The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) saw a 40% jump in food safety complaints in fiscal year 2025, according to a new report from the federal agency.
The FSIS oversees meat, poultry, and egg products in the U.S. and received 2,016 complaints, the highest number since the USDA’s Consumer Complaint Monitoring System was established in 2001.
Food safety complaints to FSIS for fiscal year 2025, which covers October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025, were up 39.7% from fiscal year 2024, when 1,443 complaints were received.
The last big spike in complaints occurred in 2019, during President Donald Trump’s first term, when the agency received 1,693 complaints, up from 1,294 in 2018.
The annual report for 2025 shows that foreign objects were the most common type of complaint, accounting for 35.7% of the total.
Five complaints to FSIS led to investigations that resulted in what are called product control actions, according to the report:
- In May 2025, Hormel recalled 256,185 pounds of canned beef stew product potentially contaminated with wood. Three complaints were received about wood found in the beef stew. Another Hormel recall later that year involving metal found in chicken products was not instigated by FSIS complaints.
- In September 2025, Hillshire recalled 58,000,000 pounds of corn dog and sausage-on-a-stick products that were potentially contaminated with pieces of wood that had been mixed into the batter. There were at least five injuries related to that recall.
- In June 2025, King Tallow LLC recalled 353 pounds of beef tallow that was not properly inspected by USDA. The agency received an anonymous consumer complaint that led to the recall.
- Also in June 2025, Sulu Organics LLC recalled 6,166 pounds of pork lard and beef tallow products that weren’t inspected by USDA. The agency’s recall notice indicates multiple complaints were received.
- The report also mentions an “in-commerce investigation” which “identified product without a mark of inspection at a single retail store,” though the retailer wasn’t identified.
“Beyond these product control actions, complaint investigations also prompted producers to take 85 voluntary actions, including reassessing HACCP plans, retraining employees, and implementing new equipment,” the agency said in its report.
HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point and refers to a system for identifying and controlling biological, chemical, and physical hazards in the production of food products.
The U.S. government under President Trump has sought to weaken regulations intended to keep the U.S. food supply safe, most recently seeking to abolish what it calls “outdated processing requirements” for meat and poultry products. USDA under Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has proposed speeding up the chicken slaughtering lines from 140 birds per minute to 175 and the turkey slaughtering lines from 55 birds per minute to 60.
The agency has also proposed eliminating speed limits for pork slaughter lines entirely. Unions for workers at meatpacking facilities have opposed the changes over obvious health and safety concerns.
The percentage of complaints filed through the Consumer Complaint Monitoring System’s online form has risen steadily over the years. In 2015, 48% of complaints were filed online, with 33% being reported to the meat and poultry hotline. In 2025, 75% of complaints came through the online reporting form.
Complaints can be filed at the USDA FSIS website, where you’ll be guided through a questionnaire to determine if you’re filing it in the right place. FSIS doesn’t inspect foods outside of meat, poultry, and eggs.
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