9 Of The Worst Corn Product Recalls To Ever Hit The US

Despite the best efforts of farmers, manufacturers, and distribution companies, food recalls are bound to happen. Whether due to improper labeling, foreign objects making their way into products, or potentially harmful bacteria there's too much room for error for nothing to ever go wrong. Considering corn is a staple food used to make countless products in the United States, the ingredient is far from exempt from these types of blunders. In fact, corn — and many common products that contain it — has been subject to an array of significant recalls.

These corn product recalls were all "Class I," defined by the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA's FSIS) as a situation with "a reasonable probability that use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death." It's the agency's highest recall classification, so the cases found below are not deemed the worst because of the quantity of food recalled, but the level of risk associated with them. Either way, though, the recalls below sent shock waves through the market and undoubtedly cost companies a pretty penny. When an ingredient like corn is compromised, everything from simple salads to hearty freezer staples can wind up affected.

Tamales of all kinds are a classic Hispanic comfort food and, of course, contain lots of corn. Making them yourself is not an easy task, so naturally, there are a handful of tasty, ready-to-eat frozen tamales on the market. However, if you have a box of La Guadalupana Foods Mild Pork Tamales from the end of 2025, there is a good chance they were recalled due to misbranding, which, in turn, also led to an undeclared allergen. Uh-oh.

The USDA's FSIS announced the recall of approximately 2,669 pounds of La Guadalupana Foods frozen tamales on December 14, 2025. The reason behind it? Well, the company's bean, cheese, and jalapeño tamales were mistakenly labeled as its mild pork recipe. As a result, they contain milk (by way of cheese), and its absence from the list of ingredients could pose a serious issue for anyone with a milk allergy. The tamales in question were sent to various restaurants and retailers in Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Thankfully, though, one of the restaurants caught the mistake and reported it before any confirmed reports of adverse reactions.

Another widespread comfort food recall was announced on October 14, 2025, but this time it involved corn dogs. More specifically, the batter for Foster Poultry Farms' chicken corn dogs and ground turkey on a stick was found to contain extraneous matter. It was no laughing matter, either, because the mystery element was chunks of wood. Multiple complaints were filed about the product, and five of them involved injuries. Yikes!

In a recall that hasn't yet been closed, more than 3.9 million pounds of Foster Farms products were affected, per the FSIS — that's a whole lot of corn. The products were shipped to both retail and institutional locations, like schools and the Department of Defense, and there is reason to believe some of them are still packed away in freezers. However, due to the nature of the recall and the potential for harm if consumed, there's no grey area here. It's not like you can ignore the recall because you don't have food allergies. The products must be thrown away or returned to prevent potentially serious issues.

Ready-to-eat salads are a dream come true when for those looking for a speedy yet healthy meal. However, these types of products are far from immune to food recalls, as is evident by GHSW's salad and bowl recall announced on October 19, 2018. The affected products contained chicken with a corn ingredient, which, regrettably, was believed to be contaminated with listeria and salmonella.

The recall affected bowls and salads produced by GHSW between October 1 and October 18, 2018, most of which made their way to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's shelves. Fortunately, no adverse reactions led to the discovery. Instead, GHSW's corn supplier issued it before it got that far. Either way, though, 1,786 pounds of products were recalled, so the blunder didn't leave everyone unscathed. Even so, listeria and salmonella can cause serious health complications, particularly in infants, the elderly, and anyone with a weakened immune system, so a prompt and thorough recall was more than in order. Anyone who purchased the products was urged to dispose of or return them immediately.

October 19, 2018 must have been an ominous day for food complications because just like GHSW, Caito Foods issued a recall for its ready-to-eat salads and bowls on that date. The reason for the recall was the same as well: The products contained corn that may have been contaminated with listeria and salmonella. The similarities don't stop there, either — the action was initiated due to the company's corn supplier notifying them of the potential problem. So whether it was the same supplier or not, corn was going through a rough patch in the United States at that time.

Caito Foods' questionable products were produced between October 6 and 14, 2018. Luckily, the problem was discovered, and the recall was initiated before any serious adverse reactions were reported from consuming the salads and bowls. Still, the action affected 1,536 pounds of food.

Salads of all kinds are susceptible to recalls. Heck, even chicken salad has had some unfortunate ones. However, Mary's Harvest Fresh Foods' wrap and salad recall was one of the worst ones for corn in the United States. Just two days before the previous two recalls we mentioned, this one was filed on October 17, 2018, and the culprit was the same: Corn potentially contaminated with listeria and salmonella. Yup, this again, and within the same window.

The recalled items included ready-to-eat Mary's Harvest Southwest Chicken Wrap with Rib Meat and Trader Jose's Mexicali Inspired Salad with Chili Seasoned Chicken produced between October 5 and 13th. As a result, about 916 pounds of food shipped to Idaho, Oregon, and Washington were affected. Once again, the concern for potential bacteria was detected by the supplier. Thankfully, the companies involved and the USDA's FSIS was quick to act, so no adverse reactions were documented as a result of consuming the products. However, the FSIS expressed concern that some of the products could still be located in consumer fridges at the time the announcement was made.

I know this all is starting to sound very familiar, but on October 17, 2018 another recall was issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) due to health and safety concerns regarding the corn used in select products. This time, it was for GHSE Marketside Fiesta Salad with Steak produced between Oct 11th and 14th. The grand total reached approximately 738 pounds of ready-to-eat salad.

You can probably guess what I'm going to tell you at this point, but with this recall, the use of corn potentially contaminated with Listeria and Salmonella led to the drastic action taken by the FSIS and the companies involved. As is becoming a pattern on our list, GHSE's corn supplier is the one who first sent out alarm bells, eventually leading to the effective recall of the products in question. No adverse reaction reports were confirmed, either. While this may have been due to the highly perishable nature of the product, the quick action taken by all involved parties certainly helped limit the potential for a harmful fallout.

There have been quite a few massive hot dog recalls in the United States, and some of them also involved corn. On July 19, 2016, a recall was announced by the USDA's FSIS for five of Bar-S Foods Company's chicken and pork hot dogs and corn dogs, and it affected 372,684 pounds of the products. Yikes.

Produced between July 10th and 13th, the hot dogs and corn dogs in question were potentially contaminated with listeria. With this in mind, the recall received a Class I risk level by the FSIS. Worst of all, it wasn't an insular issue, as the products were shipped nationwide. The only saving grace? Bar-S Foods did not wait to get positive testing for listeria, instead pre-emptively issuing the recall out of an abundance of caution since listeria was a recurring problem in production facilities at the time. No confirmed reports of adverse reactions from consuming the five products were logged.

Regrettably, tamales are also making a repeat appearance on our list of the worst corn recalls to sweep the United States. On May 7, 2016, the FSIS announced an official recall for La Autentica Foods' meat tamales. It was labeled a Class I risk level due, once again, to listeria concerns.

Compared to many of the other recalls we've discussed thus far, the La Autentica Foods recall affected items produced during an extensive time period: Sept. 4, 2015 to April 26, 2016. As a result, 117,350 pounds of food shipped to restaurants and retail locations in Florida and New Jersey were under scrutiny. That seems like a huge number (because it is), but the action was deemed necessary due to an FDA recall of frozen corn at the time. No reports of health complications or adverse reactions from consuming the tamales were confirmed. Even so, there are a few tips for making the perfect tamales every time, but you can rest assured that using corn that may have come in contact with listeria is not one of them.

If you couldn't tell by now, corn dogs are no stranger to recalls. This time, though, it was for a reason we haven't discussed before: the storage of corn dogs at the wrong temperature.

On September 23, 2014, the FSIS issued a formal recall for Monogram Comfort Foods' uncured beef corn dogs. Sold under the name Applegate Naturals Gluten-Free Uncured Beef Corn Dogs, they were produced on April 21, 2014. The cause for concern was unearthed thanks to a quality check performed in the warehouse where the product was shipped. The inspectors discovered that the corn dogs had mistakenly been stored in a dry storage area, not the freezer, which is customary. Umm, yeah. We will pass. However, thanks to the diligence of the people involved, we won't have to, and thankfully, no confirmed reports of unfortunate side effects were logged.

This one was awhile ago, but maybe all this talk of corn dog recalls will finally give you the extra nudge you need to finally try your hand at making them at home. After all, it sure would be better than dealing with a recalled product.