The Major Kraft Mac And Cheese Recall That Went International

The equivalent of roughly 19.5 million bowls of Kraft macaroni and cheese were recalled because the product was unsafe to eat back in 2015. Single boxes, as well as 3-, 4-, and 5-packs, of dried noodles and powdered cheese, unfortunately, also potentially contained stray pieces of metal. The unwanted addition ended up in the boxes of mac because of a machinery issue; it was found that two pieces of stainless steel were rubbing against each other in a piece of equipment, which caused metal fragments to fall into the food.

This recall included a total of 6.5 million boxes across countries in South America and the Caribbean, such as Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and the Virgin Islands, as well as the continental United States and Puerto Rico. Obviously, accidentally ingesting metal could be very serious, and eight people did discover pieces in their boxes of mac. However, there were no reports of any injuries or illnesses related to the foreign object contamination.

As strange as it sounds, foreign objects — like the stray metal in the aforementioned boxes of Kraft mac and cheese — are among the most common reasons that foods are recalled. As such, this was not the only time Kraft had issues with inedible items in its products.

There have actually been a number of Kraft Food recalls that affected millions, including one that had to do with a Kraft Singles choking hazard. Because of a packaging snafu in September 2023, the plastic film covering each piece of processed cheese failed to come off in one fell swoop in some cases. The strip of plastic that was left behind on the slices caused gagging and, in some cases, choking, but there were no reports of serious injuries or illnesses.

You would think that the company would figure out a way to avoid this issue, but this has actually been a recurring recall. After the metal mac and cheese incident in March 2015, Kraft Singles were recalled for the very same plastic film issue in both July and September. When it came to food safety, 2015 wasn't a great year, both for the Kraft Company and lovers of processed American cheese products.