Guess how many Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) food allergen recalls were reported on Monday?

But…really the recalls were from two manufacturers for two items and within those two items there were two different varieties offered!  So..maybe two is the real answer.  Here is a PDF of the actual bulletin that I receive directly to my email weekly:
Interestingly enough, Unilever’s voluntary recall is around a labeling error on a Popsicle product.  The product inside the box does not match what the label indicates and contains items that were made with dairy. These FDA alerts also indicate areas of distribution by State.  For example, these Popsicles were not distributed in Nevada, where I live, so I am not concerned.  Had I lived in California, then I would have dashed to my freezer!
The Whole Foods Market recall surrounds the omission of allergens..described as “undeclared allergens” in two marinades.  The alert does not use the term voluntary, therefore, I am assuming there was a complaint or discovery by the FDA and the recall has been initiated by the FDA and not Whole Foods.
Both recalls are distressing from my food allergy view point:  if my child is at a friend’s house and is served the Unilever Popsicle, then we have a 911 call on our hands.  I can just see it now, the label is read, all is good and then my child begins eating the popsicle and then whammo!  Epi Pen® time.  This would have been an honest mistake on the part of the label reader, but painful for everyone involved.  The same goes for the Whole Foods Market marinade too.  The label looked great, but contains undeclared allergens.  Yikes.
Where does this leave us?
For me, it still leaves me checking in with companies to learn more about the cross contact risk within a manufacturing facility and staying signed up for the FDA Daily Digest Bulletins.  I can’t research every little food item seeking manufacturing errors, but I can be at the top of the information food chain to hear about recalls by signing up for FDA email recall alerts!

 Sign up for FDA email recalls too!
In my quest to see if Unilever posted the recall on their website, I discovered that they also own PF Chang’s. Now that just kills it.  PF Chang’s was my favorite naughty place where I meet friends to eat gluten free lunch sans nut allergic children.  I knew they were a chain restaurant..but owned by the Popsicle and Hellmans Mayonnaise folks?  The romance is gone.  I did find the recall notice at the top of their list in the media center either.
Whole Foods Market offered a product Recall page which actually left me very depressed regarding how many items in their store are recalled.  I had this fantasy of all this healthy whole food that had little allergen or health risk issues.  Wrong.  They are human too.  The page was very informative and easy to read, which I truly appreciated.  Good job Whole Foods on sharing information.
Below is a quick glance at the four food allergen recalls …

Whole Foods Market announces recall for marinades in six Mid-Atlantic states and Washington, D.C. because of undeclared allergens
The fifth recall was a guacamole layer dip recall due to risk of Listeria.
I guess Monday was a big day for Unilever and Whole Foods Markets…I wonder: do they have their product destroyed by each store or do they ship it back for re-packaging?
 

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