The Most Bizzare Hash Brown Recall Involved Golf Balls

page frederique/Shutterstock

Recalls are unfortunately par for the course in the modern food production system. Even the most careful manufacturers can encounter issues with cross-contamination, undeclared allergens, and even foreign objects finding their way into food. However, few can match the bizarre nature of a 2017 recall involving hash browns. In a truly out-of-the-ordinary mistake, these breakfast treats somehow ended up with pieces of golf balls inside.

The announcement came from McCain Foods USA, the American branch of a decades-old Canadian potato-focused food maker that makes products under its own name, as well as for other companies and store brands. In April 2017, it released at statement revealing that, "despite our stringent supply standards", "extraneous golf ball materials" were inadvertently harvested alongside the potatoes. The issue wasn't discovered until more than three months after the product's January manufacturing date.

The company didn't provide any details on how this all-time strange food recall issue occurred or how it realized the problem existed. However, it noted that the foreign material posed a choking risk, and urged anyone who'd bought the hash browns to return them to where they bought them or throw them out. 

Boris_zec/Getty Images

Fortunately for the potato-loving public, the issue was relatively contained. It only affected Harris Teeter Brand bags of frozen Southern Style Hash Browns and Roundy's Brand frozen Southern Style Hash Browns, the latter of which were sold at Marianos, Metro Market, and Pick 'n Save supermarkets. The golf-ball-laced hash browns were only sold in nine states and the District of Columbia, primarily in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Best of all, no injuries were discovered either in the lead-up to the recall or widely reported afterward. The recall was terminated by the FDA the next year, indicating the matter was considered closed.

This isn't the only recall to have affected hash browns in recent years. The beloved breakfast food faced a massive recall in April 2025, when 730,000 pounds of Lamb Weston-produced hash browns were discovered to have small pieces of plastic mixed in. Although there were once again no reports of injuries, it's hard to blame those who'd rather make our easy hash brown recipe from scratch instead.

By all accounts, it appears the nation's food safety infrastructure worked as intended once the golf ball contamination was discovered, and the impact on human health was low. However, this doesn't make the issue any less bizarre, giving it a prominent spot in the memories of those who monitor food recalls or simply love the taste of a fried potato in the morning.