New Year’s Eve brings along a variety of traditions, and some of them center on food.
While black-eyed peas are supposed to symbolize good luck in the new year, others opt to eat collard greens or herring. Grapes are also a symbol of good luck, with many choosing to eat 12 on New Year’s Eve for 12 months of good luck.
This year, shoppers may need to be aware of foods that bring bad luck literally—in the case of recalls and even bacteria-related illness.
Why It Matters
Humans often get sick from consuming food that has been recalled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This type of food poisoning is caused by bacteria and toxins within the food we ingest.
While most cases of food poisoning are not severe and may just result in temporary diarrhea and vomiting, some bacteria can lead to serious disease and even death, particularly among high-risk individuals like older adults and children.
What To Know
Despite pork being a New Year’s Day meal centerpiece, eating some pork products could bring you some pretty bad luck while launching 2025.
Impero Foods & Meats recalled 7,485 pounds of raw pork sausage products on December 20, due to the absence of a federal inspection. The Old World Italian Sausage rope and link products were affected in the recall.
Costco‘s Handsome Brook Farms Organic Eggs were recalled due to potential salmonella contamination, so you should think twice before whipping up a scramble on New Year’s morning.
If you’re hosting a New Year’s Day party, Lay’s Classic Potato Chips were recalled in Oregon and Washington due to undeclared milk allergens.
Shoppers should also be cautious if seafood is part of their New Year’s Day tradition. The FDA recalled oysters and Manila clams in Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York and Washington.
The affected oysters and clams were harvested from November 15 to December 11 by Rudy’s Shellfish in Washington and have been linked to norovirus, which can cause stomach flu symptoms.
What People Are Saying
Alex Beene, financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: “It’s unfortunate that all consumers don’t see a recall for being as pivotal as it really is, particularly when it comes to food. Recalls are difficult and often expensive for companies to issue and refund. When that much time and money is being used on something, you should take it as seriously as the entity issuing it.”
What Happens Next
If you find that a particular food you have in the fridge has been recalled, follow the recall’s instructions on how to discard the food. Some shoppers will be able to return the item for a refund, while others may need to just throw it out.
“There are many horror stories of consumers who thought a food recall was just for humans, ended up feeding the food in question to a pet, and had the heartache of dealing with an animal that got very sick or sadly passed away,” Beene said. “Don’t question the rules. Just follow them.”
The post New Year’s Eve Food Recall: List of Warnings Issued appeared first on Newsweek.
