USDA FSIS meat and poultry recalls: what grocery stores and restaurants should do

Who handles what: FSIS versus FDA

FSIS regulates most meat, poultry and processed egg products. The FDA covers most other food, including seafood, dairy, produce and packaged snacks. A store that sells both a frozen chicken product and a bag of chips is watching two different agencies, each with its own notices and its own wording.

What the numbers look like

Recalert tracks every FSIS notice. Between October 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026 (by recall date), our database holds 53 FSIS recalls and alerts. FSIS publishes far fewer notices than the FDA, but each one concerns food that is often perishable and already in freezers and walk-in coolers.

• Class I: 34 of 53 (64%). FSIS defines Class I as a situation where there is a reasonable probability that eating the product will cause serious health consequences or death.
• Class II: 1 of 53. A remote probability of adverse health consequences.
• Public health alerts: 18 of 53 (34%). FSIS issues an alert when there is a health concern but the product is likely no longer available for purchase.

Why they were recalled

The reason listed in the notice tells you how urgent the action is. Across the same 53 notices:

• Product contamination: 26 (49%)
• Import violation: 9
• Misbranding with unreported allergens: 8
• Produced without benefit of inspection: 5
• Unreported allergens: 3
• Misbranding: 1, and mislabeling with unreported allergens: 1

Roughly half are contamination and another dozen or so involve an allergen that is not on the label. Allergen recalls are the ones that most often reach a store through a wrong-package or relabeling problem, so check the exact product description and not only the brand.

Why a barcode search will miss them

None of the 53 FSIS notices in that period listed a UPC, and none listed a lot code in a structured field. FSIS notices usually identify products by name, size, packaging and an establishment number (the number inside the USDA mark of inspection, printed on the package). If you only match on UPC, you will not catch an FSIS recall. Match on brand, product description and establishment number instead.

What to do when an FSIS recall matches your stock

• Stop selling and serving the product immediately. Pull it from shelves, display cases, deli counters and kitchens, including frozen and refrigerated backstock.
• Compare the package against the notice: product name, size, packaging date or use-by date, and the establishment number from the USDA mark of inspection.
• Quarantine matching product in a labeled, separate area so no one puts it back into rotation. Do not throw it away until the notice or your supplier tells you how to dispose of it or return it.
• Contact your distributor or supplier for return, credit or destruction instructions. Keep the paperwork.
• If you sold it, check whether the notice asks retailers to notify customers, and post a sign at the register or contact loyalty-program customers where you can.
• For restaurants and caterers: check what was served in the last days, and review prep areas for cross-contact if the issue is an allergen or contamination.
• Write down what you found, when, and what you did. A dated record is what an inspector or insurer will ask for.

Where to read the official notices

FSIS posts every recall and public health alert on its recalls page at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls. Each notice includes product photos, labels and establishment numbers, which is the information you need to confirm a match. Always use the official notice to confirm.

Where Recalert fits

Recalert is not a point-of-sale system and does not scan barcodes. It is the monitoring layer: you upload your catalog as a CSV, and every night it is checked against recalls from the CPSC, FDA, NHTSA and FSIS, with an email when there is a match and a link to the official notice. Plans start at $29 per month, and you can check up to 10 products for free without creating an account.