Statistics: Food safety recalls, investigations and complaints

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Overview

The Canadian food supply is one of the safest in the world. However, no food safety system can guarantee zero risk. At any point in the production system, food can become contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites, chemicals, undeclared allergens or extraneous material such as glass or metal fragments. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), food businesses and consumers all have a role to play in identifying issues and keeping unsafe food from the marketplace.

On average each year, the CFIA:

  • oversees 155 recall incidents
  • conducts 3,109 food safety investigations
  • receives 2,405 reports of potential food safety concerns from consumers

Learn more about how Canada's food safety system works.

Food recalls and recall incidents

A food recall incident represents all activities involved with recalling food due to a single issue or source. One recall incident can result in secondary recalls as the food safety investigation continues and identifies additional affected food throughout the supply chain.

Because the number of secondary recalls can vary depending on the size and complexity of a food safety investigation, food recall incidents provide a more consistent measure for comparing recall trends over time.

The total number of food recalls is the measure of all recalls conducted and includes recall incidents and secondary recalls.

Consult What to do when a food recall happens for more information.

Statistics for the overall number of incidents and recalls

Why were recall numbers higher in 2025–2026?

The number of incidents has remained generally consistent with previous years. However, the number of total recalls was higher in 2025-26 due to the numerous recalls conducted for the Salmonella outbreak in imported pistachios and pistachio-containing products. The higher number of recalls reflect the complexity of the situation, including the long shelf life of pistachios, ongoing secondary recalls linked to the outbreak, and additional recalls identified through CFIA's testing and oversight activities.

Food recall incidents and total recalls: April 2021 - March 2026. Description follows.
Description for bar graph – April 2021 to March 2026
Food recall incidents and total recalls per fiscal year from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026
- April 2021 to March 2022 April 2022 to March 2023 April 2023 to March 2024 April 2024 to March 2025 April 2025 to March 2026
Number of recall incidents 137 153 171 131 185
Number of total food recalls 248 253 249 233 504

Statistics by type of hazard

Food recall incidents and total recalls by hazard: April 2021 - March 2026. Description follows.
Description for bar graph – April 2021 to March 2026
Recall incidents by hazard per fiscal year from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026
- April 2021 to March 2022 April 2022 to March 2023 April 2023 to March 2024 April 2024 to March 2025 April 2025 to March 2026
Allergen 51 68 51 44 57
Chemical 5 7 28 5 12
Extraneous material 17 28 19 24 37
Microbiological 61 48 62 52 73
Other 3 2 29 6 6
Total recalls by hazard per fiscal year: April 2021 - March 2026. Description follows.
Description for bar graph – April 2021 to March 2026
Total recalls by hazard per fiscal year from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026
- April 2021 to March 2022 April 2022 to March 2023 April 2023 to March 2024 April 2024 to March 2025 April 2025 to March 2026
Allergen 84 96 70 66 67
Chemical 11 8 46 5 14
Extraneous material 21 36 19 47 42
Microbiological 129 111 99 109 375
Other 3 2 51 6 6

Statistics by type of recall class

Recall incidents by Class per fiscal year from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026. Description follows.
Description for bar graph – April 2021 to March 2026
Recall incidents by Class per fiscal year from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026
- April 2021 to March 2022 April 2022 to March 2023 April 2023 to March 2024 April 2024 to March 2025 April 2025 to March 2026
Class I 56 47 45 37 36
Class II 49 76 81 52 94
Class III 32 30 46 42 55
Total recalls by Class per fiscal year from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026. Description follows.
Description for bar graph – April 2021 to March 2026
Total recalls by Class per fiscal year from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026
- April 2021 to March 2022 April 2022 to March 2023 April 2023 to March 2024 April 2024 to March 2025 April 2025 to March 2026
Class I 114 83 57 96 48
Class II 95 131 137 89 394
Class III 39 39 54 48 62

Food safety investigations

Food safety investigations are complex and involve several essential steps to determine if a food recall is required and what food to recall. For more information, consult:

Statistics for the overall number of investigations

Food safety investigations from April: April 2021 to March 2026. Description follows.
Description for bar graph – April 2021 to March 2026 table
Food safety investigations from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026
- Apr 21 to Mar 22 Apr 22 to Mar 23 Apr 23 to Mar 24 Apr 24 to Mar 25 Apr 25 to Mar 26
Total food safety investigations 2529 2642 3068 3375 3934

Statistics by type of hazard

Food safety investigations by hazard: April 2021 to March 2026. Description follows.
Description for bar graph – April 2021 to March 2026 table
Food safety investigations by hazard from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026
- Apr 21 to Mar 22 Apr 22 to Mar 23 Apr 23 to Mar 24 Apr 24 to Mar 25 Apr 25 to Mar 26
Allergen 331 341 334 301 335
Chemical 165 156 288 222 220
Extraneous material 1223 1239 1319 1632 1935
Microbiological 701 818 928 1082 1288
Other 109 114 199 138 156

Consumer food safety complaints

Consumers play an important role in the food safety system by reporting any food safety concerns to the CFIA. The information you provide can help trigger a food safety investigation to assess the health risk and determine if a recall is needed to remove unsafe food from the marketplace. Learn more about where to report a food complaint or concern.

Statistics for the overall number of complaints

Consumer food safety complaints: April 2021 to March 2026. Description follows.
Description of graph – April 2021 to March 2026 Table
Consumer food safety complaints from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026
- Apr 21 to Mar 22 Apr 22 to Mar 23 Apr 23 to Mar 24 Apr 24 to Mar 25 Apr 25 to Mar 26
Total complaints 1840 1958 2423 2754 3050

Statistics by type of hazard

Consumer food safety complaints by hazard: April 2021 to March 2026. Description follows.
Description of graph – April 2021 to March 2026 Table
Consumer food safety complaints by hazard from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026
- Apr 21 to Mar 22 Apr 22 to Mar 23 Apr 23 to Mar 24 Apr 24 to Mar 25 Apr 25 to Mar 26
Allergen complaints 174 157 200 193 197
Chemical complaints 86 100 181 149 140
Extraneous material complaints 1162 1202 1278 1523 1862
Microbiological complaints 405 430 664 815 767
Other 41 69 100 74 84

Glossary: Types of hazards

Allergen
A food product may contain ingredients such as peanuts, milk or eggs that are not identified or are incorrectly identified on the label and that can cause adverse reactions in people who are allergic to the item.
Chemical
A food product may contain chemical residues such as lead, mercury or pesticides that, at certain levels, can affect human health.
Extraneous material
A food product may contain material from an outside source, such as metal, glass or hair. These are not necessarily a risk to human health.
Microbiological
A food product may be contaminated by micro-organisms, such as bacteria, viruses or parasites, which have the potential to cause illness.
Other
A food product may be of concern due to the presence of a hazard that does not fall within one of the above categories. Examples include non-permitted ingredients, nutrition concerns and potential tampering.

Learn more

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