STAT+: Why FDA product recalls have spiked in recent years
A more frequent misuse or mislabeling of allergens seems to be a major cause behind the increase in product recalls by the FDA and CPSC.
Either American products are getting worse, or scrutiny over their safety is getting tougher. Whichever the case, product recalls by the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) more than doubled between 2018 and 2022, according to new research published on Wednesday by life sciences software company MasterControl.
The increase in recalls started in 2019 and continued growing steadily during and after the pandemic, reaching a peak in 2022. That year, more than 600 products were recalled by the two agencies, compared to 280 in 2018. The higher volume of recalls can mostly be attributed to the FDA. In 2018, the agency only recalled 22 products. In 2022, it recalled 310.
The product categories most commonly recalled by the FDA were food and beverages (64%) and drugs (22%). Allergens were the most common cause for recalls (34%), followed by foodborne illness (25%), and contamination or inadequate manufacturing process (21%). Overall, quality management issues of some kind were behind one-third of recalls, the report found.
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