Chicken Soup Recalls That Affected Millions

Across the U.S., people love chicken soup for many reasons. It's comforting, tasty, and guaranteed to warm you up on a cold, winter's day or when you're sick with a cold or the flu. Research suggests that chicken noodle soup, in particular, is an American favorite, closely followed by flavors like chicken and mushroom and cream of chicken. While it may feel nourishing and cozy, chicken soup is not always the safest choice. And that's because, on rare occasions, manufacturers release soup products onto the market that are mislabeled and contain undeclared allergens, like milk, egg, and pork.
Undeclared allergens is not the only issue that has faced the soup market. Once, products contained bits of glove (yes, seriously). On other occasions, soups have been sold without being inspected by the necessary authorities beforehand. But don't panic: When these issues happen, manufacturers, government authorities, and soup brands are often quick to act by issuing urgent recalls. Below, we've listed some of the biggest recalls in chicken soup history. From small brands to the big names (like The Campbell Soup Company and Progresso), it seems no one is immune from a mix-up or an accident in the soup factory.
Read more: Olive Garden Soups Ranked From Worst To Best
In 2023, New Jersey producer Aunt Kitty's Foods recalled more than 15,700 pounds of chicken pot pie soup cans, sold under the Hanover brand, because they contained soy that had not been declared on the label. Soy is an allergen that primarily affects children, although it can affect adults, too. If consumed by an individual with an allergy, the chicken soup could result in mild to severe allergic reactions, and even life-threatening anaphylaxis.
Undeclared allergens are one of the leading causes of food recalls in the U.S. Soy, specifically, has been the cause of nummerous food recalls over the years. In 2021, for example, protein powder was pulled from the shelves of Whole Foods amid fears it contained soy that was not declared on the label. In the same year, Nestlé recalled more than 27,000 pounds of pepperoni pizzas sold through its subsidiary DiGiorno for the same reason.
Also in 2021, around 4,550 bags of Quaker Oats' Quaker's Rice Crisps were recalled because, once again, they contained soy that had not been appropriately declared. At the time of the recall, cans of Aunt Kitty's chicken pot pie soup had already been sent to retailers in five states: Texas, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Luckily, there were no reports of allergic reactions to the soup.
Also in 2023, Canadian food company BCI Foods was forced to recall more than 13,500 pounds of chicken noodle soup. This time, it was not due to undeclared allergens or any form of contamination, but because the products had not been reinspected by the U.S. authorities before they were shipped to California, Michigan, Minnesota, and Tennessee.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) — part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) — must inspect any imported products containing either meat, poultry, or eggs. This ensures that the products meet all the U.S. requirements for animal disease risk and labeling. The FSIS was informed that BCI Foods had not presented the soup for inspection by an import broker — a company or individual who works with brands to ensure that their products meet federal guidelines.
Anyone who had already purchased the chicken noodle soup, which was sold under the Tasty Kitchen label, was urged to either dispose of it or return it to the store they bought it from. BCI Foods isn't alone. In 2021, more than 2,200 pounds of Avanza Pasta products, including ravioli and tortellini, were recalled because they contained meat and poultry that had not been inspected by the FSIS.
In 2022, Texas food manufacturer MSI Express recalled more than 16,400 pounds of chicken and rice soup as they contained milk that had not been declared on the packaging. The soup products were manufactured for the soup brand Knorr, that is owned by the global food giant, Unilever.
The undeclared milk in the Knorr soup was found when MSI Express conducted allergen testing. There were no reports of illness associated with the recall. This was lucky, because like soy, milk is a common allergen in children. In fact, it is the most common food allergy in babies and young children, affecting about 2.5 percent of those aged under three. However, milk allergies affect older humans, too. Research suggests that up to 1.9% of American adults suffer from a milk allergy.
Again, symptoms of a milk allergy vary in severity. For some, they will be mild but still unpleasant (an itchy mouth, stomach cramps, or a runny nose, for example), but for others, they are very serious and could even be life-threatening (we're talking anaphylaxis, of course). This isn't the only time a Unilever brand has had to recall products over allergens. In 2019, Ben & Jerry's issued a voluntary recall of several ice cream products amid fears they had been contaminated nuts, another allergen that can lead to serious reactions in some individuals.
In 2021, more than 6,300 pounds of chicken tortilla soup — produced by the Texas company Blount Fine Foods for restaurant chain Panera Bread's grocery store range — were recalled amid concerns they could contain pieces of glove. Yep, Blount Fine Foods feared pieces of gray nitrile gloves, often worn in manufacturing plants, somehow made their way into the food supply. But the company itself didn't find the issue—it was alerted to the problem when consumers began informing the FSIS they had discovered glove pieces in their food.
This is far from the first time that a foreign object has spurred a food recall. Although, it's important to state that finding gloves in a food product is uncommon. Usually, the foreign objects are pieces of metal from machinery (in January 2025, for example, Aldi recalled more than 24,000 pounds of frozen taquitos amid concerns they contained pieces of metal). Rocks and insects are also common causes of foreign object recalls.
All foreign objects in food — including gloves, metal, and rocks — present a choking or internal injury hazard. Anyone who had purchased the Panera Bread chicken tortilla soup was urged to either throw it away or return it to the store they bought it from for a refund.
Popular soup brand Progresso, owned by the multinational food corporation General Mills, has endured a few controversies over the years. Some have been more lighthearted (see: The recent launch of its Soup Drops, a suckable form of chicken soup), while others have been more serious. In 2020, for example, Faribault Foods, a Minnesota manufacturer, recalled more than 15,100 pounds of Progresso chicken noodle soup as it contained not one, but four allergens that had not been declared on the label.
At the time of the recall, the cans of soup had already been shipped across the U.S. It was consumers, who were discovering meatballs in their cans of soup instead of chicken, who first alerted the FSIS to the mixup. The packaging error meant that the product contained both undeclared milk and soy as well as undeclared beef and pork.
Meat allergies aren't common, but they do happen and cases are rising. This has been attributed to bites from lone star ticks, which are human-biting ticks that carry a molecule that can lead to alpha-gal syndrome (meat allergies). Research suggests that 450,000 Americans could currently have alpha-gal syndrome as a result of tick bites. Luckily, there were no reports of allergic reactions associated with the Progresso soup mix-up. Once again, consumers who had purchased the soup were urged to not consume it.
In 2019, BCI Foods was once again caught out for importing a number of products, including chicken soup, into the U.S. without re-inspection from the FSIS. As a result, it had to issue a recall for more than 3,300 pounds of soup that it had already shipped to Aldi locations in New York and Pennsylvania. There were no reports of illness associated with the recall.
This is not the first time Aldi stores have had to recall products. As mentioned above, it had to pull thousands of pounds of frozen taquitos from the shelves. And that's not all. In 2017, for example, recalled 2,000 packages of frozen peas over concerns they contained Listeria. In 2019, it was implicated in a giant Tyson Foods recall of more than 11.8 million pounds of chicken strips due to metal contamination.
Without a doubt, the Campbell Soup Company is one of the most popular soup brands in the U.S. In 2020, for example, research suggests that 1.8 million Americans ate five or more products from the company over the year. But this popularity doesn't make it immune from recalls. In 2017, for example, the company recalled more than 4,100 pounds of Healthy Request chicken soup from stores in Florida because it contained milk that had not been declared on the label.
The problem was discovered by consumers, who, as with the later Progresso recall, found meatball soup inside the cans instead of chicken. As mentioned above, milk is a common allergen and can result in mild to severe reactions. There were no reports of illness caused by the mislabeled soup.
However, this isn't the first time The Campbell Soup Company has been in hot water over undeclared allergens. In 2002, 15 years prior to the chicken soup mixup, the soup company recalled more than 19,700 cases of tomato soup as they contained undeclared milk and soy. Allergens aren't the only reason it has issued recalls. In 2015, it recalled 355,000 cans of its SpaghettiOs over fears they could contain plastic. And way back in 1971, the company recalled chicken vegetable soup cans after bacteria linked with botulism was discovered in its factory.
The Campbell Soup Company wasn't alone in 2017. In January of that year, Kettle Cuisine — which manufactured products for Whole Foods Markets — recalled more than 3,000 pounds of chicken soup as once again, they didn't contain chicken soup, but Italian wedding soup with meatballs. At the time of the recall, the products had already been sent to Whole Foods Markets in five states: Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
The mixup meant that multiple common allergens were not declared, including milk, wheat, and eggs. The latter is one of the most common allergens in children. While most reactions are mild, they can cause life-threatening anaphylaxis. There were no reports of allergic reactions associated with the Campbell Soup packaging error, which was discovered by a Whole Foods Market employee.
Whole Foods has been caught up in multiple recalls over the years. In 2024, for example, baby carrots were pulled from its shelves over concerns they could contain E.coli, a harmful bacteria that can lead to serious illness. Also in 2024, its cheeses sold under its 365 label were recalled amid fears that they could contain Listeria, another harmful strain of foodborne bacteria.
In 2015, Canadian brand Victory Kitchens had to recall more than 4,600 pounds of chicken noodle soup because they contained chicken from an ineligible country. This means that the chicken supplier was based in a country the FSIS does not deem eligible to ship chicken to the U.S. In this case, that country was Thailand. The chicken noodle soup was not distributed across the U.S. but was instead sent to the United Arab Emirates.
Victory Kitchens isn't alone. Nearly a decade after this incident, in 2024, California brand Yumei Foods had to recall more than 9,300 pounds of products containing catfish as they were imported from China, which is not eligible to supply this particular fish to the U.S.
In 2023, North Carolina importer Capitology recalled more than 4,600 pounds of pork chicharrones because they were imported from Honduras, which again, is not listed as an eligible country by the USDA. Today, Thailand is eligible to export catfish to the U.S., but it is still not eligible to export chicken products. FSIS currently allows processed chicken to be exported from Canada, Chile, China, Israel, Mexico, Poland, and Korea.
In 2015, Los Angeles brand Rustico Foods recalled more than 2,600 pounds of packaged soup — including chicken matzo ball soup and chicken vegetable soup — because they were produced and shipped to southern California without federal inspection. The recall was issued after the FSIS was alerted to products it did not know had been produced in the first place.
Whether they are carried out on domestic or internationally-produced products, inspections are important. They help to keep the food system safe from many different threats, including foodborne illnesses. This is because the food supply is especially vulnerable to bacteria like Salmonella, Listeria, and E.coli, all of which can cause life-threatening diseases if left unchecked.
In some cases, even harmful parasites can enter into the food supply via contaminated products. In this instance, there were no reports of any foodborne illnesses or any other issues associated with the recall from Rustico Foods. Any individual who had already purchased the products was urged to throw them away or return them instead of eating them.
Conagra Brands, which owns several brands, including Gardein, Reddi-Whip, Birds Eye, and Healthy Choice, has been through more than one recall over the years. One of the worst scandals occurred in 2007, when peanut butter produced through its Peter Pan label was contaminated with Salmonella. In 2024, more than 2.5 million pounds of its canned meat products had to be recalled due to a potentially dangerous packaging defect.
In 2014, Conagra Brands had problems with one of its soup brands: Healthy Choice. The company issued another recall for more than 54,000 pounds of chicken noodle soup that had been shipped nationwide and to the Caribbean. Once again, consumers found a problem in the soup's packaging label. The two common allergens, wheat and egg, were not declared on the labelling.
Wheat is not just an allergen, it is also a trigger for celiac disease, which is an autoimmune condition with a number of different symptoms that affects around 1% of the U.S. population. There were no reports of illness associated with the packaging error. However, consumers who were concerned about potential reactions were urged to contact their healthcare providers.
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