Track Recalls When You Have a Food Allergy

Undeclared allergens are the number one recall reason. If you or your child has an allergy, here is a routine to catch the recalls that actually matter to you.

1. 1

   Search your allergen, not just brands

   Search the allergen term directly, like milk, peanut, or soy, in the food recall tool. Undeclared allergen recalls name the allergen in the reason field, so searching the allergen surfaces recalls across many brands at once, including ones you would never think to check.

2. 2

   Set a weekly check for your regular products

   Pick the five or six products you buy most often and search them once a week. Allergen recalls cover specific production runs, so a brand you trust can have one bad batch. A weekly routine catches it before the product sits in your kitchen for a month.

3. 3

   Subscribe to allergen-specific alerts

   The FDA offers free email and RSS recall subscriptions, and several allergy advocacy groups send alerts filtered by allergen. Combine a subscription for breaking news with periodic searches here for the structured detail like lot numbers and distribution.