Salmonella and home delivery meals: How to protect yourself after the Metabolic Meals RECALL

09/19/2025 / By Olivia Cook

The CDC has linked several Metabolic home delivery dishes to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened people in at least 10 states and customers are being urged to check their freezers for recalled products.
Foods like chicken teriyaki, steak with peanut sauce and vegetable sides – the very types included in the Metabolic Meals recall – are considered “potentially hazardous foods” because their moisture and protein content makes them perfect environments for harmful bacteria if they are not kept cold.
Experts now use the term “temperature-controlled for safety” (TCS) foods to emphasize that it is not the food itself that is dangerous, but the need to keep it at safe temperatures from production through delivery.
While food companies are responsible for shipping meals safely, consumers share responsibility by checking packaging, using thermometers, storing food quickly and discarding anything that arrives about 40 F.
Practical steps – like being home for deliveries, washing hands and surfaces, cooking foods to the right internal temperature and following the rule “when in doubt, throw it out” – can greatly reduce your risk of foodborne illness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has urged customers of Metabolic Meals, a Missouri-based subscription home delivery meal service, to check their refrigerators and freezers. Several of their ready-to-eat dishes have been linked to an outbreak that has already sickened at least 16 people across 10 states, with seven hospitalizations reported.

Metabolic Meals is a home delivery food service that promotes itself as providing “macro-friendly” and “health-conscious” dishes to subscribers across 48 states. But four of its popular meal deliveries in late July 2025 are now under investigation for possible salmonella contamination:

Black Garlic & Ranch Chicken Tenders with Roasted Vegetables
Four Cheese Tortellini with Pesto Sauce and Grilled Chicken
Low Carb Chicken Teriyaki and Vegetables
Sliced Top Sirloin with Roasted Peanut Sauce and Summer Vegetables

The CDC warns that if you ordered Metabolic Meals with lot numbers 25199 through 25205, you should throw them out immediately or contact the company. Even if they’ve been in your freezer, the risk remains.

So far, most cases have been reported in California and Missouri, but illnesses stretch from Connecticut to Washington State. And because foodborne illness often goes undiagnosed or unreported, the real numbers may be much higher.

Why this matters

According to Brighteon.AI‘s Enoch, salmonella infects about 1.3 million Americans every year, sending more than 26,000 people to the hospital and killing around 400. For most people, salmonella infection looks like a nasty case of diarrhea, food poisoning, fever, stomach cramps and sometimes blood in the stool. Symptoms usually start six hours to six days after exposure and can last nearly a week.

But for vulnerable groups – kids under five, adults over 65, pregnant women and anyone with weakened immunity – the bacteria can slip into the bloodstream and cause life-threatening infections. That is why public health officials take these outbreaks so seriously.

According to the Food and Drug Administration‘s (FDA) definition, “potentially hazardous foods” (PHFs) are those that support the rapid growth of harmful microorganisms. That includes foods high in moisture and protein – like dairy, meats, fruits and vegetables – especially when they’re stored at unsafe temperatures.

In fact, experts are now moving away from calling them “potentially hazardous foods” and instead using the clearer term “temperature-controlled for safety” (TCS) foods. That’s because the danger isn’t the food itself – it’s how it’s handled.

The Institute of Food Technologies (IFT) notes that these foods require strict temperature control from production to delivery. If the cold chain breaks – say during storing (after packaging), shopping or after drop-off – bacteria, like salmonella, can multiply fast.

Several factors also undermine whether bacteria thrive in a meal kit:

Moisture: Bacteria love water. Juicy proteins, sauces and soups are perfect breeding grounds.
Nutrients: High-protein, nutrient-rich meats – like chicken teriyaki or steak with peanut sauce – are a feast not just for you but also for microbes.
pH (acidity): More acidic Foods (like citrus) resist bacteria better than neutral foods like pasta.
Temperature and time: The longer a perishable food sits in the “danger zone” between 40F and 140F, the more bacteria multiply,

Now, here’s where things get complicated. The FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) set the rules, but they often balance public health concerns with the interests of powerful food industries. Lobbying can shape regulations, delay updates to safety codes or soften the language around what counts as “hazardous.”

Words matter and industries push for terms that don’t spook consumers. “Hazardous” sounds scary but “temperature controlled for safety” feels more manageable. At the end of the day, whether or not lawmakers tighten rules, food safety is always a shared responsibility. Companies must handle food properly, yes – but once it’s at your doorstep, it is on you to make the right moves.

Here’s the good news. A few simple steps can make all the difference when dealing with home-delivered meals.

Before you order:

Ask questions. Don’t be shy about calling a company to ask how they keep food cold during shipping. Reputable services should be able to tell you.
Read the fine print. Look for instructions about safe storage and preparation.

When food arrives at your door:

Be home if you can. Perishables shouldn’t sit outside for hours in the sun. If you can’t be home, ask a neighbor to grab it for you.
Check the packaging. Look for insulation, gel packs or dry ice. If the box feels warm to the touch, that is a red flag.
Use a thermometer. Perishable food should arrive frozen, partly frozen with ice crystals or at least below 40F.

After unpacking:

Store your home-delivered foods quickly. Get everything into the fridge or freezer right away.
Wash hands and surfaces. Clean up with cold or warm soapy water.
Cook food thoroughly. Use a food thermometer. Chicken should hit 165F, steaks at least 145F.

Remember the golden rule: When in doubt, throw it out. Food can look and smell fine but still harbor enough bacteria to make you sick.

It is about understanding the bigger picture: the science of what makes food safe, the systems that regulate it and the choices you make to protect yourself and your loved ones. Science has unlocked the “rules of the game” that bacteria play by. You are not powerless because you can stay several moves ahead with knowledge, a little vigilance and a food thermometer.

Learn how the FDA investigates foodborne illness outbreaks by watching this video.

This video is from the Daily Videos channel on Brighteon.com.

Salmonella and home delivery meals: How to protect yourself after the Metabolic Meals RECALL

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