American packaged food and beverage company Kraft is recalling a batch of its Velveeta cheese products for lack of sufficient amounts of preservatives, which the company said could cause the product to spoil faster and possibly cause sickness.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Illinois-based company said that it is recalling 260 cases of its Velveeta Original Pasteurized Recipe Cheese Product that were sent to three of Walmart's distribution centers. The affected products may have possibly been redistributed to Walmart stores in as many as 12 states primarily in the Midwest which included Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
The voluntary recall was initiated as a precautionary measure because the products do not contain the right amount of the food preservative sorbic acid. Although the company finds it least likely to happen, the low level of preservatives in the affected products could lead to the cheese spoiling much faster and may result in foodborne diseases. Velveeta cheese is popularly used in grilled cheese sandwiches, as base in queso dip and in macaroni and cheese sauce.
"While unlikely, the affected product could spoil prematurely and/or lead to food borne illness," Kraft said in a statement. "Therefore, the company is issuing this recall as a precaution."
The affected products are 12 units of 32-ounce Velveeta Original Pasteurized Recipe Cheese Product with case UPC code 10021000611611 and consumer package UPC code 021000611614. Affected products also bear the case code date Dec. 17, 2014 and the time stamp 09:34 - 13:15, which can be found on the side of the packaging. The company also said that only Velveeta Original Pasteurized Recipe Cheese Product stamped with this time period are affected and being recalled and no other Kraft or Velveeta products is affected.
In its statement, the company said that the problem was identified after the finished products samples were reviewed. Kraft said that none of the affected products were shipped outside the U.S. and only affects one batch that were made on one manufacturing line.
The company urged consumers who have bought the recalled products not to eat them and to return them to the stores where they have purchased them from for a full refund or exchange. Consumers who have questions regarding the recall may also contact Kraft Foods at 1-800-310-3704.
Kraft assured consumers that it is taking action to ensure that the incident would not happen again.
