Kraft Foods Group has recalled 96,000 pounds of Oscar Mayer Classic Wieners as a result of wrong product labeling.
On Sunday, April 20, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a recall statement confirming the mislabeling.
"The product labels are incorrect, as they do not reflect the ingredients associated with the pasteurized cheese in the cheese dogs," per the recall statement. "The products were formulated with milk, a known allergen, which is not declared on the product label."
The problem on the labels of Oscar Mayer Classic Wieners was first discovered by a consumer who reported the issue to the company on Friday, April 18. The company swiftly reported the issue to the USDA on Saturday, April 19. Neither the company nor the FSIS have received any reports related to any adverse reactions after consuming Oscar Mayer Classic Wieners. The FSIS says in the recall statement that consumers should contact their healthcare provider if they are concerned of any reactions.
FSIS said two products are under scrutiny. The first being 16 oz. packages, which are the individual consumer packages of "Classic Wieners Made with Turkey & Chicken, Pork Added" with "USE BY 16 Jun 2014" date and bearing the product code of "044700000632." The second being cases of the 16 oz. packages that were sold to retailers, of the "Classic Cheese Dogs Made with Turkey & Chicken, Pork Added, and Pasteurized Cheese Product" with "USE BY 16 Jun 2014" date containing the case code of "00447000005300."
Both the products were made on March 2 and March 3 this year and contain "Est. 537H" as the establishment number, which can be found on the inside of the USDA inspection mark. Both the products with undeclared allergens were distributed to the company's distribution centers nationwide and also to retail stores.
The USDA has categorized the recall as Class I, which says "This is a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death."
The Chicago Tribune reached out to Kraft and Joyce Hodel, a company spokesman, issued an email saying that it is investigating the matter and apologized for the error.
Kraft Foods Group's shares closed at $56.91, up by 0.18 cents, or 0.32 percent, at the close of trading on Friday, April 17. The company hopes that the share price is not affected due to the recent recall.
