FDA Warns Austin-Based Whole Foods Over Food Recall History

AUSTIN, TX — Federal food regulators recently sent Austin-based Whole Foods a warning letter accusing the retailer of participating in a pattern of receiving and offering for sale products that did not disclose allergens to customers.

Sent last Wednesday, the letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration explains the agency has analyzed patterns of recalls before zeroing in on the history of food recalls by the retailer. "These recalls demonstrate that your corporation engaged in a pattern of receiving and offering for sale misbranded food products," wrote William A. Correll Jr., director of the agency's Office of Compliance Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "For the time period of October 2019 to November 2020, your firm recalled 32 food products due to undeclared allergen(s)."

Correll Jr. said the retailer's recalls were invariably misbranded products, citing regulatory sections outlining compliance to buttress his point. The product labels involved in the recalls, he added. "...failed to declare all major food allergens present in the products." He cited specific examples of food recalls at Whole Foods:

• The recall of Whole Foods Market Minestrone Soup sold in either clear plastic deli‐style containers of various weights, or in clear plastic bags weighing 7 lbs. 12 oz., due to undeclared milk. "In documentation included with your April 21, 2020 email to the Office of Human and Animal Food Operations West Division 3 Recall Coordinator, you indicated that the mislabeling occurred because your internal labeling system for the repackaging of food products was not updated to reflect the current ingredient listing for the product," the FDA officials wrote.
• The recall of Whole Foods Market Raspberry Cheesecake Italian Gelato 1 Pint (473mL) packaged in a clear plastic container, due to undeclared egg. "In documentation included with your December 4, 2019, email to the Office of Human and Animal Food Operations West Division 3 Recall Coordinator, you indicated that your contract manufacturer packaged a Butter Cookies & Sweet Cream Italian Gelato product with the incorrect Raspberry Cheesecake Italian Gelato label thereby causing the product to have the incorrect ingredient declaration and undeclared egg."
• The recall of Whole Foods Market White Parkerhouse Rolls NET WT. 0 lb 12 oz (340g) packaged in a clear plastic bag, 12 rolls per bag, due to undeclared milk and eggs. "In documentation included with your October 28, 2019, email to the Office of Human and Animal Food Operations West Division 3 Recall Coordinator, you indicated that the mislabeling occurred because your retail employees applied a label which did not reflect the ingredient listing on the manufacturer’s label. This caused the product to have undeclared milk and eggs."
• The recall of Chantilly Key Lime Tartlets Net Wt 1 oz. individually packaged in plastic clam shell containers with Whole Foods Market scale labels, due to undeclared almonds. "In documentation included with your July 28, 2020 email to the Office of Human and Animal Food Operations West Division 3 Recall Coordinator, you indicated that the mislabeling occurred because the ingredient statement, which included almond flour, on the master carton was not fully transferred to the scale label used for the individual containers."
• The recall of Whole Foods Market El Trigal 12 Month Old Manchego, El Trigal 6 Month Old Manchego, Mitica Cordobes, Artequeso Manchego 6 month aged raw Raw Milk ‐ Aged 60 days or more, La Marquesa Herb Manchego Raw Milk ‐ Aged 60 days or More, Mitica La Dama Sagrada Raw Milk ‐ Aged 60 Days or More, Chimay Biere, IL FORTETO Genovese Pesto, Chimay Grand Cru, Lactalis MIMOLETTE Aged 12 Months, Mitica Mahon, and Agriform Piave Vecchio, individually sliced cheese wrapped in plastic wrap with scale label on top. "In documentation included with your August 21, 2020 email to the Office of Human and Animal Food Operations West Division 3 Recall Coordinator, you indicated that the mislabeling occurred because not all of your regions had updated their scale ingredient statement to include the egg allergen. This caused the product to have undeclared eggs," Correll wrote.

Noting the examples did not represent an all‐inclusive list of violations, the official reminded of the protocol: "You are responsible for investigating and determining the causes of the violations identified above and for preventing their recurrence or the occurrence of other violations," he wrote. "It is your responsibility to ensure your firm complies with all requirements of federal law and implementing regulations. You should take prompt action to correct all violations noted in this letter, if not already corrected."

Failure to promptly correct the violations may result in enforcement action by FDA without further notice, including seizure and/or injunction, Correll wrote, giving the company 15 days to respond to the accusations.

Patch reached out to Whole Foods for comment, and a spokesperson issued the following statement: "Whole Foods Market takes food safety very seriously. We are working closely with the FDA to ensure all practices and procedures in our stores meet if not exceed food safety requirements. We remain committed to maintaining the highest quality standards in the industry.”