Another Widely Publicized Recall of Salad Dressing Misses Mark for Relevance to Consumers

Another recall news story that was published by all the news outlets, but no reporter looked into the facts.  Over the past 6 days or so (December 17, 2025 and after), news outlets have been reporting a giant recall of salad dressing from a California company due to foreign material in the form of plastic.   The news articles show pictures of retail store sized bottles and makes it seem as though this is the same item consumers buy.   Two problems - the recall was issued one month ago (11/6/25), and bigger yet, it was foodservice sized containers (gallon sized or bigger).  Therefore, this recall as published is not relevant for the consumer, especially at this time.

Costco did issue a recall related to this item, however it was for salad items made with that salad dressing on November 7, 2025.  (file:///C:/Users/mwb124/Downloads/PLEASEPOST11-7-25MemberLetter-CaesarDressingRecall-ServiceDeliItems.pdf)

We are seeing an increasing number of these poorly informed recall news stories.  Reporters are using the Enforcement Reports (this one is below) instead of the FDA recall notices that are publicly released and then they fail to read the information on the Enforcement Notice.  There is a reason why FDA does not issue a Public Recall Notice for this and reporters need to ask why

Why does this story get reported now?  It seems when FDA finally classifies the recall, it makes it seem recent.

Why is this not good?  We are bombarded with news stories on recalls.  People may become weary of all the recalls published and are likely not to take action.  Others may become hypervigilant, throwing away good food due to concern.  Overall, it makes it seem that our food is less safe than it really is.

CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/salad-dressing-recall-foreign-objects-fda-ventura-foods/

Salad dressings recalled in 27 U.S. states because they could contain "foreign objects"

By Megan Cerullo

December 17, 2025 / 6:11 PM EST / CBS News

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Ventura Foods is recalling thousands of cases of salad dressings sold at retailers including Costco and Publix because the condiments could contain "foreign objects," according to an alert from the Food and Drug Administration.

More than 3,500 cases of different varieties of salad dressing could be contaminated by "black plastic planting material" in granulated onion, an ingredient in the dressings, according to the FDA. 

Irvine, California-based Ventura Foods initiated the voluntary recall on Nov. 6. The salad dressing products were distributed to seven different retailers at 42 store locations across 27 states. The company is recalling the following types of salad dressing: 

Creamy Poblano Avocado Ranch Dressing and Dip

Ventura Caesar Dressing

Pepper Mill Regal Caesar Dressing

Pepper Mill Creamy Caesar Dressing

Caesar Dressing served at Costco Service Deli

Caesar Dressing served at Costco Food Court

Hidden Valley, Buttermilk Ranch

The dressings were sold at Costco and six other retailers across the following states:

Arkansas   Colorado   Florida  Georgia  Illinois  Indiana  Kansas  Kentucky  Louisiana

Maryland  Michigan  Minnesota  Missouri  Nebraska  New Hampshire  New Jersey   North Carolina

North Dakota  Ohio  Oklahoma  Oregon  South Carolina  Texas  Virginia  Washington Wisconsin

Costco issued an alert in November notifying customers that it was recalling the Ventura Foods dressings. The retailer also said people should stop consuming the products and that they could return them to stores for a full refund. 

Edited by Alain Sherter

FDA Enforcement Reports
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/ires/?Product=217316
Product Details
Product Description:
Italian Salad Dressing; Net 1 GAL (3.78L) SKU: 7 67367 00518 4 Creamy Poblano Avocado Ranch Dressing and Dip; Net Contents 1 GAL93.78L) SKU: 7 34730 53243 1 Ventura Caesar Dressing; Net WT 2000LB (907.1kg) SKU: 00 026700 17360 8 Pepper Mill Regal Caesar Dressing; 1 GAL (128 FL OZ) 3.79 L SKU: 0 93901 72607 0 Pepper Mill Creamy Caesar Dressing; 1 GAL (128 FL OZ) 3.79 L SKU: 0 93901 78134 5 Ceasar Dressing (Costco Service Deli) NET WT: 23.62 LB (10.71 kg) SKU: 0 26700 19376 7 Ceasar Dressing (Costco Food Court) NET WT: 32 LB (14.51 kg) SKU: 0 26700 19376 7 Hidden Valley, Buttermilk Ranch; NET 1 GAL (3.79L) SKU: 0 26700 19192 3 less...

Reason for Recall: foreign objects (black plastic planting material) in granulated onion

Product Quantity:  3,556 cases

Recall Number: H-0235-2026

Code Information:
Lot Code: Monarch- B29525 Sysco- MFG101625H Ventura- P27525 Pepper Mill Regal- H29025 Pepper Mill Creamy- H29025 Costco-B28025; B28125; B28225; B29025; B29125; B29225 Costco Food Court- 03/04/2026 Hidden Valley- MFG102725H

Classification: Class II  
Event Details
Event ID:  97955
Voluntary / Mandated:  Voluntary: Firm initiated
Product Type:  Food
Initial Firm Notification of Consignee or Public:  E-Mail
Status:  Ongoing
Distribution Pattern:  The firm distributed product to 7 retail customers across 42 locations in the following states; KY, NH, SC, GA, FL, MN, MI, IL, MD, NJ, NC, WI, NE, VA, MO, LA, PA, IN, WA, CO, OK, AR, KS, TX, OH, ND, OR.The firm also distributed product to one customer in more...

Recalling Firm: VENTURA FOODS LLC
17800 Laguna Canyon Rd 300
Irvine, CA 92618-5445
United States

Press Release URL(s): Press Release Not Issued For This Recall
Recall Initiation Date: 11/6/2025
Center Classification Date: 12/4/2025
Date Terminated:  N/A




*N/A - Not Available