The biggest U.S. meat recall pulled 143 million pounds of beef. Here are the top 10

A recall is the last step in a food safety failure, and the biggest ones can reach nearly every grocery store, school cafeteria and fast-food chain in the country. Meat and poultry recalls in the U.S. are overseen by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, which sorts each one into a class based on health risk, from Class I, where eating the product could cause serious illness or death, to Class III, where it won't cause adverse health effects.

Size and danger aren't the same thing. The largest recall on this list involved no illnesses, while one of the deadliest, Boar's Head's 7.2 million-pound recall in 2024, which was linked to 10 deaths and 59 hospitalizations across 19 states, doesn't make the top 10 by weight. This month's Kayem Foods recall of 1.58 million pounds is roughly 90 times smaller than the record. The weights below are the final figures in FSIS recall notices and news coverage after expansions, and the order is compiled from those sources.

Cindie Hansen / Unsplash

Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. of Chino, California recalled about 143.4 million pounds of raw and frozen beef in February 2008, covering everything it had produced since February 1, 2006. The recall followed an undercover Humane Society video, released January 30, that showed workers kicking sick cattle and using forklifts to force them to walk, and FSIS suspended inspections at the plant on February 4.

The USDA rated it Class II, meaning a remote chance of harm, and no illnesses were linked to the meat. About 37 million pounds had gone to school lunch and other federal nutrition programs, and much of the beef had likely already been eaten by the time the recall was announced.

Jason Leung / Unsplash

Cargill recalled about 35.7 million pounds of ground turkey on August 3, 2011 after an outbreak of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg. The CDC had counted 78 infections in 26 states and one death, in Sacramento County, California.

The turkey was produced at Cargill's Springdale, Arkansas plant between February 20 and August 2, 2011, and carried the establishment number P-963. Cargill suspended ground turkey production at the plant until it could find the source of the contamination.

engin akyurt / Unsplash

Sara Lee's Bil Mar Foods subsidiary announced a recall of 15 million pounds of hot dogs and deli meats on December 22, 1998, and the USDA says it eventually grew to 35 million pounds. The products, made at a plant in Zeeland, Michigan, carried brand names including Ball Park, Hygrade and Sara Lee Deli Meat.

The CDC linked a rare strain of Listeria to the products and reported 21 deaths, 15 adults and six miscarriages or stillbirths, with illnesses beginning between August 1998 and February 1999. Sara Lee later pleaded to a misdemeanor and paid a $200,000 fine and $3 million for food safety research at Michigan State University.

大胡子 / Unsplash

Pilgrim's Pride recalled about 27.4 million pounds of ready-to-eat chicken and turkey products in the fall of 2002 after Listeria turned up at its plant in Franconia, Pennsylvania. Chowhound reports the bacteria was found in floor drains at the plant.

Pilgrim's Pride was then the second-largest poultry company in the country, behind Tyson, and 24/7 Wall St. reports that 46 listeriosis cases across eight states were confirmed before the recall.

luciano liu / Unsplash

Hudson Foods recalled 25 million pounds of frozen ground beef patties in the summer of 1997 after E. coli contamination, at the time the largest food recall in U.S. history. The meat had gone to a variety of stores and restaurants, including Burger King, which dropped Hudson as a supplier.

Mashed counts 15 people sickened between June 14 and July 14, 1997. Hudson temporarily closed its Columbus, Nebraska plant, and Tyson Foods bought the company weeks later for $642.4 million.

Paras Kapoor / Unsplash

Topps Meat Company recalled 21.7 million pounds of frozen ground beef patties in 2007 after an E. coli outbreak, an amount equal to a full year of production. Money Inc counts 30 people seriously ill across eight states.

Topps was then the nation's largest seller of frozen hamburger patties, and it shut down permanently six days after the recall was issued.

Tomoyo S / Unsplash

ConAgra Foods recalled more than 19 million pounds of ground beef in 2002 after 19 people got sick with E. coli, according to Money Inc, which reports the meat was made from contaminated beef trim.

It is the last entry above 15 million pounds. The final three recalls on this list each pulled between 11.7 million and 12.1 million.

Kalle Georgiev / Unsplash

JBS Tolleson of Tolleson, Arizona recalled 12,093,271 pounds of raw, non-intact beef products, including ground beef, in an expansion announced in December 2018. The first notice that October had covered about 6.9 million pounds.

FSIS and the CDC were investigating a Salmonella Newport outbreak, and the beef was packaged between July 26 and September 2018. FSIS advised cooking ground beef to 160°F.

Samuel Isaacs / Unsplash

Tyson Foods recalled 11,829,517 pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strips in May 2019 after consumers found pieces of metal, an expansion of a March 21 recall of 69,093 pounds. FSIS said it knew of six complaints, three alleging oral injury.

The strips were produced between October 1, 2018 and March 8, 2019 and shipped nationwide, including Tyson-branded products and private-label strips sold under names such as Great Value and Food Lion. Unlike most recalls on this list, it involved foreign material, not a pathogen.