WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — After a new warning a few days ago regarding a food recall for organic carrots, WPTV News anchor Hollani Davis decided to jump in and see if food recalls are on the rise this year.

In short, the answer is yes.

Over the past month, the FDA has issued voluntary recalls of organic cinnamon, onion soup mix and carrots. Last month, a recall of frozen waffles and pancakes due to possible listeria contamination continued to grow.

Steven Carnovale, associate professor of supply chain management at Florida Atlantic University, said the high number of recalls is still quite low when you consider all the foods we eat and the number of hands involved in the blend.

“The nature of the food supply is so globally interconnected and so globally dispersed. You can have something, a spice that was harvested in South America, be processed in Central America, be sent to India , and then sent back to the United States to be finalized for production and distribution. And so you have this complex network of companies all involved in different value-added stages of the food supply chain,” Carnovale said.

The supply chain expert says one way to digest the rise in food recalls is to further ensure that safeguards and safety regulations are working.

“During COVID, the food supply chain was strained and I think there may have been lax oversight. I think now we’re going back to what the FDA was,” said Carnival.

The FDA reports that as of October 31, 2024, there have been 1,908 food and cosmetic recalls. There were 1,563 recalls in 2023.

You can track food recalls by by clicking here.

Not only are we seeing the largest rise in food recalls since the pandemic, but the recalls also fall into the most serious category of Class 1, meaning any contamination could pose serious health risks or lead to dead.

Carnovale says new advances, such as smarter barcodes on food, are being developed to better identify and track the source of contaminations and not just a central location.

He also said grocery stores appear to be more proactive in contacting customers about recalls. He said retailers are able to alert the public more quickly because they can cross-reference reminder lists with their membership list or customers subscribing to rewards clubs.