Frozen Food Item From Aldi Recalled Over ‘Rodent Hair’ Worries

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a recall for Simply Nature Spinach Bites, a frozen food product sold at Aldi locations on the east coast. The recall was first initiated on Jan. 16 but was updated this week to a higher Class II recall over concerns the product “has the possibility of contamination with rodent hair,” according to the FDA’s recall notice.

The product information that appears on the 12-ounce frozen food that’s being recalled includes:

• Lot Number: G25CF-02B
• Product Number: AL-SP
• UPC: 4099100247992

It’s unclear why the federal agency has concerns about the possibility of contamination with rodent hair and the company that makes the product, Dr. Praeger’s Sensible Foods Inc., didn’t immediately respond to questions emailed Wednesday.

Recalls involving possible rodent hair contamination aren’t very common historically but they do happen. In fact, almost 2,000 products were recalled in January after a Gold Star Distribution facility was found to be operating in unsanitary conditions, according to the Today Show.

The recalled products at the Gold Star facility were limited to just three states in the Midwest but included medical devices, cosmetics, as well as dietary supplements. Medications were also recalled like Advil, Aleve, and Benadryl, along with food products, including huge brands like Pringles, Takis, Gatorade, Coca-Cola and many more.

Believe it or not, there are actually acceptable levels of rodent hair and waste set by the FDA. It’s only after a product is found to have an unacceptable level that a recall is possibly issued.

For example, apple butter isn’t allowed to have 4 or more rodent hairs per 100 grams of apple butter. And cinnamon isn’t allowed to average 11 or more rodent hairs per 50 grams, according to the FDA website. Macaroni and noodle products can’t have an average of 4.5 rodent hairs or more per 225 grams in 6 or more subsamples.

There are also acceptable levels of mold and insect filth for various foods that are set by the FDA. Cranberry sauce can’t have an average mold count higher than 15%, for example. And nutmeg can’t have an average of 100 or more insect fragments per 10 grams, according to the FDA. Peanut butter isn’t allowed to average 30 or more insect fragments per 100 grams.

The FDA oversees about 80% of what people eat, according to ProPublica, with only about 40% of what the country eats produced inside the U.S. The FDA employs people who travel to other countries to do inspections, but the number of inspections has fallen to historic lows, as ProPublica reported in late 2025.

Part of the problem is that while the FDA denied it was reducing the number of inspectors during the infamous DOGE cuts, it was dropping support staff who did things like book travel and hotels while conducting other logistics work. DOGE may not have saved taxpayers any money, but at least they made our food less safe.