Welcome to the latest installment of the Recall Roundup, where we take a brief look at food industry recalls that have recently been in the news. A number of recalls were covered on their own earlier in the week on the Food Manufacturing website, including:
- Simmons Prepared foods recalling more than 5,000 pounds of frozen chicken products due to potential E. coli contamination
- General Mills recalling Betty Crocker cake mix
- Retail giant Kroger announcing it was recalling s'mores ice cream
- Continental Mills recalling blueberry pancake mix
In other food-related recall news:
Texas-based Michael Angelo's Gourmet Foods, Inc., announced on July 13 it was recalling more than 4,000 pounds of frozen shrimp scampi products because the products could be mislabeled and contain allergens not listed on the label, according to a news release published to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service website. According to the USDA FSIS news release:
Due to a packaging error, products are labeled as, “Michael Angelo’s Uncompromisingly Italian-Style Shrimp Scampi with Linguini Pasta in a Fresh Heirloom Garlic-Butter Sauce;” however, the packages may contain a chicken piccata product, which contains chicken, egg and soy, ingredients not declared on the label. The products subject to recall do not bear the USDA mark of inspection, as shrimp products are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These items were shipped to distributors in the Southeastern U.S.
A news release published to the FDA website on July 13 announced that International Commissary Corporation was voluntarily recalling some lots of Marie Callendar's Cheese Biscuit Mix in seven-ounce and 14-ounce sizes due to possible E. coli contamination. The news release published to the FDA website states:
The 7 oz recalled product has Best By dates of 3/22/17 and 5/17/17 and was sold in retail stores in the following states - AL, CA, WA, UT, and TX. The 14 oz recalled product has a Best Buy date of 6/17/17 and was sold only in Stockton, CA.
ICC was notified by a supplier that an ingredient contains flour which was recalled by General Mills because it may be contaminated with E. coli O121. No other Marie Callender Cheese Biscuit Mix Best By dates are affected.
Two lots of Golden Dipt Jalapeno Breader produced by Wisconsin-based Kerry Inc. are being recalled due to potential E. coli contamination, according to a news release published to the FDA website on July 12. According to the FDA news release:
Kerry Inc. was notified by our supplier that two of their products, a red bell pepper nugget and a jalapeno nugget, were made with a small percentage of affected flour which was recalled by General Mills because it may be contaminated with E. coli O121.
IKEA N.A. Services LLC recently announced it was recalling a number of IKEA chocolate products due to undeclared allergens, according to a news release published to the FDA website. A list of products involved in the recall can be found HERE. According to the news release:
IKEA had samples of chocolate analyzed and found them to contain milk, hazelnut and/or almond. Persons allergic to milk, hazelnuts and/or almonds may have a severe to life-threatening reaction after consuming the dark chocolate.
Products have been distributed Nationwide at IKEA retail stores and sold individually. There has been no complaints or reported incidents in the United States to date.
Lastly, a news release published to the USDA FSIS website on July 14 announced that Haring Catfish, Inc. was recalling more than 21,000 pounds of catfish products due to potential adulteration. The USDA FSIS news release states:
The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 51217” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to retail locations and hotels, restaurants, and institutions in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas.
The problem was discovered on July 11, 2016, after routine FSIS sampling results revealed a violative level of the chemical gentian (crystal) violet in the product.