why so many product recalls this year?

Harmful bacteria and even plastic are sometimes found in the products we buy. Cheese, fish, pâté en croute… In recent days, after Buitoni and Ferrero, the reminders follow one another. So, should we be worried about it? In Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin), consumers are divided. “Yes, I check. Besides, there is a product that went in the trash, at home“, says a passer-by at the microphone of Franceinfo. “We can also understand that sometimes there was a problem, but that does not condemn the brand as a whole.“, shades another.

Since March 2021, 4,461 products have been removed from the shelves, including more than 1,500 due to ethylene oxide, a carcinogenic chemical, 450 due to the Listeria bacteria, recently found in several fish such as haddock. , and 45 because of the E. coli bacterium, found in certain Buitoni pizzas, responsible for the contamination of around fifty children in France. Are these withdrawals more numerous this year? According to official figures, 85 products were recalled between April 1 and April 15, compared to 52 in the same period last year. “There are product recalls every day (…) but these are really very important brands, which will therefore affect a very large number of consumers“, comments Karine Sanouillet, consumer expert. According to the Foodwatch France association, the food controls that must be carried out in industries are fewer and fewer, which leaves “the door open to abuse“.