Shredded Cheese Recall Hits Major Grocery Chains
On December 1, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a recall of shredded low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella made by Great Lakes Cheese Co., Inc., sold at major retailers including Aldi and Walmart. The issue isn’t bacteria this time, but potential metal fragments in the cheese, which can cause serious injury if eaten.
Inside the Article:
The recall covers more than 350,000 cases of cheese distributed across 31 states and Puerto Rico. Affected products were sold under several big store brands, including Walmart’s Great Value, Target’s Good & Gather, and Aldi’s Happy Farms labels, along with select items at H-E-B, Food Lion, Publix, and Sprouts Farmers Market. Packages include straight mozzarella and blends like “pizza-style four-cheese blend” or “Italian-style shredded cheese blend,” in multiple bag sizes.
Because the list of specific UPCs, lot codes, and sell-by dates is long, shoppers should match their bags against the official FDA recall notice and any store-level alerts. If you’ve bought shredded mozzarella or Italian-style blends from these chains recently, especially under the listed store brands, it’s worth taking a minute to check before you cook.
What’s Included and What You Should Do
The recall is focused on shredded products tied to Great Lakes Cheese Co., Inc., but it reaches into several store-brand lines at Aldi, Walmart, Target, H-E-B, Food Lion, Publix, and Sprouts. Some of the recalled bags don’t clearly say “mozzarella” on the front, instead using broader names like “pizza blend” or “Italian blend,” so don’t assume a bag is safe just because the word mozzarella isn’t in big letters.
Metal fragments in food can chip teeth, cut the mouth or throat, or cause internal injury if swallowed. If you’ve eaten any of the recalled cheese and feel pain in your mouth, chest, or stomach, or notice anything off while chewing, contact a medical professional and mention the recall. This isn’t something to shrug off and hope for the best.
For any bags that match the recalled products, do not eat the cheese. Toss it in the trash or return it to the store where you bought it; retailers are offering refunds or replacements according to the recall notice. For more background on how these situations are handled, you can look at our recent grocery recall coverage or browse our broader recent food and drink coverage.
Why This Cheese Recall Matters for Shoppers
Shredded and blended cheeses are weeknight workhorses—tacos, pizza, pasta, casseroles—so a recall like this hits a lot of everyday meals. Because the products are pre-shredded and ready to use straight from the bag, they tend to sit in the fridge until they’re gone, which means recalled bags can easily be forgotten on a shelf.
In this case, the risk is physical contamination, not a germ that grows in the fridge, but the principle is the same: ready-to-use cheese is something you eat without much thought, so you want to be sure what’s in the bag is safe. That’s why the FDA and retailers push detailed lists of brands, lot codes, and dates instead of just a vague warning.
The practical move is simple: check any shredded mozzarella or Italian-style blends in your fridge against the recall details now, before your next pizza night or pasta bake. If a bag matches, get it out of your kitchen and take the refund or replacement your store is offering—no cheese is worth a trip to the dentist or the ER.
