McCain recalls tater tots over fears of plastic in product

McCain has issued a recall for one of its tater tot products because of pieces of plastic potentially in the product, Health Canada said in a warning on Tuesday.

Packages of McCain Tasti Taters-brand crispy potato bites sold in Canada — specifically the 800-g and 1.8-kg sizes — are being recalled, the agency said.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has categorized it as a Class II recall, which means there is a moderate risk that consuming the food might lead to short-term or non-life-threatening health problems.

The agency said McCain alerted the government agency of the recall.

Products sold at popular chains

Affected lots have the UPC codes 0 55773 00079 5 and 0 55773 00306 2.

“Do not use, sell, serve or distribute the affected products,” the recall said.

The tater tots have been sold at retailers including Giant Tiger and Loblaws.

McCain Foods Ltd. is a Canadian multinational frozen food company. The company was established in 1957 in Florenceville, N.B., and it describes itself as the world’s largest manufacturer of frozen potato products with one in four french fries in the world being from McCain.

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Food recalls on rise

Recalls in Canada have been on the rise in recent years, according to a recent column from Toronto Sun contributor Dr. Sylvain Charlebois.

“Since 2019, the number of recalls in Canada has jumped dramatically — from fewer than 50 in 2018 to well over 200 in some years. In 2025 alone, we have already crossed the 130 mark,” Charlebois wrote in a column published in August.

He attributed the spike in recalls to the introduction of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) in 2019.

“These new rules tightened oversight, required stronger traceability and gave the Canadian Food Inspection Agency sharper tools to monitor and enforce compliance. Before then, recalls were sporadic and sometimes quietly managed between companies and regulators,” Charlebois wrote. “With the SFCR, systematic reporting became mandatory, transparency for consumers was increased and accountability for industry was heightened. That is why the 2019 chart looks like a cliff: The law fundamentally changed the way Canada handles risk.”