Trader Joe’s has recently announced the voluntary recall of its Unsweetened Apple Sauce products.
The culprit: the potential presence of glass pieces inside.
Recall Details
The affected products are Trader Joe’s First Crush Unsweetened Gravenstein Apple Sauce, with barcode 00015905 and best before Aug. 8, 2018, as well as Trader Joe's Organic Unsweetened Apple Sauce, with barcode 00194877 and best before Oct. 6, 2018. Both were sold in all Trader Joe’s stores in the country.
Another affected product is Trader Joe's All Natural Unsweetened Apple Sauce, with barcode 00014359 and best before Dec. 16, 2018. These were sold only in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington.
“All potentially affected products have been removed from store shelves and destroyed,” said the company in its recall announcement.
Customers who have purchased the products with the affected codes are advised to avoid eating them. They can discard the food or return them to any Trader Joe’s store for a full refund.
For more information, call the company’s customer relations at (626) 599-3817 on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PST) or send an email.
Last year, there were several food recalls made over glass contamination. In March, Nestle recalled a number of spinach-containing varieties of its DiGiorno, Lean Cuisine, and Stouffer’s dishes, while Constellation Brands pulled out select Corona packs. In these cases, the recalls were prompted by a consumer’s discovery of glass fragments.
Glass contamination remains a threat in different phases of food processing. There are times when machinery does not get thoroughly cleaned, while sometimes it could malfunction and leave stuff like bone or organs in the end product.
Since glass does not play a major role in food production except when used for bottling, contamination with the material does not necessarily root from the manufacturing process itself. It could be a broken light bulb, shattered window, or broken piece of equipment; in highly lit environments, high temperatures can compromise glass structure.
Previous Recall Events
Last December, Trader Joe’s also voluntarily recalled two hummus flavors based on potential listeria contamination. The affected products were White Bean & Basil hummus and Mediterranean hummus, with “use by” dates up to and including Dec. 15.
There was no reported incident tied to the products. The company, however, took action when they found the presence of bacteria in a separate product made from the same equipment as the two hummus products.
Listeria contamination is caused by the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria that can cause severe, sometimes deadly infections in young children, elderly, and the immune-compromised. Among healthy individuals, symptoms include high fever, severe headaches, nausea, stiffness, abdominal pain, as well as diarrhea.
Pregnant women are most vulnerable to listeria, too, as infection — which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classifies as an important public health problem in the United States — could lead to miscarriages and stillbirths.
To prevent a listeriosis, everyone is urged to carefully wash raw vegetables and fruits, and keeping all kitchen and dining environments as clean as possible. As a precaution, one is also recommended to cook meat and poultry thoroughly and pay good attention to safe food storage.
