UK food recall statistics
Figures for every food recall and allergy alert published by the Food Standards Agency since January 2018, plus Scotland-only alerts from Food Standards Scotland. They update automatically (last checked 5 Oct, 15:50). Free to reuse with credit: see how to cite.
Key figures
- The Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland have issued 1,242 food recalls and allergy alerts since January 2018: about 144 a year.
- 57% are allergy alerts, where an allergen was missing from the label or labelled wrongly. Milk is the allergen most often undeclared (270 alerts).
- Salmonella (91) and listeria (73) are the bacteria most often behind recalls.
- 2026 so far: 94 alerts up to 5 October 2026, 15% fewer than the 111 issued by the same date in 2025.
- 8% of recalls were updated at least once after they were first issued, usually to add products or batch codes.
Recalls per year
Allergy alerts Product recalls and alerts for action
| Year | Allergy alerts | Product recalls | Alerts for action | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 104 | 70 | 0 | 174 |
| 2019 | 109 | 53 | 2 | 164 |
| 2020 | 78 | 61 | 1 | 140 |
| 2021 | 79 | 56 | 1 | 136 |
| 2022 | 73 | 66 | 0 | 139 |
| 2023 | 60 | 53 | 0 | 113 |
| 2024 | 65 | 61 | 3 | 129 |
| 2025 | 92 | 59 | 2 | 153 |
| 2026 (so far) | 46 | 47 | 1 | 94 |
Last 24 months
Monthly figures
- October 20263
- September 20267
- August 20266
- July 202612
- June 202612
- May 20269
- April 202611
- March 20269
- February 202610
- January 202615
- December 202514
- November 202511
- October 202520
- September 202513
- August 202510
- July 202515
- June 202513
- May 202512
- April 202511
- March 202513
- February 202510
- January 202511
- December 20249
- November 202411
Most often undeclared allergens
| Allergen | Since 2018 | Last 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | 270 | 30 |
| Gluten (cereals) | 171 | 21 |
| Soya | 112 | 14 |
| Tree nuts | 111 | 15 |
| Peanuts | 94 | 14 |
| Egg | 87 | 7 |
| Mustard | 69 | 7 |
| Sulphur dioxide and sulphites | 53 | 1 |
| Sesame | 42 | 4 |
| Fish | 26 | 2 |
| Crustaceans | 24 | 1 |
| Celery | 22 | 3 |
| Molluscs | 13 | 0 |
| Lupin | 4 | 1 |
Other reasons for recalls
- Salmonella91
- Listeria73
- Pieces of plastic72
- Pieces of metal62
- Mould, undercooking and other microbiological risks56
- Choking, burn and injury risks54
- Chemical contamination and excess nutrients44
- Insects, stones and other foreign bodies40
- Produced without approval or safety controls35
- Incorrect use-by or best-before dates34
Supermarkets named most often
- Lidl87
- Tesco82
- Waitrose71
- Asda55
- Sainsbury's55
- Aldi36
- Co-op36
- Morrisons36
- Iceland28
- M&S23
- Dunnes Stores22
- SPAR17
Bigger chains sell more products, so higher counts don't mean a chain is less safe.
Types of food recalled most
- Meat and poultry195
- Fruit and vegetables149
- Ready meals, sandwiches and salads129
- Bread and bakery114
- Dairy and cheese114
- Sauces, spreads and condiments97
- Cakes and desserts90
- Chocolate and sweets90
- Biscuits, crisps and snacks67
- Nuts, seeds and dried fruit67
- Cereals, flour, rice and pasta64
- Plant-based, vegan and free-from63
Listeria, salmonella and E. coli recalls by year
| Year | Listeria | Salmonella | E. coli |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 9 | 12 | 1 |
| 2019 | 7 | 11 | 2 |
| 2020 | 7 | 13 | 1 |
| 2021 | 4 | 11 | 0 |
| 2022 | 4 | 20 | 0 |
| 2023 | 10 | 4 | 3 |
| 2024 | 11 | 6 | 4 |
| 2025 | 12 | 9 | 4 |
| 2026 | 9 | 5 | 3 |
Download the data
One row per recall, with reference, type, dates, products, business, allergens, hazards, food types, supermarkets and links to the official notice. Updated whenever a new alert is published.
How to cite
FoodRecalls.co.uk, “UK food recall statistics”, 5 October 2026, https://foodrecalls.co.uk/statistics/. Based on Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland data (Open Government Licence v3.0).
How these figures are made
- Each recall is counted once, by the date it was first published. Later updates are merged into it.
- Allergen, hazard, food-type and supermarket groupings come from our classification of each notice (methodology), so one recall can appear in several groups.
- Scotland-only alerts come from Food Standards Scotland (27 so far). FSS copies of UK-wide FSA alerts are counted once.
- "2026" is a partial year.