NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has sent a “warning letter” to Whole Foods Market after issuing a spate of recalls for Whole Foods products that were packaged with “incorrect allergen labeling,” the agency said Tuesday.
Between October 2019 and November of this year, the FDA issued recalls for more than 30 Whole Foods brand products with labels that did not declare “at least one ingredient that is a major food allergen,” the agency said in a release.
The products included in the recalls “were sold primarily in the bakery and deli sections of the store and are no longer available for sale,” the release noted.
The FDA included “examples” of some of the products that were recalled in the letter it sent to Whole Foods, including the following:
- Whole Foods Market Minestrone Soup sold in either clear plastic deli‐style containers of various weights, or in clear plastic bags weighing 7 lbs. 12 oz., due to undeclared milk.
- Whole Foods Market Raspberry Cheesecake Italian Gelato 1 Pint (473mL) packaged in a clear plastic container, due to undeclared egg.
- Whole Foods Market White Parkerhouse Rolls NET WT. 0 lb 12 oz (340g) packaged in a clear plastic bag, 12 rolls per bag, due to undeclared milk and eggs.
- Chantilly Key Lime Tartlets Net Wt 1 oz. individually packaged in plastic clamshell containers with Whole Foods Market scale labels, due to undeclared almonds.
“This is the first time the agency has warned a retail establishment for engaging in a pattern of offering for sale misbranded store brand labeled food products containing undeclared allergens,” the FDA noted in its release.
In a statement provided to 1010 WINS, a Whole Foods Market spokesperson said the company “takes food safety very seriously."
"We are working closely with the FDA to ensure all practices and procedures in our stores meet if not exceed food safety requirements," the spokesperson added. "We remain committed to maintaining the highest quality standards in the industry.”