Food recalls for glass and metal fragments surge

With so many food and beverage FDA recalls, it can be overwhelming to keep track of them all. What is more distressing, however, is that the food recalls specifically for metal and glass fragments have surged.

Foreign material contamination is the top culprit

There are all kinds of reasons for food and beverage recalls, but the biggest offender right now is foreign material contamination.

Experts point to a handful of factors, including companies seeking lower-cost suppliers, delaying equipment maintenance, and adopting improved detection technology.

Despite the fact that it feels like recalls are on the rise, the first half of 2026 was on par with 2025. The FDA recalls have also plateaued after a post-COVID spike.

AI could play a role moving forward

We all know AI has been in the news pretty much non-stop, but here's an industry where it could prove very useful.

AI tech can help brands and regulators better identify safety trends, Senior Vice President of Product Innovation and Industry Engagement.

"There's also a shift toward better traceability, testing, and technology identifying these issues," said Chris Harvey, Senior Vice President of Product Innovation and Industry Engagement with Sedgwick.

"Some agencies, including the FDA, are utilizing AI to look for trends, to try to identify safety issues. The goal there is to put a fence around that affected population earlier on, to limit issues," said Harvey.

Traceability will be key

Identifying safety issues quickly requires excellent traceability and monitoring. It's something that AI is built for.

"The power of AI that's being leveraged is the ability to look at social media, complaints from retailers, and feedback and data from regulators," said Harvey.

"Complaints are a big one. Calls that come in: “I was eating my eggs and found a piece of plastic.” That individual call may or may not trigger a full investigation, but if [companies] start to see, “Wait a minute, there's another [complaint] on social media,” ideally, AI will help them identify trends faster," said Harvey.

A new era of recalls

Are we in a new era of product recalls? Possibly, it's left to be determined how useful AI can be.

Source: Powder & Bulk Solids