Biosecurity Events: March 2026
Food Pathogens
Listeria monocytogenes Contamination. Various cream cheeses and tofu spreads were recalled by the FDA on 20 February 2026 in New York City for potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. These products were under the “Made Fresh Salad” brand.
Salmonella Outbreak. Capsules and powder from brands like “Why Not Natural” and “Live it Up” were recalled following a multi-state Salmonella outbreak. The specific pathogens were Salmonella Newport and Typhimurium detected in Moringa Powder and Super Greens.
E. coli Contamination. Nine people were sickened by an expanding outbreak of E. coli food poisoning tied to raw milk and cheddar cheese mad from Raw Farm, a Fresno, California producer. This is not the first Raw Farm’s raw milk and cheddar outbreak. In August and October of 2023, Raw Farm had Salmonella outbreaks. In February of 2024 it had an E. coli outbreak. In November of 2024 it had bird flu detected in raw milk with animal deaths linked to consumption, and in March of 2026 there was an E. Coli outbreak linked to raw cheddar cheese. Raw Farm refused a recommended voluntary recall in the current E. coli outbreak.
Potential Norovirus Contamination. The FDA is advising restaurants and retailers not to serve or sell select oysters harvested in British Columbia by Stellar Bay Shellfish Ltd. Due to potential contamination with norovirus.
Botulism Risk. Marvel Food and Deli, INC. of Auburn, WA, is voluntarily recalling the product labeled “Country-Style Adjiks” due to a botulism risk from a processing issue.
Norovirus-like Illness. Washington state is recalling oysters, clams, and all shell stock harvested from Drayton Harbor between 2/13/26 and 3/3/26 due to Norovirus-like illnesses associated with raw oyster consumption.
Patulin Contamination. Tippy Toes Baby Food Apple Banana puree was recalled nationwide (except Alaska) due to elevated levels of patulin, a mold-producing toxin.
Rat Lungworm Contamination (Angiostrongylus cantonensis). A neurological disease called rat lungworm has been found in wild animals and one zoo in San Diego County, marking its first establishment in California. The parasite can cause severe neurological symptoms, with the highest risk for those consuming raw freshwater crabs, prawns, frogs, snails and unwashed produce.
Glass Contamination. On March 3, 2026 over 36 million pounds of Ajinomoto Foods North America frozen chicken and pork products were recalled due to glass contamination. Carrots used in the products were identified as the likely source. This was an expanded recall on products manufactured between October 2024 and February 2026. Affected brands include:
- Trader Joe’s Chicken/Vegetable/Japanese Style Fried Rice, Chicken Shu Mai
- Kroger Ling Lin, Tai Pei, and Ajinomoto brand frozen meals
Rodent and bird, and possibly Salmonella contamination. Thousands of products distributed in Minnesota, Indiana, and North Dakota were recalled on January 29, 2026 due to rodent and bird contamination and possibly Samonella contamination at a Minneapolis facility. The FDA found that the facility had rodent excreta, rodent urine, and bird droppings. Impacted items include:
- Pantry Staples- Cheerios, Pringles, Takis, and Kraft Mac and Cheese
- Beverages- Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Gatorade, and Arizonia Iced Tea
- Candy- Hershey’s, Reese’s, Skittles, and Starburst.
Metal Contamination. On 22 February 2026, the USDA FSIS announced that Rosina Food Products, Inc., a West Seneca, N.Y establishment recalled about 9,462 pounds of ready to eat frozen meatballs products that may be contaminated with metal and were sold at Aldia stores nationwide. The specific item was the 16 oz plastic, vacuum-packed, packages containing “White Oak Pastures, Radically Traditional Farming, Grassfeed Ground Beef”.
Plastic contamination. Over 500,000 pounds of frozen potato products were recalled across 28 states due to potential plastic contamination.
In addition, more than 20,000 peanut butter products sold in 40 states were recalled by the FDA for potential plastic contamination. This recall was initiated in April of 2025 and updated to a Class II classification on 12 February 2026.
Milk Allergen Contamination. On 4 March 2026, the FDA recalled Miss Vickie’s Spicy Dill Pickle Potato Chips produced by Frito-Lay, due to an undeclared milk allergen.
Tadalafil Contamination. On 27 February, 2026, the FDA recalled RHINO Chocolate from USA LESS Company due to an undeclared Tadalafil contamination.
Cottage Cheese not fully Pasteurized. On 24 February, 2026 Saputo Cheese USA, Inc. recalled Great Value cottage cheese because it was not fully pasteurized.
Products Containing Unlisted Ingredients. There were a number of products recalled due to ingredients found in the products that were not listed on the product labels.
Public Health Alert. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a public health alert for various raw beef and pork products that were produced without benefit of federal inspection and may bear a false mark of inspection. The meat products were produced from April 2024 through March of 2026 and included at least 7 different varieties of Blackwing Organic Meats. Four of these products used a false USDA mark of inspection. The items were shipped to wholesale and retail locations nationwide. There have been no confirmed reports of illness or injury due to the products.
Updates
Update on radioactive Shrimp. In addition to the radioactive shrimp which was recalled in February, a Department of Homeland Security bulletin stated that the contamination was very likely to continue and has spread beyond shrimp to spices, specifically to cloves from the Indonesian-based company PT Natural Java Spice. No contaminated product is known to have entered the U.S. market place.
Update on Infant Formula Clostridium botulinum. The investigation into infant formula contamination was declared over in February 2026. The outbreak included 48 confirmed or probable cases of infant botulism linked to whole milk powder.
Update on raw oyster Salmonella Tele Kebir. An investigation into raw oysters that sickened 80 people across 23 states ended in late February 2026.
Regulations, Significient Changes, and Politics
High Beef Prices set to Last. A tight cattle supply, with high prices and robust demand has resulted in ranchers reluctant to increase the size of their herds. As a result, the U.S. cattle herd is at its lowest level in 75 years with prices up 17% from a year earlier, according to the USDA
Proposed Breakup of Meat Industry. The Wall Street Journal reported on 4 March 2026 that democratic lawmakers are preparing legislation that would break up U.S. meatpacking companies, escalating government efforts to curb record high beef prices. The proposed bill would prevent companies from processing more than one type of meat and could require major processors to spin off beef plants.
Beef Plant Workers Strike. Workers at the JBS beef processing plant owned by JBS, whose headquarters is in Brazil, went on strike in mid-March. JBS is one the largest plant of its type in the US accounting for 5% of the U.S. beef processing capacity and comes at a time when meat companies are losing billions of dollars annually producing beef. The local Greely, Colorado union stated that JBS had refused wage increases that kept pace with inflation.
Smithfield Plans First New Pork Plant in Decades. Virginia based Smithfield Foods will spend $1.3 billion over three years on a new facility in Sioux Falls, S.D. which is expected to employ bout 3000 workers and slaughter 20,000 hogs a day. Since 2013, Smithfield has been a subsidiary of the Chinese pork company WH Group.
FDA Priorities. For 2026, the FDA’s Human Foods Program is prioritizing reforms in “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) substances, microplastics research, and safety reviews of food chemicals like phthalates.
MAHA/Farmer Pesticide Battle. The Wall Street Journal reported on 23 February 2026 that President Trump gave the farm industry a victory against Make America Healty Again (MAHA) by signing an Executive Order designating glyphosate herbicides and phosphorus, a popular fertilizer, as critical to national defense. MAHA advocates have been attempting to remove pesticides in food.
Evolving World Situations
Fertilizer Supply. The Wall Street Journal reported on 13 March 2026 that the Middle East war has choked off big chunks of the world’s supply of Ammonia, urea, sulfur and phosphates and 20% of the supply of liquid natural gas which fertilizer makers in Europe and elsewhere rely. For American farmers the war has boosted prices for certain fertilizers by about 30%.
A second Wall Street Journal article on March 25th, 2026 elaborated on the above problem, discussing the impact of the Middle East war on the global food supply. The closing of the Gulf of Hormuz combined with the Iranian missile strike on the Qatar Ras Laffan Industrial City have the dual effect of blocking fertilizer supply to much of the world, and destroying the movement of liquified natural gas feedstock which powers fertilizer manufacturing in those countries that might have compensated for the Gulf’s missing output of fertilizer.
Roughly 50% of the globally traded urea, the nitrogen fertilizer that underpins nearly half of global food production, originates in the Gulf and transits the strait. The impact of the impasse in the Gulf of Hormuz is not only impacting fertilizer availability and cost of both energy and logistics but will likely cause spring planting shortfalls in 2026 and decreased grain stocks in 2027.
