10 Times Foods Were Recalled for Gross Reasons
10 Times Foods Were Recalled for Gross Reasons
Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at ten historic examples of food being recalled for disgusting reasons.
Dead Bat Salad
We all know we’re supposed to eat our greens, but this is just ridiculous. In 2017, two shoppers in Florida sat down to enjoy a healthy bowl of Walmart’s Organic Marketside Spring Mix. But hidden among the radicchio and arugula was a little extra protein: a bisected and decomposing Mexican free-tailed bat. You really have to hand it to the processing plant’s quality control for missing a dead black bat napping in the bright green lettuce. Fresh Express swiftly recalled the salads due to “extraneous animal matter,” which is probably the most polite way of saying “there might be a dead animal in your salad”. Let this be a lesson: always, always check your pre-washed greens.
The Taylor Farms Lettuce Catastrophe
Who doesn’t love a crisp crunch to their taco? Well in 2026, that crunch came with a microscopic parasite. Taylor Farms issued a massive recall when their produce, including the iceberg lettuce at Taco Bell, was linked to a massive outbreak of cyclospora. If you’re unfamiliar with cyclospora, let’s just say that it turns your digestive tract into a Slip ‘N Slide. Over 10,000 people got an unwanted lesson firsthand. And just to sprinkle some extra spice on the misery, Taylor Farms had to issue another recall shortly after - this time involving jalapeños - for potential salmonella in their taco dip. Nothing says fiesta quite like spending three days barricaded inside your bathroom.
Trader Joe’s Glass Chicken
Foodies are always coming up with funny names for meals, but when we say “glass chicken,” we mean glass chicken. In 2026, boxes of Trader Joe’s Chicken Fried Rice came with a rather sharp surprise. A massive recall of 3.4 million pounds of frozen product was initiated because consumers were finding literal shards of glass mixed into their frozen entrees. The USDA later expanded the recall to approximately 40 million pounds of frozen products across multiple brands, including Vegetable Fried Rice, Japanese Style Fried Rice, and Chicken Shu Mai. We appreciate a crunchy texture in our fried rice just as much as the next person, but chewing on broken glass and getting emergency oral surgery might be a step too far. Luckily, no one was hurt.
Tyson Dinosaur Fun Nuggets
Ah, the dinosaur chicken nugget, a nostalgic pillar of childhood cuisine. Tyson Foods has a bit of a history with weird objects ending up in their chicken, having previously recalled nuggets for containing plastic and rubber. But in 2023, they upped the ante, recalling 30,000 pounds of their iconic Fun Nuggets. The fun came to a screeching halt when a consumer reported minor oral injuries after biting into small pieces of metal hidden deep inside the breaded poultry. Tyson never explained how metal ended up in their nuggets, as companies are rarely required to share internal forensic plant reports. But that’s not really the point. The point is there were pieces of freaking metal in the chicken!
Le Moulin des Cèdres Flour
We know what you’re thinking - forget all this, we’ll just make our own food from now on. Baking your own sourdough from scratch is hot right now, and it’s supposed to be the ultimate way to control what goes into your body. Well, the universe had other plans for Québec bakers in May 2024. Two major Canadian flour brands had to issue a huge recall of their products, as it was found that literal flakes of paint had been embedded in the flour. Again, nobody really explained how this happened, but it was enough to clear out bakery shelves across the province. If you wanted your baguettes to have a colorful, crunchy, and mildly toxic exterior, this was definitely your moment.
McCain Foods Hash Browns
This has to be one of the more baffling examples of food contamination. In April 2017, McCain Foods issued a recall for bags of their frozen Southern Style Hash Browns. The culprit, according to the FDA, was “extraneous golf ball materials.” We don’t think the word “extraneous” is necessary here. Yes, stray golf balls were harvested out in the potato fields, thrown into the hopper, chopped up, and frozen right alongside the spuds. Experts note this usually happens when potato fields are located near golf courses, driving ranges, or rural areas where people casually hit balls into the fields. The FDA warned that the pieces posed a significant choking hazard, but luckily, no one was hurt and all the affected bags were successfully recalled.
The Boar’s Head House of Horrors
Deli sandwiches are a lunchtime staple, but in 2024, Boar’s Head liverwurst turned a simple meal into a lethal game of Russian roulette. A deadly listeria outbreak traced back to their Virginia plant tragically killed ten and hospitalized dozens more. But what made this story a national phenomenon was the surreal USDA inspection report of the Boar’s Head factory. Inspectors walked into a house of horrors, documenting black mold, dead insects, “rancid” smells, and actual pools of blood on the factory floor. The company recalled over seven million pounds of meat and permanently discontinued their liverwurst product.
Jack in the Box Monster Burgers
Introduced in 1992, the demand for Jack in the Box’s Monster Burgers overwhelmed the cooks and rushed the restaurants’ food safety protocols. Corporate executives also consciously ignored new Washington state laws requiring patties to be cooked to 155°F, adhering instead to the more lenient federal standard of 140°F. This combination led to dangerously undercooked beef patties and a massive E. coli outbreak that killed four and sickened over 700. This wasn’t just a gross mishap; it was a nationwide tragedy that fundamentally changed how America handles food safety. It permanently vaulted E. coli into the public consciousness, triggered a massive recall of ground beef patties, and forced the federal government to raise mandatory cooking temperatures to 155°F.
Pasco Shikishima Sliced Bread
Sliced bread is famously the greatest thing ever invented - unless you happened to be buying it in Japan in May 2024. The Pasco Shikishima corporation had to yank 104,000 packages of bread from grocery store shelves after a truly horrifying discovery was made. Two unfortunate customers opened their morning loaf only to find the remains of a black rat baked directly into the dough. Even worse? The rat had been neatly sliced through along with the rest of the bread, the result of a nasty accident on the processing line. It’s hard to imagine a worse start to your morning than making a peanut butter and rodent sandwich. The bakery apologized profusely and recalled the bread, but we suspect those customers might stick to oatmeal from now on.
The Peanut Corporation of America
The 2009 Peanut Corporation of America recall was less a public health hazard and more of a straight up crime. Their tainted peanut butter paste sparked one of the largest food recalls in American history, sickening over 700 people with salmonella and killing nine. The factory inspection revealed conditions that would make even the most hardened food inspector gag. We’re talking about black mold, massive gaps in the factory roof letting in bird waste, and a ventilation system taking air from a crawl space packed with dead rodents and rat feces. The negligence was so cartoonishly evil that the CEO, Stewart Parnell, was actually sentenced to 28 years in federal prison.
Did you happen to get caught up in these recalls, or did you escape unharmed? Let us know in the comments below!
