5 Major Butter Recalls That Made Headlines
Butter might seem like one of the safest foods in your fridge, but even this kitchen staple isn’t immune to food safety issues. Over the years, several major butter recalls have sent shoppers scrambling to check their refrigerators.
From metal fragments to dangerous bacteria, these recalls affected thousands of pounds of butter and countless consumers across multiple states.
1. Kirkland Signature’s Allergen Oversight
In November 2024, Costco pulled 80,000 pounds of its beloved Kirkland Signature Sweet Cream Butter from shelves. The culprit? A labeling mishap where packages failed to declare milk as an allergen.
I remember laughing with my sister about this one – imagine being allergic to milk and buying butter! Still, for those with severe allergies, this oversight was no joke.
The recall affected both salted and unsalted varieties distributed throughout Texas.
2. Cabot Creamery’s Bacterial Blunder
Fecal contamination isn’t something you want to think about while buttering your toast. Yet in March 2025, Cabot Creamery recalled 1,701 pounds of their Extra Creamy Premium Sea Salted Butter after tests revealed elevated coliform bacteria levels.
Thankfully, only 17 retail packages reached consumers’ homes. The FDA classified this as a Class III recall, indicating minimal health risks, but the ick factor alone was enough to make butter lovers shudder.
3. Wegmans’ Listeria-Laced Lemon Dill Butter
Fancy finishing butters took a hit in August 2022 when Wegmans recalled 1,000 tubs of their Lemon Dill Finishing Butter. The dried dill component tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes, a potentially life-threatening bacteria.
Produced by Epicurean Butter, this specialty spread was meant to elevate meals, not hospital visits. Once while preparing salmon, I nearly used this exact butter before spotting the recall notice online – talk about a close call!
4. Land O’Lakes’ Multi-State Mystery
Sometimes the most concerning recalls are those shrouded in mystery. Mid-2003 saw Land O’Lakes pull over 1,000 tubs of their Salted Butter Half Sticks from eight states along the Eastern Seaboard.
What makes this recall particularly troubling? The butter circulated for nearly two months before the company took action.
While no injuries were reported, the lack of transparency about the recall reason left consumers buttered up with questions rather than answers.
5. Challenge Butter’s Metal Mishap
Nothing ruins breakfast faster than biting into something metallic. In 2007, Challenge Dairy recalled 2,700 pounds of butter after discovering potential metal fragments mixed into their creamy product.
Affecting both salted and unsalted 16-ounce packages across Western states, this recall highlighted the surprising dangers lurking in our most basic ingredients.
My grandfather still checks his butter for metal bits after purchasing Challenge that year – old habits fade away hard!