Shredded Cheese Sold At Aldi, Walmart, And Other Big Stores Is Being Yanked From Shelves For A Dangerous Reason

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If you're planning to put shredded cheese on tacos or pizza tonight, double-check your bags, or you may put your health at risk. On December 1, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a recall notice for shredded low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella made by Great Lakes Cheese Co., Inc., which was sold at major grocery stores like Aldi and Walmart under various brand names. The products may be contaminated with metal fragments, posing a serious risk to consumer health.

This recall covers over 350,000 cases of cheese sold in 31 states, as well as Puerto Rico. Some of the most popular brands affected by the issue include Walmart's private label Great Value, Target's in-house brand Good & Gather, and Happy Farms by Aldi. The packages of cheese were also sold at smaller stores like H-E-B, Food Lion, Publix, and Sprouts Farmers Market. The full list of affected states — plus information to help consumers identify recalled products, like names, sell-by dates, and batch numbers — can be found on the FDA's recall notice.

Several of the affected products mixed the contaminated mozzarella with other cheeses like parmesan and provolone, and a few of the items don't mention mozzarella in the product name, instead using terms like "pizza-style four-cheese blend" or "Italian-style shredded cheese blend." Inspect your bags of shredded cheese to see if they contain any mozzarella at all. If you have a contaminated product, dispose of it immediately or return it to the place of purchase for a refund.

The FDA originally recalled these Great Lakes Cheese Co. products on October 3, 2025, but officially classified the event as a Class II incident in December. This food recall class indicates that temporary or reversible harm may come to individuals who ingest the affected products, though serious, permanent health consequences are unlikely.

That said, Class II is still the second most dangerous category under Class I, which is used to designate items that are likely to cause serious injury or death. One recent example of a Class I cheese recall affected Boar's Head products with a serious health risk. The brand's Pecorino Romano cheese may have been infected with Listeria, a potentially fatal type of foodborne bacteria that is most often found in meat and dairy products.

While it's not an everyday occurrence, metal contamination has played a role in some of the biggest cheese recalls in U.S. history. Surprisingly, two of these major recalls also affected Great Lakes Cheese Co. and Aldi. In 2019, Great Lakes Cheese Co. had to recall some of its American cheese products due to contamination with metal fragments, and earlier in 2025, Aldi took 400 cases of Colby Jack shredded cheese off the shelves for the same reason. Frequently checking the FDA's page for recalls, market withdrawals, and safety alerts will help you stay vigilant and protect yourself from potentially dangerous food and drink products.