Recalls Befall Biggest Physical Retailers of All

When it comes to product recalls involving physical retailers, Walmart leads the way, being named in 81 such notices between January 1 and Nov. 10, reports the latest findings from the Store Recalls website. Following the Arkansas-based big-box retailer were Target (25 notices), Costco (19) and Home Depot (17).

The report counts every store mentioned in 826 recalls published by the Food and Drug Administration, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Consumer Product Safety Commission; 431 of those notices name at least one retailer.

While the retailers above all have brick-and-mortar stores, online e-tail giant Amazon.com was overall the most-named entity (named in 336 notices, 306 of them CPSC recalls). In most of those instances, the product was sold online on Amazon’s website, often by third-party sellers.

“When a recall hits the news, shoppers ask one question first: was it sold at my store? The official notices often answer it, but you have to read every one to find out,” said Alexandra Looks, Managing Director of Looks Einkaufs & Verwaltungs GmbH, which runs Store Recalls. “We only count a store when the notice names it, and we publish the sentence that does. A high count means a chain sells a lot, not that it is unsafe [emphasis added].”

Food and pet food made up 264 of the 826 recalls. Undeclared allergens were the most common reason (84), followed by Salmonella (52) and Listeria (26). 35 recalls named two or more chains at once, among them murphy beds, dressers and a cheese bread sold at four grocery chains.

List compiler Looks Einkaufs & Verwaltung is not affiliated with any retailer or government agency. Click here for more from its latest report on recalls.