The State With The Worst Track Record For Food Recalls, According To A New Study
Hungry for more lousy news in 2025? Sure you are! It's no secret that the U.S. has a lot of work to do towards minimizing food recalls. Now, a new study has broken down the figures by individual state, and it turns out that the state with the worst track record for recalls by population density is Vermont.
The data comes from a new study by food safety data analytics firm FOSS IQX, based on more than a decades' worth of recalls in America (via OnFocus). FOSS IQX compiled USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service records by state from 2010 to 2024. During this 14-year span, Vermont clocked in as the state with the highest rate, 2.47 recalls per 100,000 residents. Vermont saw 16 total recalls during this time, with three occurring in both 2016 and 2019.
When foodies hear the words "food recall," product contamination is likely the first culprit that jumps to mind. But, according to the study, the other top two issues spurring recalls over this period were unreported allergens and misbranding. In recent years, unreported allergens caused the recall of 80,000 pounds of butter, hundreds of thousands of pounds of pasta, and more; every recall further contributes to the global food waste epidemic, as well. Still, it's worth mentioning that Vermont's reportedly higher concentration of food recalls per 100,000 citizens is also reflective of the state's comparatively smaller population size than other, larger states with more residents (larger divisors for data).
Vermont clocks in as the state with the most food recalls per resident
As of 2024, Vermont is the 49th most populous state in America with 647,818 residents (via World Population Review) — far smaller than most-populous California's nearly 40 million residents. California put up a whopping 234 food recalls during the same period as Vermont's 16, a figure which ultimately shakes out smaller than Vermont when spread over the divisible of respective population densities.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, most-populous California, Texas, and Florida were the bottom-three states in FOSS IQX's study, demonstrating the lowest number of food safety recalls per 100,000 citizens. On the flip side, Vermont, Wyoming (2.23), and Rhode Island (2.19) ranked as the top-three culprits, all three among the least-densely populated states in the country. These population sizes reflect a possible confounding variable skewing real or perceived severity. Exacerbated figures not pertaining to a specific state might also be racked-up by mass food recalls linked to nationwide distributors, such as Walmart and the recent Boar's Head listeria outbreak.
Moving forward, FOSS IQX spokesperson Janick Elleholm Jensen maintains that increasing preventive controls and product knowledge are the best ways to lower recall figures. "To handle food safely, a company needs to be better aware of their main challenges," says Jensen, via OnFocus. "Especially many smaller companies lack access to knowledge about what can go wrong. Is the food that they are producing prone to specific types of bacteria?"