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If you’re sitting down in your work or school lunch room, looking at your plate and wondering — “Can I safely eat this?” — you’re not the only one.
This year has brought a seemingly non-stop parade of scary-sounding, wide-reaching food recalls, starting with the so-called “diarrhea lettuce” over the summer. That turned out to be an outbreak of a parasite called cyclospora, which had contaminated lettuce distributed by Taylor Farms and served at restaurants and grocery stores in dozens of states.
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Then came the Star Meat Delivery affair: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Lucama, North Carolina-based company put false labels on 167,639 pounds of raw pork, beef, and goat products, implying that they had been inspected when they hadn’t been. No illness has been linked to the meat, but all of it had to be recalled.
And now, nearly 1.6 million pounds of processed, ready-to-eat meat products such as hot dogs and deli meat made by Kayem Foods are being recalled because they may not have been stored at safe temperatures. No reports of illness have emerged, but you can see if anything in your fridge is affected here.
Everyone understands the human cost of these events — in the case of the cyclospora outbreak alone, 20,000 people became ill and two died. But what about the business consequences? Can a company that becomes known for diarrhea lettuce or potentially tainted meat ever bounce back?
Why so many recalls?
It’s too early to say if the number of food recalls or outbreaks have increased this year, or why. However, experts have raised concerns about the loss of federal capacity to study and monitor food safety due to sweeping cuts at the USDA, the Food and Drug Administration, and other agencies.
According to Investigate Midwest, between January and June of 2025, the USDA reduced its workforce by 18%, and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which is responsible for inspecting slaughterhouses and processing plants, cut staff by 9%. According to a May 2026 USDA report, consumer complaints about the safety of meat, poultry and egg products jumped nearly 40% last year.
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The impact of recalls on stock prices
This is far from the first time that large-scale recalls have threatened a company’s bottom line. This time last year, thousands of cans containing Coca-Cola products were recalled due to potential metal contamination.
According to TODAY, a company spokesperson said that the recalled products were only distributed in Texas, specifically in the Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio, and that all affected products were swiftly removed from store shelves.
Whenever a recall of a given product is announced, there’s the risk that it could damage the brand’s reputation and prompt consumers not to buy it. If a bad product causes injury, it could also result in legal action. It’s common for a company’s stock price to fall following negative news of any sort, and a recall fits that category.
In Coca-Cola’s case, the stock barely budged. The fact that a relatively small amount of product was affected, with minimal adverse health risks, likely contributed to this recall quickly blowing over with investors. But not every company is so lucky.
Whether a product recall causes short-term damage versus long-term damage can depend on the circumstances at hand, as well as the reputation of the company. If it’s a large, established business and the circumstances surrounding the recall are fairly minor, then any stock price dip that follows may be temporary. If the recall is more extreme, and more harm is caused, then the damage may be longer term.
That said, if you own shares of other companies that end up recalling products of their own, it’s important to pay attention to the specifics of the situation.
Although Taylor Farms is a privately held company, the cyclospora outbreak caused shares of Yum Brands, the parent company of Taco Bell, to plummet over the summer. Foot traffic to its restaurants also fell significantly. Some of the contaminated lettuce was distributed at Taco Bell restaurants, and the company acted quickly to pull lettuce and other fresh ingredients from its menu as a precaution even before the recall was official.
The stock is still down $17.66 from its pre-cyclospora summer peak, and down about half a percentage point year to date — about the same as the stock exchange overall.
It’s important to stay on top of the news when it comes to the stocks you own, and to be mindful of red flag situations. That said, selling after a recall isn’t always smart. Sometimes, stock prices can plunge without much warning, and selling could mean locking in losses. It can pay to wait out a recovery, even if it takes months or even years, especially if the company is otherwise fundamentally sound.
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This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: 1.6 million pounds of hot dogs recalled amid USDA staffing cuts — and investors are feeling the impact
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
