I have a confession to make:
Food sometimes makes me nervous.
Not because I don't love food. I do. Food is one of the great pleasures of my life.
But when I see another recall for something sitting in my refrigerator, freezer, pantry, or grocery cart, I have to admit that it changes the way I think about eating.
I start wondering:
Is this safe?
Was this recalled?
What about the brand I bought?
What about the ingredient inside this product?
And eventually, grocery shopping starts to feel less like shopping and more like research.
Why I Stopped Eating Meat
Back in November 2024, I made the decision to stop eating meat.
At the time, I was already thinking differently about food safety and the systems responsible for protecting the food supply. As I watched changes taking place in government and public-health programs, I became increasingly uncomfortable with eating meat.
Meat was something I could afford to give up.
So I did.
Since then, I've continued paying attention to food recalls, and I've noticed something that has made the decision feel even more significant:
The foods I still eat are not immune to recalls.
Eggs. Fruit. Frozen foods. Pantry ingredients. Prepared foods.
Even foods I consider basic staples can suddenly appear in a recall announcement.
And that can make a person nervous.
The Egg Recall That Made Me Throw Away Good Eggs
Eggs are especially important in my kitchen because they replaced a lot of the protein I used to get from meat.
I don't just eat eggs by themselves. I use them in all kinds of meals and recipes.
I usually buy 60 eggs at a time.
So when I saw an egg recall, I didn't simply glance at it and move on.
I got nervous.
The important part was that the recall wasn't for the brand I had purchased.
But I was still so concerned that I threw away a fresh batch of eggs.
That bothered me afterward.
Not because I regretted being cautious, but because I realized how much food anxiety can affect our decisions.
I had thrown away perfectly good food because I saw a recall for a different product.
That experience taught me something:
Knowing how to read a recall is just as important as knowing that a recall exists.
The brand matters.
The product matters.
The lot number matters.
The UPC matters.
The dates matter.
The distribution area matters.
A recall does not automatically mean that every product in the entire category is unsafe.
That distinction has become important to me.
The Blueberry Recall Got My Attention Too
Blueberries are another food I buy regularly.
And in 2026, frozen blueberries became part of a multistate E. coli investigation.
The FDA currently lists an ongoing investigation involving recalled frozen blueberry products. The affected products include specific GreenWise frozen blueberries and a specific Great Value Organic Triple Berry Blend lot.
For example, the current FDA information identifies:
Great Value Organic Triple Berry Blend, 10 oz
UPC: 7874211226
Lot code: 6040 01-6
Best If Used By: February 9, 2028
The recall was expanded in September and the product was distributed to Walmart stores in multiple states and Puerto Rico.
The GreenWise products involved include:
GreenWise Organic Whole Blueberries, 10 oz
UPC: 41415-06453
GreenWise Organic Whole Blueberries, 48 oz
UPC: 41415-12053
GreenWise Organic Whole Mixed Berries, 10 oz
UPC: 41415-06753
GreenWise Organic Whole Mixed Berries, 48 oz
UPC: 41415-12153
Those products remain part of the FDA's ongoing investigation.
This is exactly why I don't want to simply hear the words “blueberries recalled” and assume every blueberry in every refrigerator is dangerous.
I want to know which blueberries.
What I'm Watching Right Now
Food recalls can change from one day to the next, so rather than pretending this is a permanent list, I'm using the official government databases as my starting point.
As of September 13, 2026, some of the food-related recalls and investigations I'm paying attention to include:
Broccoli Sprouts
Evergreen Fresh Sprouts LLC recalled 4-ounce bags of broccoli sprouts because of potential Salmonella contamination.
The affected bags have UPC 8 38796 00105 1 and use-by dates of September 7, September 9, September 11, September 14, and September 16, 2026.
The products were distributed in Idaho, Montana, and Washington.
Frozen Blueberries and Mixed Berries
The specific Great Value and GreenWise products and identifying information listed above remain part of an ongoing E. coli investigation.
Moringa Leaf Powder
Foods Alive recalled its 8-ounce Organic Moringa Leaf Powder because of potential Salmonella contamination.
The affected product has a freshest-by date of 110127 and the number 02726 below the date.
Deli Salads and Cream Cheese
Made Fresh Salads recalled ready-to-eat deli-style salads and cream cheese because of potential Listeria contamination.
Cheese Sold at Whole Foods
Whole Foods Market recalled certain Fromagerie Coop de Mean Cabricharme cheese because egg lysozyme was not declared on the label.
In New York and several other states, the affected raw-milk aged cheese was sold under Whole Foods scale-label PLU 57953, with best-by dates through October 7, 2026.
And this list is already changing.
That's the point.
I don't want a static list on my website pretending to be the final word on food safety. I want to show you how I check.
Where I Check Before I Grocery Shop
Before I go shopping, I check the official recall information.
My first stops are:
FDA Recalls, Market Withdrawals & Safety Alerts
FDA Recalls, Market Withdrawals & Safety Alerts
FDA Food Recalls & Dietary Supplements
FDA Food Recalls & Dietary Supplements
FDA Foodborne Illness Outbreak Investigations
FDA Foodborne Illness Outbreak Investigations
For meat, poultry, and certain egg products regulated by USDA, I also check the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recall information.
The FDA itself points out that its recall page does not contain every recall or market withdrawal, which is another reason I check the appropriate agency rather than relying on one social-media post or news headline.
I Still Have to Eat
This is the part that makes food anxiety complicated.
I can't simply stop eating.
I can't stop grocery shopping.
And I don't want fear to become the thing that determines everything I put on my plate.
So I've started thinking about grocery shopping differently.
Before I make my list, I research.
Before I leave for the store, I check.
When I get home, I pay attention to what I bought.
And when I hear about a recall, I don't immediately assume that everything in that food category is unsafe.
I look at the details.
Brand.
Product.
UPC.
Lot number.
Expiration or best-by date.
Where it was sold.
Where it was distributed.
That information can turn a frightening headline into something much more specific and manageable.
What About Growing My Own Food?
Sometimes people respond to food concerns with a simple suggestion:
Grow your own food.
I understand the appeal.
There is something wonderful about knowing exactly where your food came from and watching something grow from a seed into something you can eat.
But I live in a New York City apartment.
Right now, growing enough of my own food isn't realistic for me. And I'm not interested in turning my apartment into a buffet for rodents and other creatures that would be very enthusiastic about my gardening experiment.
So I'm thinking about other possibilities.
Maybe the Farmers Market Is Part of the Answer
One option I've been thinking about more seriously is farmers markets.
I live in Brooklyn, but I don't currently live particularly close to the farmers markets I would want to shop at regularly.
That could change.
I'm thinking about how I can eventually put myself in a position where buying directly from smaller farms becomes a bigger part of the way I shop.
There is something appealing about meeting the people who grow the food.
It doesn't eliminate the need for food-safety awareness. A farmers market isn't a magical bubble where nothing can ever go wrong.
But it can create a different relationship with food.
You can ask questions.
You can learn where something was grown.
You can discover seasonal foods.
You can support smaller growers.
And you can develop a closer connection with the food you're actually eating.
Maybe that's one of the silver linings hiding inside all of this.
Food anxiety has made me pay closer attention to where my food comes from.
And perhaps paying closer attention can eventually lead me somewhere better.
I'm Learning to Shop With Intention
I don't want to live afraid of food.
I want to eat well.
I want food to taste good.
I want to enjoy cooking.
And I want to trust what I'm putting on my plate as much as reasonably possible.
For me, that means becoming a more informed shopper.
I'm not going to pretend I can personally investigate every farm, factory, truck, warehouse, grocery store, and ingredient in my food supply.
I can't.
But I can do something much simpler.
I can check.
I can learn how recalls work.
I can read the identifying information.
I can research before I shop.
And I can make my grocery decisions with as much information as I can reasonably gather.
Because we have to eat.
And if I'm going to shop for food anyway, I'd rather shop with my eyes open.
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