Recalled products surge 25% across five industries: Sedgwick

The total volume of defective products recalled across five industries surged 25% in the first quarter, despite a decline in U.S. product recall events, according to a report released Thursday by Sedgwick Claims Services Management Inc.

Some 125.4 million products were recalled across all sectors in the quarter, driven by increases in the pharmaceutical and food and drink industries, Sedgwick said in its U.S. product recall index.

The report tracks recall data across the automotive, consumer product, food and drink, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries.

The number of food items recalled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration surged by 232% to 70.3 million in the quarter – the second-highest volume recorded in the past two years, the report said.

In the pharmaceutical sector, the number of units recalled rose 42.3% to 27.7 million, marking the third consecutive quarter of growth.

In contrast, there were just 3.7 million vehicles recalled, the lowest quarterly total for the automotive sector since the second quarter of 2012.

The quarter saw 775 recalls overall, compared with 780 reported in the fourth quarter of 2024, Sedgwick said.

Consumer product recalls rose 90% to 101 recall events, but the number of units impacted fell by 43.7% to 4.6 million.

Pharmaceutical recalls rose 7.4% to 87 events, and U.S. Department of Agriculture food recalls rose by 28.6% to nine events.

Automotive, medical device and FDA food recalls declined by 13%, 9% and 4%, respectively.