Recent viral videos making the rounds on TikTok are warning people that packages of ramen, the mass-produced version of a type of Japanese noodle soup, have been recalled due to deadly bacteria.
“These recalls are getting real,” one TikTok user says in a video that’s been shared more than 170,000 times.
Another viral TikTok video posted in mid-September that's since been deleted also claims five children have died from a fatal infection traced to bacteria after eating the instant noodles. The video was shared hundreds of thousands of times before the TikTok user removed it.
That video also claims the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning that “a third of adults will not make it after getting infected.”
VERIFY reader Dewauyn texted us to say they’d seen warnings like this on TikTok and asked if there’s a recall on ramen.
THE QUESTION
Have packages of ramen been recalled due to deadly bacteria?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, packages of ramen have not been recalled due to deadly bacteria.
WHAT WE FOUND
There isn’t a recall for ramen noodle products due to an outbreak of deadly bacteria that’s left five children dead, as viral posts claim.
If any food products were recalled, federal health officials would post notices on their websites. But that hasn’t happened as of Thursday, Sept. 19.
Contrary to what one of the viral videos claims, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not issued any warnings about packaged ramen. The health agency’s website does not show any active investigations of multistate foodborne outbreaks or press releases related to contaminated ramen.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s website also does not list any recent recalls for contaminated ramen. The only related recalls the FDA website shows are for undeclared allergens in various snack foods, including some ramen brands, in early 2023.
In May 2024, the FDA also announced the company Sun Noodle voluntarily recalled about 37,000 cases of a frozen noodle product because they may contain undeclared egg white powder. But this recall also didn’t have anything to do with deadly bacteria.
VERIFY did find news reports about five children dying after eating instant noodles. But these incidents occurred in South Africa in 2021, according to the reports. At least three of those children died from ingesting an agricultural insecticide – not deadly bacteria, according to a 2022 news report.
There are some other red flags in this viral TikTok video that point to the warning being fake.
For example, the speaker in the video says a specific brand of ramen has not been confirmed as the cause for the recall and people should avoid eating ramen altogether.
This is dubious since recall notices are “usually specific, detailing the months in which the product was sold, the locations, the expiration dates and even parts of serial numbers,” as a dietitian explains on the Cleveland Clinic’s website.
When the speaker references the CDC warning, the video also shows a webpage with general information about people who are at increased risk of listeria infections rather than a notice about contaminated ramen.
The account that posted the video also says in its bio that it is “for entertainment ONLY.”
The VERIFY team works to separate fact from fiction so that you can understand what is true and false. Please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter, text alerts and our YouTube channel. You can also follow us on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Learn More »
