The Million-Pound Potato Recall That Went International

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Recalls are never good news for food companies. Some, however, are worse than others, and that would almost certainly include ones where the weight of products being recalled reaches seven figures and spans a wide swath of the globe. Unfortunately, that was exactly the trouble that faced food maker Lamb Weston, Inc. in 2022.

In August of that year, the company voluntarily recalled a stunning 1,087,200 pounds of hash brown potato products sold under the Alexia Organic, Great Value (Walmart), and Sprouts brands. The company made this significant move after discovering that the product could be contaminated by Listeria, a relatively common culprit in the biggest frozen food recalls in U.S. history. Listeria monocytogenes can cause serious illnesses among older and pregnant people or those with compromised immune systems. It can also lead to unpleasant effects in others, such as gastrointestinal issues, fever, chills, or other flu-like symptoms.

In addition to hitting stores across the U.S., the recall also affected hash browns sold in a dozen other countries. These included neighbors like Canada and Mexico as well as farther nations like China, Japan, and Singapore.

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While the FDA issued no press release concerning the Lamb Weston recall, various outlets that sold the product posted their own announcements, often advising customers to discard the products or return them for a refund.  The recall was officially terminated just over a year later in September 2023. Although it's impossible to know whether or not anyone became ill after eating the potato product, the lack of widespread reports suggests the harm was likely minimal or non-existent. Still, the large scale of the incident landed it an unwelcome spot on our list of the biggest potato recalls in U.S. history.

While this Lamb Weston recall may be the biggest, it's unfortunately not the only one the company has had to enact. In May 2025, the company recalled more than 730,000 pounds of frozen hash browns both in the U.S. and abroad due to contamination from pieces of plastic that could be as large as 8 millimeters.

Although there's always a slight risk involved when eating manufactured food, consumers should feel confident that companies can execute large recalls like this when trouble occurs. Nevertheless, our easy hash browns recipe is simple to make at home from scratch, ensuring a recall-free experience.