Late last month, frozen food manufacturer Ajinomoto Foods North America announced a recall of roughly 3 million pounds of not-ready-to-eat products after customers reported finding glass in rice.
In the U.S., many of the recalled products were sold at Trader Joe’s locations. Now that the recall has been dramatically expanded, with new products being pulled from the shelves. Here’s what you need to know.
What’s happened?
On March 3, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) posted a recall notice announcing that Ajinomoto Foods North America was expanding its earlier recall to include an additional 33 million pounds of various ready-to-eat and not-ready-to-eat products.
The FSIS says those products include “chicken and pork fried rice, ramen, and shu mai dumpling” items.
According to the FSIS, the issue was discovered after the company received numerous consumer complaints about finding glass inside the products.
After an investigation, it was found that the carrots used in the products were the likely source of the glass fragments.
Where were the latest recalled products sold?
The FSIS’s recall notice does not explicitly state which stores sold the numerous recalled products. However, both Trader Joe’s and Kroger have listed the recall on their recall pages.
Kroger’s recall notice says the recalled products were sold in numerous states at Kroger locations, and also at the company’s Dillons, Baker’s, Gerbes, King Soopers, City Market, Fry’s, Ralphs, Food4Less, FoodsCo, and Smith’s stores.
It is unknown if additional retail outlets sold the recalled products.
Given that, it’s prudent to thoroughly examine the full list of recall products to determine if you have any of them, regardless of where you shop.
Some Ajinomoto items were also exported to Mexico and Canada.
What products are included in the expanded recall?
Given that an additional 33 million pounds of products are included in the latest recall round, it’s little surprise that the list of impacted products is a long one, with variations in Lot numbers, USDA Establishment codes, and production and expiration dates.
According to the FSIS notice, the recalled ready-to-eat (RTE) and not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) chicken and pork fried rice, ramen, and shu mai dumpling products were sold under the brand names Ajinomoto, Kroger, Ling Ling, Tai Pei, and Trader Joe’s.
In total, 16 products produced between October 21, 2024, and February 26, 2026 are included in this recall expansion.
At Trader Joe’s, that includes the following of the company’s products:
- Chicken Fried Rice – Best By Dates 03/04/2026 through 02/10/2027
- Vegetable Fried Rice – Best By Dates 02/28/2026 through 11/19/2026
- Japanese Style Fried Rice – Best By Dates 02/28/2026 through 11/14/2026
- Chicken Shu Mai – Best By Dates 03/13/2026 through 10/23/2026
At Kroger, that includes:
- Kroger Chicken Fried Rice, UPC 11110-04161, All Codes Purchased between 3/10/2025 and 3/4/2026, Size 22 oz.
- Kroger Vegetable Fried Rice, UPC 11110-04162, All Codes Purchased between 3/10/2025 and 3/4/2026, 22 oz.
However, consumers are advised to check out the full list of recalled products provided by the FSIS in this recall round. The FSIS has also published photos of product labels for items included in the recall.
Has anyone been injured by the recalled products?
As of the time of FSIS’s posting, the agency said there have been no reports of injuries from consumption of the recalled products.
What should I do if I have the recalled products?
Check your fridge and freezer to see if you have the recalled products.
If you do, the FSIS warns not to consume them. Instead, you should throw them away or return them to their place of purchase.
Consumers are advised to read the FSIS recall notice in full here.
