Recall Affects 22,000 Pounds of Johnsonville Products
Consumers are being advised to check any Johnsonville chedder-flavored bratwurst they may have after the company issued a voluntary recall for over 22,000 pounds of the sausage. The affected products have a manufacture date of February 5, 2025, and the front of the package should have "Est. 1647" on it. The package code for the affected batches is B9FOD, and the product type is the 19-oz "sealed firm tray" that contains five pieces of the bratwurst.
Johnsonville, LLC, received two separate complaints about pieces of hard plastic in the bratwurst and notified the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The recall was announced on Saturday, April 5, and is voluntary. However, consumers are strongly advised to either return the bratwurst to the store where they bought it, or to simply throw it out. No injuries have been reported so far, but there is the potential for more injuries if people consume the affected batches. The FSIS has marked this as a Class I recall, meaning there is at least a reasonable risk that someone may become injured due to the recalled product.
The total number of pounds that are potentially contaminated is 22,672. The brats in question were sold in 10 states: Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia.
If you've already eaten links from an affected package and aren't sure if you ingested plastic, contact your doctor. Do not consume any remaining links because it's possible one of them could be contaminated. Brats from packages with other establishment dates and package codes are not currently part of the recall. Johnsonville has asked that consumers direct questions to the company's Consumer Relations department; the coordinator is Amanda Fritsch, 888-556-2728, or email anachtweyfritsch@johnsonville.com. The FSIS will continue to monitor the recall and post updates at www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls.
This isn't the first recall that Johnsonville has had, although the last one listed with the FSIS was in March 2024. The FSIS lists eight separate recalls for Johnsonville products from 2012 through the latest one announced this past weekend. All were due to potential product contamination.
Officials don't yet know where the plastic came from. Possible sources include pieces of equipment that need repair, but there's no evidence yet that this is where the plastic really came from. The FSIS has also not given out information about how large the plastic pieces were.
Consumers who no longer have the receipt from their purchase, but who want to return the product, should call the store in question.
If you know someone who might have bought Johnsonville Brats Cheddar Bratwurst, double-check with them to make sure they know about the recall. Consider sharing this post on social media as well so that the word gets out to as many people as possible.