Gluten-Free Cheerios, Organic Cheese and 4 Other Foods to Avoid This Week

In our food supply, safety sometimes slips through the cracks. Since not every recall reported to authorities makes headlines, we’ve rounded them up for you. If you purchased a product that’s been recalled, you can often return it from where you bought it for a refund.

Gluten-Free Cheerios
Brands: General Mills
Contaminated with: Wheat
This week General Mills announced it was recalling 1.8 million boxes of of its Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios cereal that was labeled gluten-free due to the presence of wheat—which contains gluten. The company said that in an isolated incident, wheat flour was “inadvertently introduced into the gluten free oat flour system” at a company facility. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it was investigating reports of adverse reactions among people eating gluten-free Cheerios, and the agency tested 36 samples of the product from different facilities. The agency found one sample of Cheerios that was labeled gluten-free and contained 43 parts per million (ppm) of gluten. The FDA’s criteria for whether a food can be declared gluten-free is if the food contains less than 20 ppm of gluten. Read the full report, here.

Papillon Organic Roquefort Cheeses
Brands: Whole Foods Market
Contaminated with: Listeria monocytogenes
Whole Foods announced it is recalling Papillon Organic Roquefort cheeses that came from a supplier in stores nationwide. Routine sampling by the FDA found listeria in a whole, uncut wheel of the cheese. So far there have been no reports of illness from this cheese. Read the full report here.

Golden Raisins
Brands: Heng Cheong Loong Co.
Contaminated with: Undeclared Sulfites
Tristar Food Wholesale Co Inc. announced a recall of golden raisins due to a sampling by the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets that revealed undeclared sulfites, which can cause health problems for people who are sensitive to them. So far no illnesses have been reported. Read the full report here.

Coconut Cranberry Granola
Brands: Trader Joe’s
Contaminated with: Undeclared Milk and Tree Nuts (pecans)
Earlier this week New England Natural Bakers Inc. recalled 747 cases of Trader Joe’s Coconut Cranberry Granola because Pecan Praline Granola which contains milk, wheat and tree nuts was packaged into the Coconut Cranberry Granola box. This could be a health risk for people who have allergies to milk, wheat or nuts. One person has reported an allergic reaction. Read the full report here.

Sea Salt Crunchy Bean Snack
Brands: Snack Out Loud
Contaminated with: Undeclared milk
Snack Out Loud Foods announced this week that it recalled 56 cases of Sea Salt Crunchy Bean Snacks due to the possibility that “Ranch product being packaged in Sea Salt single-unit serving film, which does not list milk as an allergen.” The issue could be problematic for people with milk allergies or sensitivities. Read the full report here.

Whey Protein Products
Brands: American Pure Whey
Contaminated with: Undeclared Milk and Soy
American Pure Whey announced a recall after discovering that product that contained whey and soy lecithin was distributed to over X25 states in packaging that did not note the allergens. You can read the full report here.