In another round of food recalls, Materne, the maker of GoGo squeeZ, voluntarily pulled batches of its applesauce snack packs from store shelves due to the presence of mold.
Because of a recent production issue leading to the presence of mold – “like what can form on fruit,” according to its official statement – the popular children’s snack maker recalled “a small number of pouches" of its applesauce product.
The recall affected applesauce products produced in the United States with a “Best Before Date” of June 30, 2016 to July 26, 2016. Founder and CEO Michel Larroche asserted that they were able to catch most of the potentially affected stocks before they reached the stores, but a number of them may have already been placed on the shelves.
Larroche said that after an independent lab tested the mold, the company decided that “mold is gross and unpleasant to look at or taste” and is simply not what customers want to experience.
“As a consequence, we took every step to fully understand and fix the problem,” said Larroche, saying they are fully confident that they are meeting their own quality standards once again.
Working on quality issues, Materne said it has notified and now working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and will update the public with any new information. The voluntary recall, they said, may also make it harder for the public to find their applesauce in the weeks to come.
The affected products were shipped nationwide.
The company has provided more details here (PDF) and offered a product replacement voucher through an online form. Consumers may also call 1-844-275-5841. Buyers with affected pouches will need to provide information from the pouch or carton.
GoGo squeeZ applesauce has 12 flavors available in the market. According to the company, this snack is made using 100 percent real fruit.
Photo: Stacy Spensley | Flickr
