Butter recalls occur with some regularity in the United States and internationally, driven by listeria contamination, undeclared allergens in flavored varieties, foreign material contamination, and issues with imported products that fail to meet U.S. safety standards. Because butter is a dairy staple present in nearly every kitchen — used in cooking, baking, and as a spread — recalls can have wide consumer impact, particularly when they involve listeria, which poses serious risk to vulnerable populations. There are currently multiple food recalls tracked on Recall Tracker, including dairy products.
This page explains how to check your specific butter product, why butter is recalled, which agency oversees these recalls, and what steps to take if your product is affected.
Step 1: Locate the lot code and best-by date.
Butter packaging — whether foil-wrapped sticks, tubs, or blocks — has a best-by date and typically a lot code or production code printed or stamped on the wrapper or tub. The lot code identifies the specific manufacturing batch and is the key identifier in recall notices. On stick butter, this information is often on the outer box.
Step 2: Note the UPC barcode.
The UPC on your butter package is used in recall notices. Salted and unsalted versions of the same brand carry different UPCs, as do different package sizes. Check your specific product against the recalled items.
Step 3: Search Recall Tracker.
Go to Recall Tracker and search your brand name. Compare the lot code, best-by date, and UPC on your package against the affected products in any recall notices returned.
Step 4: Use the barcode scanner.
The barcode scanner at /scan lets you scan your butter package's UPC directly to check it against the recall database.
Step 5: Set up brand alerts.
Visit brands and follow your butter brand to receive automatic notifications if future recalls are issued.
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has primary jurisdiction over butter recalls. Butter is a dairy product regulated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and FSMA. The FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) oversees dairy product safety, investigates contamination events, and works with manufacturers on voluntary recalls. The FDA also oversees imported butter, which must meet U.S. safety standards to enter the country. See the FDA agency page for more on FDA recall authority.
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) grades butter for quality but does not have direct recall authority. However, USDA-graded butter that fails safety standards would be subject to FDA action.
Health Canada issues parallel recall notices for butter products distributed in Canada. Recall Tracker monitors Health Canada recalls alongside FDA actions, which is particularly relevant for imported butter brands sold in both countries.
Listeria is the most serious microbiological hazard associated with butter recalls. Listeria monocytogenes is a pathogen that can grow at refrigerator temperatures, meaning properly stored butter can still harbor an actively growing contamination. This distinguishes listeria from many other foodborne pathogens that are inhibited by cold storage.
Listeriosis is a serious illness with significant mortality in high-risk groups. Pregnant women face heightened risk — listeria infection during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, or life-threatening infection in the newborn. Elderly individuals and those with weakened immune systems are also at elevated risk for severe illness and death. The general population experiences milder symptoms — fever, muscle aches, gastrointestinal upset — but can still develop serious illness.
Butter can become contaminated with listeria through environmental contamination in the dairy processing facility, through contaminated raw milk if pasteurization is inadequate or circumvented, or through post-pasteurization cross-contamination during packaging. Flavored butters that incorporate added ingredients such as herbs, garlic, or honey introduce additional contamination risk vectors.
Imported butter has been the source of notable listeria recalls. European artisan and specialty butters — including certain French and Irish butter brands sold in U.S. specialty grocers — have been recalled following listeria detection. In France, a significant listeria contamination event involving butter and other dairy products from a major producer led to recalls across multiple countries and was linked to serious illnesses.
Flavored and compound butters present significant undeclared allergen risk. Products marketed as "herb butter," "garlic butter," "honey butter," or "cultured butter" may contain milk protein concentrate, whey, soy lecithin, or tree nut-derived ingredients that are not clearly disclosed on the label, triggering recalls for consumers with allergies to those ingredients.
Plain butter can also be subject to allergen recalls when packaging errors result in the wrong label on a product — for example, unsalted butter labeled as salted (a concern for individuals on sodium-restricted diets for medical reasons), or a dairy-containing product labeled as a non-dairy alternative.
Physical contaminants have been identified in butter recalls, including metal fragments from processing equipment, plastic pieces, and in rare cases, insect or other material. These can result from equipment failures in high-volume dairy processing facilities and may pose a choking or laceration hazard.
The United States imports significant quantities of specialty butter — particularly from Europe — and imported butter must meet FDA safety requirements. Products that arrive with contamination, incorrect labeling under U.S. requirements, or without proper documentation of pasteurization may be refused entry or, if already in commerce, recalled.
Stop consuming it immediately. Remove the butter from your refrigerator and do not allow household members to use it. For listeria recalls in particular, this should be done promptly.
Check everyone who consumed the butter. Identify household members who ate the recalled butter and be alert for symptoms over the following days and weeks. Listeria symptoms can take one to four weeks to appear after exposure.
Seek immediate medical care for high-risk individuals. If a pregnant woman, elderly person, or immunocompromised individual consumed recalled butter, contact a healthcare provider promptly even in the absence of symptoms. Listeria in pregnancy requires urgent medical evaluation.
Discard safely. Seal the butter wrapper or container in a plastic bag before disposing in a covered trash container. Do not leave recalled listeria-associated products where pets can access them.
Keep the packaging for records. Save the wrapper or box with the lot code, best-by date, and UPC visible for a refund claim.
Sanitize contact surfaces. Listeria is resilient in the environment. Clean and sanitize any surfaces — cutting boards, knives, refrigerator shelves — that the recalled butter contacted. Use a solution of one tablespoon of bleach per gallon of water, or a food-safe disinfectant.
Report illness. If you or a household member developed symptoms potentially related to recalled butter, report to the FDA at fda.gov/safety/medwatch and to your state health department.
For bacterial contamination such as listeria, thorough cooking to sufficient internal temperatures will kill the bacteria. However, baking butter into products like cookies or pastries does not guarantee that all portions reach a sufficient temperature throughout, particularly in thick baked goods. The FDA recommends discarding recalled products rather than attempting to make them safe through cooking. For other types of contamination — foreign material, undeclared allergens — heat treatment provides no protection.
No. Listeria monocytogenes can survive and grow in high-fat dairy environments including butter, cream, and cheese. The fat content does not inhibit the organism. In fact, listeria's cold-temperature tolerance makes refrigerated high-fat dairy products a documented vehicle for listeria recalls.
Search the brand name in Recall Tracker — we monitor FDA recalls for imported butter along with international agency recalls from Health Canada and other agencies. For European specialty butter, check whether the product was distributed in the United States through a U.S. importer. The FDA issues import alerts and recall notices for foreign-made products sold in the U.S. market.
Listeria monocytogenes not only survives but can actively multiply in refrigerated conditions. A contaminated butter product in your refrigerator does not become safer over time — it may become more contaminated. If your butter is confirmed to be within a recalled lot range, discard it immediately regardless of how recently you purchased it or how it has been stored.
Search all food recalls to check your specific brand and product, and browse food brands to set up automatic alerts. You can also view recall statistics by category to understand trends in food safety over time. As of {{CURRENT_DATE}}, Recall Tracker is actively monitoring recalls from FDA, USDA, and seven additional agencies.
Start with the package label and compare the brand, product name, size, lot code, and best-by date against the recall notice. If you still have the wrapper or carton, use RecallTracker’s barcode scanner at /scan for a faster match, or search the manufacturer at /brands. If the packaging is missing, do not rely on appearance alone because recalled butter often looks and smells normal.
Butter is most often recalled for possible bacterial contamination such as listeria, undeclared allergens in flavored or blended products, and foreign material contamination. Recalls can also affect imported butter that was produced, labeled, or handled outside required safety standards. You can review category trends and historical patterns on /statistics to see how dairy and refrigerated foods are typically affected.
The most useful details are the brand, exact product name, net weight, UPC, lot or batch code, plant code if listed, and the best-by or expiration date. Two butter products from the same company may be treated differently if only certain lots were distributed to specific states or retailers. RecallTracker’s brand pages at /brands make it easier to compare those details without reading every recall notice line by line.
If the recall involves listeria or another pathogen, watch for symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, nausea, or diarrhea, especially if you are pregnant, older, or immunocompromised. Save the packaging if possible, stop using the product, and follow the recall notice for disposal or refund instructions. Premium alerts at /pricing can help you catch new recall updates quickly if you buy the same refrigerated staples regularly.
Yes. Many recalled butter products are sold under both national brands and private-label store brands, so searching by manufacturer alone may miss matches. Use /brands to look up both the label on the front of the package and the company named in the recall, and use /scan if the UPC is still available.