FDA Recalls Ben's Original Rice Products Due to Contamination

Another day, another recall of a pantry staple. As if we weren't already paranoid enough about the curiously high levels of arsenic found in store-bought rice, now we must contend with the presence of small stones lurking in our favorite rice products.

The Ben's Original brand of rice products — formerly known by the unflattering brand name Uncle Ben's — is under fire following the presence of small stones found in multiple Ready Rice products offered by the brand.

Is the classic Ben's Original rice safe to eat? Should you throw away all Ben's Original Ready Rice products, or were stones only detected in a few varieties of the product? We answer these questions, and more, below.

Continue reading to learn all about the Ben's Original Ready Rice recall and what you should do if you believe you have those products in your pantry.

According to the Company Announcement on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website, Ben’s Original is recalling three types of the popular Ready Rice microwavable rice products due to "Potential Foreign Body Contaminant," namely, small stones found in the packages of rice.

The three Ben's Original products being recalled include:

• Ben's Original Ready Rice Long Grain White Rice, with Batch Codes 533ELGRV22 and 534ALGRV22
• Ben's Original Ready Rice Whole Grain Brown Rice with Batch Codes 534AMGRV22, 534BMGRV22, and 534DMGRV22
• Ben’s Original Ready Rice Long Grain & Wild Rice with Batch Codes 533BMGRV22, 533CLGRV22, and 533CMGRV22.

Each of the three variations features a Best By Date of August 2026.

The affected batches of Ben's Original Ready Rice Long Grain White Rice were sold at the retailer HEB. Meanwhile, the affected batches of Ben's Original Ready Rice Whole Grain Brown Rice were sold at both Target and HEB.

Finally, the affected batches of Ben’s Original Ready Rice Long Grain & Wild Rice were sold at United Markets, HEB, Amazon, and Piggly Wiggly.

Although the retailers listed above purchased the aforementioned batches of affected products, the FDA Company Announcement acknowledges that "Impacted retailers are not limited to those listed below, as additional retailers may have purchased products distributed by Associated Grocers, C&S, and Dot Foods from August through September."

Thankfully, to date, no injuries have been reported due to ingestion of the small stones found in the rice products. The FDA Company Announcement notes that if you believe you have the affected product(s) on hand in your home, do not consume them.

You should instead contact Ben’s Original Consumer Care to discuss a return of the affected product(s).

You can reach Ben’s Original Consumer Care by calling 1-800-548-6253 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST) from Monday through Friday, as well as from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (CST) on Saturday and Sunday.