This State Has The Most Food Recalls In The US

If you feel like you've been seeing more food recalls recently, you aren't wrong — and unfortunately one state has been seeing them more than any other. Since 2021, annual food and beverage recalls have increased more than 21%, and there was a 15% increase between 2024 and 2025 alone. Part of the increase appears to come from better detection practices and technology, helping regulators catch problems before they start. However some of it has also been blamed on cost cutting as producers try to keep prices down to assuage inflation-weary customers. But no matter the reason why it's happening, no state in the U.S. is more likely to see, or initiate, a recall than California. 

Data shows that residents of California were most likely to be affected by recalls last year, according to Trace One, which analyzed recalls issued in 2025 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the two agencies responsible for regulating food in the country. The organization found that 38.3% of all recalls hit the Golden State. California also produced the most recalled food, with 17.5% of recalls originating from producers there.

While both data points may seem worrying for California, there is a pretty clear reason for it topping both charts. First, the states most affected by recalls are pretty much just the country's most populous states, as New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Florida are the other top states for recalls, and the largest percentage of recalls originate in California because it produces the most food.

California's climate makes it an absolute powerhouse in food production, and the state leads the nation in many categories, so it makes sense that the most recalls would come from there. California is number one in the nation for both agricultural output, with 12% of the country's production, and for the manufacturing of food and beverages, with 15%. In the former category that is almost 50% more than the number two state of Iowa, and in the latter, it's well more than double number two Texas.

It also matters which types of food California produces. The top three categories of recalled food are frozen and prepared food, dairy, and produce, and California is even more dominant in those categories. Beyond its food manufacturing leadership, the state produces 21% of the nation's dairy, ranked number one, and is by far the largest grower of produce. California accounts for almost half of all U.S. vegetable production, and 75% of fruits and nuts.

Other major agricultural producers produce crops not meant for human consumption, or items like beef, which isn't actually recalled very often, despite how often ground beef sees recalls. Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas are three other top agricultural producers, however beyond cattle and wheat, the top crops are corn and soybeans, which are mostly used for animal feed or biofuel, so they aren't subject to consumer recalls. So while Californians may not be happy about the number of recalls, it's mostly a result of the state's massive impact in feeding the country.