Before you start your holiday baking, you may want to check your ingredients, as Costco has issued a recall for 79,200 pounds of butter due to an undeclared allergen.
The FDA first sent out its notice in early October for the recall of Kirkland Signature butter, produced by Continental Dairy Facilities Southwest LLC. However, the FDA reclassified the recall on Nov. 7 to a Class II.
This means it is “a situation in which use of, or exposure to, a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”
According to the FDA, the packages of the salted and unsalted Kirkland Signature Sweet Cream Butter list cream as an ingredient but may not contain the “Contains Milk” allergy statement visibly.
The recalled products, produced and distributed in Texas, include 1,300 cases of the retailer’s unsalted butter, totaling up to 46,800 pounds, and 900 cases of the salted butter, amounting to 32,400 pounds.
The packages that have been recalled have a “best by” date of Feb. 22, 2025, and March 29, 2025.
The CDC highlights the danger that milk poses, being that it accounts for the “most serious allergic reactions in the United States.”
“The symptoms and severity of allergic reactions to food can be different between individuals and can also be different for one person over time,” the CDC says. “Anaphylaxis is a sudden and severe allergic reaction that may cause death. Not all allergic reactions will develop into anaphylaxis, and more than 40% (2 in 5) of children with food allergies in the United States have been treated in the emergency department.”
The FDA has not yet shared whether or not the recall is connected to any illnesses or adverse reactions. It has also not been shared if Costco is accepting the products for recall, though that is the usual course of action.
The recalled packages of Kirkland Signature Unsalted Sweet Cream Butter have the lot numbers 2424091, 2424111, 2426891, and 2426991, and “best by” dates Feb. 22, 2025, Feb. 23, 2025, March 22, 2025, and March 23, 2025, respectively.
The recalled Kirkland Signature Salted Sweet Cream Butter packages have lot numbers of 2424191 and 2427591 and a “best by” date of Feb. 23, 2025, and March 29, 2025, respectively.