Although the pharmaceutical sector was one of the industries with the most recall events, it saw a dramatic decline in the number of units affected in 2023, Sedgwick reported. Credit: Kadmy/Adobe Stock

Product recall events in the U.S. increased 11% in 2023, reaching a seven-year high, according to Sedgwick, which reported that this past year saw more than 3,300 recall events across the five industries it tracks. Pharmaceuticals and consumer products, which range from clothing and cribs to bikes and electronic devices, saw the most recalls during the past year. While the number of events was up, the total number of units recalled saw a 50% decrease compared with the year prior. In 2023, there were 759 million units recalled, Sedgwick reported, while both 2022 and 2021 saw more than 1 billion units impacted by recall events each. In addition to being one of the industries with the most recall events, the consumer products sector also saw a seven-year high in the number of units affected. Conversely, the number of pharmaceutical units recalled hit a four-year low, totaling 98.51 million in 2023 compared with 567.35 million units the year prior. Medical device recalls also hit a six-year low in terms of units affected. The slideshow below offers more industry-level insights from Sedgwick's 2024 Product Safety and Recall report. "As product recalls reached a seven-year high in 2023, it is clear that strict regulatory enforcement is more than a passing trend," Chris Harvey, senior vice president of brand protection for Sedgwick, said in a release. According to Harvey, businesses should plan and practice for recalls and the public relations issues that arise with them as intense oversights from regulators and consumers will continue in the year ahead. Related: