More than 1.5 million bags of shredded cheese have been pulled from shelves across the United States in a Cheese Recall linked to possible metal fragments.
The recall covers dozens of SKUs supplied by Great Lakes Cheese Co. and affects major retailers including Target, Walmart, Aldi, Publix, H-E-B, Sprouts, Stater Bros., Brookshire’s and Food Lion.
The FDA said the issue involves shredded mozzarella, Italian blends, pizza blends, and several mozzarella–provolone and mozzarella–parmesan mixes. Consumers are advised to dispose of affected bags or return them for a refund.
The impacted cheese was produced at the company’s Hiram, Ohio facility.
Recall Spans Private label And National Brands
The recall includes both retailer private-label lines and well-known packaged food brands, underlining how a single defect at the supplier level can affect multiple chains at once.
This incident highlights the broader fragility within supermarket packaged-food categories — a topic we explored recently in its analysis of packaged food brands in supermarkets .
Many retailers use Great Lakes Cheese as a shared processor for private-label mozzarella and pizza blends, increasing the scale of withdrawals when quality issues arise.
What Retailers Are Doing Now
Most affected chains issued customer alerts through their recall portals and are removing product from stores and distribution centres.
No illnesses have been reported at this time.
Retailers are also reviewing supplier QA protocols and updating safety notifications, standard practice when a recall of this size crosses formats and regions.
What Consumers Should Do
The FDA urges shoppers not to consume any affected products.
Refunds are available at the point of purchase, and disposal is recommended if the packaging cannot be returned.
Full SKU lists are available on the FDA recall page.
Why This Info Even Matters?
A recall this large tests retailer traceability systems, private-label oversight and supplier auditing standards.
It also adds pressure to a packaged-dairy category already coping with cost swings, demand shifts and tighter retail specifications.
Next steps
The FDA will continue monitoring retrieval rates and supplier corrective actions. Great Lakes Cheese has not yet issued an updated public statement beyond the recall notice. The Cheese Recall remains active as stores continue pulling inventory nationwide.
Editor’s Note: This article is based on verified information from the U.S. FDA recall notice and retailer recall alerts. No additional interpretation or external data has been added.
