The Biggest Chicken Salad Recalls US History

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Technically, a chicken salad isn't the same thing as a salad with chicken in it. Whereas the latter category includes anything from a chicken Caesar to, say, a Southern fried chicken salad, the former is very specifically a mix of chicken and mayo, with various fruits, veggies, and, sometimes, nuts. A basic chicken salad recipe can include ingredients such as celery, green onion, walnuts, or even grapes. Just about as often as it's served on its own, a chicken salad will make up the bulk of a chicken salad sandwich.

That definition is worth clarifying because chicken salads have been recalled frequently enough for this list to omit incidents merely involving salads with chicken in them. With that said, determining the biggest of the bunch meant combing through the history of chicken salad recalls on the likes of the Food Industry Counsel website. Any case in which 5,000 pounds or more of products that at least largely included chicken salad were recalled ended up making the list. Based on these criteria, each of the following is one of the biggest chicken salad recalls in U.S. history.

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Over 52,000 pounds of predominantly chicken salad were recalled for a dangerous reason in August 2021. In total, six chicken salad and two chicken dip products — all produced by Willow Tree Poultry Farm over the course of four days that same month — were subject to the expansive recall. They were sold in nine different states, all on the East Coast.

The recall was initiated after a customer filed a complaint through official channels after finding hard white plastic in a Willow Tree product. The company then determined that 52,022 pounds of products produced in the same batch as the one responsible for the complaint likewise carried a risk of containing plastic. No illnesses or other adverse reactions to a Willow Tree chicken salad or chicken dip were reported around that time, so it's safe to assume no one actually consumed any plastic erroneously packaged in one of the recalled items.

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In what was one of the biggest recalls in Tyson Foods' history, nearly 9 million pounds of prepared chicken products were recalled over the potential to carry listeria bacteria in July 2021. That large number was implicitly a reaction to the fact that active illnesses and even one fatality were linked to listeria-infected Tyson Foods products around that time.

As a natural consequence of this overarching incident, LSG Sky Chefs — a company that predominantly supplies airline food – recalled 15,607 pounds of chicken salad sandwiches it prepared for Circle K stores in Phoenix, Arizona, and Southern California. Of course, LSG Sky Chefs produced those chicken salad sandwiches with Tyson Foods chicken, hence the recall. Customers in possession of a Circle K chicken salad sandwich made between June and early July 2021 were encouraged to either dispose of the product or return it for a refund at a Circle K.

Undeclared allergens are a frequent culprit behind major food recalls. Many of the biggest BBQ sauce recalls in U.S. history, for example, were for this reason. Since allergic reactions can occasionally become deadly, mere mislabeling is reason enough to pull products from store shelves to prevent a customer with an allergy to an undeclared ingredient from mistakenly consuming it.

In September 2020, two undeclared allergens — walnuts and cranberries — triggered a recall of roughly 6,890 pounds of chicken salad produced by Willow Tree Poultry Farm. That said, this wasn't a simple case of mislabeling, but a more serious packaging issue. After a customer complained about the undeclared ingredients, it turned out Willow Tree Poultry Farm had packaged some containers intended for Willow Tree Classic Chicken Salad with Willow Tree White Meat Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad. Fortunately, no illnesses were ultimately linked to the walnuts or cranberries erroneously unlisted in Willow Tree Poultry Farm's chicken salad at that time.

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In 2019, a massive chicken recall affected 83 major retailers. In this case, supplier Tip Top Poultry discovered the presence of listeria bacteria in some of its products without consumers reporting any active infections. One product utilizing the brand's poultry that subsequently required a significant recall was Tuscan Sun chicken salad sandwiches, produced by a company called Jumbo Foods, Inc. Overall, a total of 69,417 pounds of its chicken salad sandwiches were recalled in October.

While Tuscan Sun's was by far the largest chicken salad recall at that time, a couple of other brands supplied by Tip Top Poultry also had to announce chicken salad recalls. Altogether, Grand Strand Sandwich Company recalled over 3,600 pounds of chicken salad sandwiches, while Lipari Foods, LLC recalled six kinds of sandwiches packaged under four brands, adding up to 2,741 pounds.

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Listeria contamination has caused several of the biggest chicken recalls in U.S. history, so it's no surprise the bacteria has been a frequent culprit behind chicken salad recalls. In one notable instance, listeria concerns necessitated a recall of 6,912 pounds of chicken salad products produced by a Texas-based company called Ron's Home Style Foods in November 2018.

Six different kinds of chicken salad were included in the recall, four of which were packaged under the Ron's Home Style Foods label, whereas two were branded with a Texas Kitchen Salads label. The former were bulk items, weighing either 5 or 32 pounds each, while the latter came in more standard 12-ounce containers. Although the products' distribution was limited to Texas, and they were never linked to any active illnesses, the FDA ranked it a Class I recall, indicating the highest of three levels of potential danger.

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One of the most serious chicken salad recalls ever issued came about in February 2018. At that point, health services in Iowa had identified 37 salmonella infections that were traced back to chicken salad produced by a company called Triple T Specialty Meats, Inc. The recalled chicken salad was packaged in bulk 5-pound bags under the Fareway Wholesale brand.

A total of 20,630 pounds of chicken salad were ultimately recalled, but salmonella infections linked to the product still spread significantly. As of September 2018, 265 distinct illnesses were confirmed in eight states, requiring 94 hospitalizations. The outbreak even resulted in one death. Triple T Specialty Meats claimed that USDA and FDA inspections found no salmonella at its production facility. All of its chicken salad produced by Triple T Specialty Meats also tested negative — as long as it was still in the original packaging. This fact seemingly shifted the blame onto the third parties it supplied with its bulk chicken salad.

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After multiple customers — of an unspecified quantity, but implicitly more than one — filed complaints through official channels, Trader Joe's ordered a recall of 65,621 pounds of one turkey salad and two of its chicken salads in November 2017. The customers who filed complaints with the grocery store chain found foreign material in their Trader Joe's products, including both hard silica and glass fragments.

The recalled items included white meat chicken salad, curry chicken salad, and turkey cranberry apple salad containers produced during a 12-day span in the same month as the recall. They could be identified by their use-by dates, ranging from November 10 to 21, 2017. While the recalled chicken and turkey salads were produced in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, they were distributed to 12 states in total, predominantly in the Western U.S.

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Two distinct chicken salad recalls were announced on June 8 and June 10, 2017. Each would qualify as one of the biggest chicken salad recalls in U.S. history on its own. But given that the reasons behind the recalls were pretty unique and identical, it's safe to assume they resulted from the same underlying issue.

First, Aldon Food Corporation recalled 18,570 pounds of chicken salad packaged under four different brands after a supplier notified the company that the breading potentially used milk that was undeclared on its labeling. Then, the exact same thing happened to Packer Avenue Foods, Inc., resulting in a recall of 9,690 pounds of chicken salad packaged under two brand names. These two cases were never officially linked to one another, but it's hard to imagine that both Pennsylvania-based companies falling afoul of the same issue within days of one another was a coincidence.

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The single largest chicken salad recall in terms of sheer quantity occurred in October 2013. The company responsible for producing the widely-recalled product was Boston Salads & Provisions Company, Inc. It was the New Hampshire Department of Public Health that discovered listeria bacteria in two distinct Boston Salads & Provisions products, necessitating a massive recall.

Funnily enough, the recall's geographical reach was limited, given that the four chicken salads and one Caesar salad implicated were distributed in just Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Nevertheless, a grand total of 222,959 pounds of chicken salad and chicken Caesar salad ended up being recalled. Those products were produced between August 23 and October 14 of that year, so the considerable poundage was likely a result of that relatively lengthy production window. No reported illnesses were ever linked to listeria from the affected Boston Salads & Provisions products.

The 2013 Boston Salads & Provisions listeria recall was announced on October 24. That same week, a company called Reser's Fine Foods recalled more than 22,800 pounds of prepackaged products — primarily consisting of chicken salads — also over listeria concerns. Surprisingly, the two incidents appear to be unrelated, and their proximity in both time and root cause is seemingly just a coincidence.

That 22,800 number was the scope of an initial recall, which encompassed products sold under brand names such as Cobble Street, Cross Valley, Chef Solutions, and Stonemill Kitchens, among others. Two subsequent expansions increased the volume of products recalled, albeit with no stated quantity. The expanded list of items did, however, include items sold at stores, including Walmart and Kroger. Products with nearly 20 different brand names were ultimately included in the recall upon its second expansion in early November 2013.

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October 2013 may well have been the riskiest time to buy chicken salad at a grocery store in U.S. history. On October 12 and October 17 of that year, Costco recalled four chicken products, including a chicken salad, after they were determined to potentially carry salmonella. Overall, 101,764 pounds of product were recalled. A significant chunk of that number consisted of whole rotisserie chickens, but considering the fact that the recall had such significant poundage, the total quantity of chicken salad was far from negligible.

Despite its sizable scale, the recall was limited to a single Costco store in San Francisco. Despite its relatively limited footprint, the recall's scope was likely so large because actual reported illnesses were linked to the initially recalled products. That said, the October 17 recall expansion was just a precautionary measure, with none of the additional products exhibiting a link to active cases of salmonellosis at that time.

The most urgent food recalls — which are often cases involving listeria or salmonella — are labeled Class I by the FDA, indicating the highest possible level of danger. A recall of four chicken salad products and one ham salad product in June 2011 received a Class III classification from the FDA, indicating the lowest possible level of danger. Nevertheless, the quantity of product recalled added up to a hefty 22,594 pounds.

Erroneous labeling was the culprit for this voluntary recall, but since the undeclared ingredients were not common allergens, their undeclared presence did not pose a significant risk. Specifically, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service determined during a routine label inspection that the offending products did not properly indicate the inclusion of potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate. Allison's Gourmet Kitchens was the company responsible for producing chicken and ham salads under the brand names Hill Country Fare and Baker's Kitchen in addition to its own name.

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Potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate may not be common allergens, but soy certainly is. Undeclared soy necessitated a sizable recall in August 2006, affecting 7,497 pounds of chicken salad. The FDA ultimately decided that this counted as a Class II recall, indicating serious health complications were possible but not likely. While allergic reactions to soy can be plenty dangerous, unknowing consumers were presumably unlikely to encounter the product — be it because of limited distribution or its lower quantity than in some other Class I allergen recalls.

In this case, it was Sandridge Food Corp. that failed to properly label the soy content of Grandma's Original Recipes brand chicken salad. Details about food recalls before 2010 or so are often scarce, so there's not much readily available information about this recall's precise cause or outcome. But given that lack of info, it's safe to assume nobody fell seriously ill as a result of unknowingly consuming soy in a Grandma's Original Recipes chicken salad product.

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The earliest case of a major listeria-induced chicken salad recall took place in June 2005. Routine testing by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service returned positive results for listeria, requiring the New York-based Sally Sherman Foods to recall 5,056 pounds of chicken salad and chicken pasta salad. The recalled products were distributed to both stores and restaurants in eight states.

Again, because of limited documentation contemporaneous with the recall, it's not possible to say with certainty that nobody was affected by the potentially contaminated product. But when it comes to recalls, no news likely means no infections. For what it's worth, this was a case of history being doomed to repeat itself — in February 2016, Sally Sherman Foods once again recalled over 3,000 pounds of five different chicken salad products over listeria concerns.

When you start to dig into food recall history, you'll notice that the further back you go, the smaller the scale of food recalls. While food recalls are on the rise, food isn't necessarily becoming more dangerous — rather, food safety measures are improving. It's notable, then, that the earliest major chicken salad recall dates all the way back to July 2000.

Specifically, a company called Mrs. Stratton's Salads recalled 5,400 pounds of chicken salad for the undeclared inclusion of Yellow No. 5. It's technically possible to be allergic to Yellow No. 5, but the probability is pretty slim. Accordingly, the FDA determined that this qualified as a Class II recall for presenting a medium level of danger. Mrs. Stratton's Salads remains in business today and boasts a lineage that dates back to 1953, so the 2000 recall was a mere hiccup in the company's decades of history.