FDA recalls 25,000 bags of Brad's kale snacks over thallium
The snacks are dehydrated kale, not potato. California warned in May, and the company had declined to pull them.
U.S. health regulators on Tuesday posted a voluntary recall of four Brad's kale snack products over possible thallium contamination. The bags hold dehydrated kale, not potato.
Snack Right Super Foods, which operates as Brad's Raw Chips, announced the recall Monday. About 25,000 bags, roughly 2,097 cases, are in circulation. They shipped nationwide between October and December 2025 through KeHE Distributors and United Natural Foods, and were sold directly to five consumers.
The recall began after the agency told the company it had found thallium in tested products. It asks anyone who has them to stop eating them and throw them away. There are no refunds this time, and the bags should not go back to the store.
| Product | Size | UPC | Lots (expiration) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crunchy Kale Original | 57 g (2 oz) | 813104021679 | 33525-1, 33525-2, 33525-3, 34525-1 and 35125-2; expire between Feb. 1 and Feb. 17, 2027 |
| Crunchy Kale Cheeze It Up | 57 g (2 oz) | 813104021877 | 35025-3; expires Feb. 16, 2027 |
| Crunchy Kale Radical Ranch | 57 g (2 oz) | 813104020726 | 29425-1; expires Dec. 21, 2026 |
| Veggie Chips Kale | 85 g (3 oz) | 854615002054 | 33225-3, 33325-2, 33425-1 and 33525-1; expire between Jan. 28 and Feb. 1, 2027 |
Six months of warnings
California's public health department asked residents on May 19 not to eat the Brad's Plant Based line. It opened its inquiry in January, after a person with elevated thallium levels reached out, then sampled products in stores around Sacramento and found "elevated levels" in several varieties and lots. It did not publish figures.
That notice also said the manufacturer had refused to pull the products, even though the FDA and Pennsylvania had asked it to.
The company maintains that its manufacturing process did not introduce the metal. Dehydration removes 85% to 90% of the water in the kale, its notice says, and concentrates the elements the vegetable already contained.
What thallium is
Kale and other brassicas, such as cabbage and radishes, can absorb thallium, a metal that occurs naturally in soil, the agency's page on the element says. When exposure is relatively high, whether in one dose or over time, it can cause gastroenteritis, peripheral nerve damage and hair loss. The effects of low levels are still being studied, and a low reading in a food does not by itself mean it must be avoided.
The agency sets no thallium limit for food in general. There is one for bottled water: 2 parts per billion.
Neither the FDA nor the company says the products are sold in Mexico. The company says anyone who has had adverse effects should contact a health care provider.
The recall is aimed at the general public, meaning anyone holding one of these lots, and not at a specific group.
