According to an FDA release, FGF Brands Inc. has recalled 12,000 cases of chocolate chip muffins supplied to Aldi. The muffins were distributed nationwide and were packed in four-count containers. The recall was issued following disclosure that walnuts were incorporated in the product without appropriate label disclosure.
In reviewing the causes of recalls, more than half were attributed to mislabeling usually relating to designated allergens. Collectively these recalls represent a considerable wastage of food and a substantial risk of adverse reaction among those sensitive to allergens including milk, nuts and soybean proteins. Recalls due to mislabeling and are caused by failures in quality control procedures in food packing plants. Fortunately many recalls are initiated by manufacturers following in-plant recognition of errors. This expedites recall and avoided possible adverse health events.
Failure to regulate and document batch sizes may result in extensive recalls. This especially the situation with ground meat products including turkey with a failure to identify and isolate production lots. This is illustrated by the demise of Hudson Foods in 1997 following a ground beef recall of 25 million lbs. and the 2011 recall of 36 million lbs. of ground turkey processed by Cargill.