Saint Francis Frozen Pizzas Recalled for Undeclared Soy

Saint Francis Apizza LLC, a Cincinnati, Ohio company, announced a voluntary recall on October 1, 2026, for four varieties of its frozen pizzas due to undeclared soy sub-ingredients, specifically soybean oil and soy lecithin. The announcement was published by the Food and Drug Administration on October 3, 2026; the company describes the problem as misbranding because the soy allergen was not declared on the label. The recalled items were distributed through specialty retail grocers in Ohio and Kentucky, as well as online via cincyfavorites.com. The company says there have been no reports of illness involving the recalled products.

Key takeaways:

• Saint Francis Apizza LLC voluntarily recalled four frozen pizza varieties on October 1, 2026, due to undeclared soy sub-ingredients (soybean oil and soy lecithin).
• The affected varieties are Pepperoni, Plain Cheese, Supreme, and Mushroom and Onion, and the notice lists no lot codes, UPCs or best-by dates.
• Products were distributed across 11 specialty retail locations in Ohio and Kentucky, as well as online via cincyfavorites.com.
• The company reports no illnesses, but consumers with soy allergies or severe sensitivities face risk of serious or life-threatening reactions.
• Consumers should discard the recalled pizzas or return them to Saint Francis Apizza LLC for a full refund.

What happened

On October 1, 2026, Saint Francis Apizza LLC announced a voluntary recall of four frozen pizza varieties whose labels were missing sub-ingredients containing soy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published the company announcement on October 3, 2026, under the reason "Undeclared soy allergen." In the company's words, it is recalling the pizzas "for misbranding due to the soy allergen not being declared on the label."

The announcement's title names the missing sub-ingredients as soybean oil and soy lecithin. When a packaged food uses an ingredient that is itself made of several ingredients, federal rules require those components to be declared on the label. Because the soy-containing sub-ingredients were left off, a shopper reading the ingredient list had no way to see that the pizzas contained soy.

The company states: "There have been no reports of illness involving the products addressed in this recall, however, people who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to soy run the risk of a serious or lifethreatening allergic reaction if they consume these products."

What changed

The central issue behind the recall is the omission of sub-ingredients on the label. Under 21 CFR 101.4(b)(2), an ingredient "which itself contains two or more ingredients" and has an established common or usual name must be broken down on the label. Manufacturers must either list the common or usual name of the multi-part ingredient followed by a parenthetical list of its sub-ingredients in descending order of predominance, or incorporate the common or usual name of every component directly into the ingredient list, in descending order of predominance in the finished food, without listing the parent ingredient itself.

In this instance, the packaging for the four pizza varieties omitted the sub-ingredients that contributed soybean oil and soy lecithin. According to the FDA's guide Food Allergies: What You Need to Know, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) requires that food labels identify the food source names of all major food allergens used to make the food. The FDA says that can be done in parentheses after the ingredient name, with examples such as "lecithin (soy)," "flour (wheat)" and "whey (milk)," or in a "Contains" statement. The FDA also notes that FALCPA does not cover highly refined oils. The recall announcement does not say whether the soybean oil in these pizzas was highly refined, so that question cannot be answered from the notice; the soy lecithin, however, is a soy-derived ingredient of the kind the FDA itself uses as a labeling example.

Because the labels lacked a soy declaration, the company itself describes the pizzas as misbranded. Undeclared soy has driven other recalls this year too; see Lobster in Ravioli, Soy in Chips: When Allergen Labels Fail.

Who is affected

The recall covers four specific varieties of frozen pizza produced under the Saint Francis brand:

• Pepperoni
• Plain Cheese
• Supreme
• Mushroom and Onion

The FDA company announcement provided no universal product codes (UPCs), lot numbers, production codes, best-by dates, or package sizes. With no codes to narrow it, the recall applies to the four named varieties as listed. The number of pizzas sold or recalled was not disclosed.

The company named 11 stores in Ohio and Kentucky, plus online sales:

• ETC Produce and Provisions, 1801 Race St Unit 149, Cincinnati, OH 45202
• ETC Produce and Provisions, 954 E McMilan St Unit A, Cincinnati, OH 45206
• Daylily Deli, 3751 Eastern Ave #2, Cincinnati, OH 45226
• Harvest Market, 308 Main St, Milford, OH 45150
• Boards and Beez, 6836 Wooster Pike, Cincinnati, OH 45227
• Madison's at Findlay Market, 110 W Elder St, Cincinnati, OH 45202
• Urban Stead Cheese, 3036 Woodburn Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45206
• The Farm on Central, 572 Central Ave Barn Building, Carlisle, OH 45005
• Tony and Pete's, 129 E 3rd Street, Dayton, OH 45202
• Taste Cellar and Pantry, 16 N Ft Thomas Ave, Fort Thomas, KY 41075
• Golden Gelato, 130 W Pike Street, Covington, KY 41011

In addition to these physical storefronts, the pizzas were sold online directly through cincyfavorites.com. The official recall notification did not disclose the geographical destinations or states to which those online orders were shipped.

What it means for shoppers

The risk described in the notice is specific to people who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to soy: for them, the company says, eating these pizzas carries the risk of "a serious or lifethreatening allergic reaction." The notice does not describe any other hazard.

The company's instruction is: "All products should be discarded or returned to Saint Francis Apizza LLC for a full refund."

Consumers with questions can contact Alex Plattner at (971) 221-7086, the number listed on the FDA page.

The background

The FDA's food allergies page lists nine major food allergens: "milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame." Soy is on that list, which is why a missing soy declaration is treated as a labeling failure that can lead to a recall.

Sub-ingredients are one place an allergen can drop off a label. The rule in 21 CFR 101.4(b)(2) exists so that a multi-part ingredient is not reduced to a single name: either its components follow it in parentheses, or each component is listed on its own in the main ingredient list. If neither happens, an allergen inside that ingredient never appears in print.

For how each of the nine allergens can hide under other names on an ingredient list, see Food Allergen Labels Explained: 9 Allergens and Their Hidden Names. For what soy lecithin is and why it is so common in packaged foods, see Is Soy Lecithin Safe? Uses, Allergy Facts, and Label Names.

It is important to emphasize that current public evidence cannot establish which specific pizza component (such as the crust, cheese blend, tomato sauce, or protein toppings) contained the omitted soy sub-ingredients. The recall notice also does not state how the omission was discovered.

What to watch next

The notice does not say when, or whether, the four varieties will return with corrected labels. Under the FDA's guidance, a corrected label would need to identify soy as the food source, either in parentheses within the ingredient list or in a "Contains" statement.

No FDA recall classification was listed with the announcement. Any later classification, or any change to the list of stores, would appear in FDA recall records.