Popular Sausage Brand Recalls 22,000 Pounds Of Bratwurst Over Hard Plastic Hazard

Wisconsin-based sausage company Johnsonville is recalling its Brats Cheddar Bratwurst due to it possibly containing hard plastic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced. The cheddar bratwurst product is sold in a 19-ounce package that contains five sausages. Affected packages bear the code B9FOD and the establishment number "Est. 1647," both of which are printed on the front. The compromised sausages were shipped to stores in the following states: Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. This recall of 22,672 pounds of bratwurst comes after two customers reported finding hard plastic inside their purchased sausages. 

Although nobody has yet been hurt as a result of this foreign material contamination, the FSIS recall is marked as Class I, which, just as it does on the FDA's recall classification scale, indicates that the consumption of this product could cause serious health issues and even death. As such, customers who currently own the recalled product should not consume it! The FSIS advises you to throw it away or return it to the retailer you purchased it from. For additional information, the public can contact a Johnsonville rep, Amanda Fritsch, by calling 888-556-2728 or emailing anachtweyfritsch@johnsonville.com with any additional questions.

Although Johnsonville is the frozen meatball brand we'd buy again and again, the popular sausage company is, unfortunately, no stranger to recalls. In 2024, its Polish Kielbasa Turkey Sausages were recalled in another Class I recall, citing possible contamination with rubber pieces. And, about a year earlier, over 42,000 pounds of Johnsonville Beddar with Cheddar Smoked Sausage links were recalled, again over concerns that they contained plastic fibers. The year 2019 even saw two foreign material recalls by the company, one in January and the other in May.

In the first, over 48,000 pounds of pork were recalled due to possible rubber contamination, while the second recalled more than 95,000 pounds of jalapeño smoked sausage because it potentially contained hard green plastic. Both plastic and rubber (or "foreign material" as they're often referred to in these recalls) can cause choking and internal injuries and are therefore considered dangerous if consumed. The FSIS advises people who may have eaten the recalled products to speak to their healthcare provider. If, after reading this, you're wondering how U.S. food agencies work, here's a breakdown of how the FDA differs from the USDA when it comes to food regulations.