ready-to-eat foods which  are convenient for busy people on the go but are also more heavily processed, Detwiler said.

“This ‘convenience’ comes with the added reality that food safety failures along the item’s journey from farms to fork are more likely,” Detwiler said.  “While companies take steps to prevent these incidents from occurring, unintentional failures  – and even intentional sabotage sometimes – do result in food that can harm consumers.”

What Trader Joe's food was recalled?

• Multigrain Crackers with Sunflower and Flax Seeds: “Best If Used By” dates between 03/01/24 and 03/05/24.
• Almond Windmill Cookies: “Sell By” dates between 10/19/23 and 10/21/23.
• Dark Chocolate Chunk Almond Cookies: “Sell By” dates between 10/17/23 and 10/21/23.
• Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup: “Use By” dates between 07/18/23 and 09/15/23.
• Fully Cooked Falafel Heat & Eat
• Texas Tamale Company Gourmet Black Bean Tamales: “Best Buy” June 19, 2025

4 food safety tips from PIRG 

Clean: Wash your hands, utensils and prep surfaces, especially when handling raw meat, chicken and other poultry, seafood, flour or eggs. Also wash all fruits and vegetables before slicing, peeling and eating. 

Separate: Keep food items that will not be cooked separate from raw meat, poultry and seafood. 

Cook: Use a food thermometer to make sure your food reaches a temperature high enough to kill germs. 

Chill: Refrigerate perishable food within two hours if it’s out at room temperature. Refrigerate it within one hour if the food is out in temperatures above 90 degrees. Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator.

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