Imported Potato Chips Recalled After Shopper Flags Ingredient Not Allowed in the U.S.
A single consumer complaint was enough to trigger a federal recall of imported potato chips this month. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that El Eden Import Distributor Corp., based in Long Island City, New York, is recalling roughly 264 pounds of chip products containing chicharrón, or pork cracklings, because the meat inside came from a country not currently approved to export meat products to the United States at all.
Here’s Exactly Which Bags Are Being Pulled
The recalled products come in two specific varieties, both sold in small 45-gram foil bags. “De Todito NATURAL” mixed chips combine “CHICHARRÓN AMERICANO JACKS,” Margarita chips, and NATU CHIPS, while “De Todito BBQ” mixed chips pair the same chicharrón pieces with Margarita and NatuChips in a barbecue flavor. Both varieties contain the same problematic pork cracklings ingredient sourced from Colombia.
The Ingredient Isn’t Banned, the Country’s Export Status Is the Problem
The issue here isn’t that chicharrón itself is unsafe or banned as an ingredient, pork cracklings are sold legally throughout the U.S. Instead, the problem traces back to where this particular batch originated. Colombia is not currently an FSIS-approved country for exporting meat products to the United States, meaning any meat-containing product imported from there bypasses required federal inspection standards entirely.
A Single Complaint About Plantain Snacks Started It All
Federal investigators didn’t catch this through routine inspection, a single customer complaint set the whole recall in motion. FSIS said it received a specific complaint regarding “De Todito” snack products containing dried plantains, potato chips, and chicharrónes imported from Colombia. That one tip led investigators to confirm the products indeed contained ineligible Colombian pork, triggering the formal recall process that followed.
The Labels Never Even Mentioned They Were Imported
The recalled chips reached a fairly limited distribution area compared to some national recalls. According to FSIS, the products were shipped to a distributor in New Jersey, then on to retail locations in both New Jersey and Utah. Notably, the recalled packages do not carry any import marks on their labels, the exact detail that made the ineligible sourcing harder for shoppers to catch on their own.
This Is FSIS’s Most Serious Recall Category
This particular batch entered the country relatively recently, on July 28, 2026, before making its way onto store shelves. FSIS has classified this as a Class I recall, its most serious risk category, reserved for situations where there is a reasonable probability that using the product could cause health problems. That classification applies here specifically because the meat bypassed all standard USDA inspection safeguards.
No Illnesses Have Actually Been Reported So Far
Despite the serious classification, no illnesses have actually been reported so far. “There have been no confirmed reports of illness or injury due to consumption of these products,” FSIS stated in its announcement. The agency is still urging anyone who purchased the affected chips not to eat them, recommending they either be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase for a refund.
The Exact Same Brand Was Recalled for This in 2023
This is not the first time a “De Todito” chicharrón product has run into this exact same problem. In 2023, a separate company, East Coast Food Distributors, recalled nearly 7,767 pounds of De Todito chicharrón snacks also sourced from Colombia, that time distributed across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. The recurrence suggests this specific compliance gap keeps slipping through import channels repeatedly.
Guatemala Had a Nearly Identical Case the Same Year
Colombian chicharrón products aren’t the only ineligible meat imports FSIS has caught in recent years either. A separate 2023 recall pulled ready-to-eat pork rind products imported from Guatemala, another country not approved to export meat to the U.S., after they turned up at retail locations across four states. Together, these cases point to a persistent challenge policing meat-containing snack imports from Latin America.
Here’s Who to Contact If You Have Questions
Anyone holding a bag of De Todito Natural or BBQ mixed chips at home should check the packaging against this specific recall notice. Consumers and media with questions can reach Humberto Gallego, the company’s owner, directly by email, or contact the USDA’s Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-674-6854 for general food safety guidance on this or any similar import recall.
