Kraft Singles American cheese slices in urgent recall over choking hazard

20 September 2023 , 10:13

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Food manufacturing giant Kraft Heinz has issued an urgent recall (Image: Kraft Heinz)

Food manufacturing giant Kraft Heinz has issued a recall of over 83,000 issues of the two products because of fears of a potential choking hazard.

Kraft Singles American processed cheese slices are part of a recall because of a problem with the plastic wrapping it comes in. "If the film sticks to the slice and is not removed, it could be unpleasant and potentially cause a gagging or choking hazard," Kraft Heinz said.

The recall applies to the following products:

• 16-ounce Kraft Singles American Pasteurized Prepared Cheese - use by date between January 10-27, 2024
• Three-pound multipacks of Kraft Singles American Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product - use by date between January 9-13, 2024

The issue - the company issued a voluntary recall - was identified when several consumer complaints were made. Kraft identified one of its wrapping machines as having a temporary issue that makes it possible for a thin strip of film to remain on the slice even after it’s been removed from the wrapper.

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A total of 83,000 issues of the two products were recalled (Kraft Heinz)

Consumers who bought those products should not consume them and should return them to the store where they were purchased for an exchange or a refund, Kraft Heinz said. Stateside onsumers can also contact Kraft Heinz at 1-800-280-8252 to see if a product is part of the recall and to receive reimbursement.

It comes after a number of recent recalls were made by companies across the sector. Food safety experts and federal agencies use the terms “extraneous” or “foreign” materials to describe things like metal fragments, rubber gaskets and bits of bugs that somehow make it into packaged goods.

In August, Trader Joe's issued a fifth product recall in a month amid fears of bugs, metal and rocks in the grocery giant's products. The affected product was listed as the Texas Tamale Company Gourmet Black Bean Tamales.

In a statement on its website, Trader Joes said: "No illnesses have been reported to date, and all potentially affected product has been removed from sale. If you purchased Texas Tamale Company Gourmet Black Bean Tamales, please do not eat them. We urge you to discard the product or return it to any Trader Joe’s for a full refund."

A total of nine recalls were made in 2022 because of "extraneous materials." It led to 477,000 pounds of food being recalled.

Plastic pieces from frayed conveyor belts, wood shards from produce pallets, metal shavings or wire from machinery are all common. So are rocks, sticks and bugs that can make it from the field to the factory.

Some contamination may even be expected, the FDA acknowledges in a handbook. “It is economically impractical to grow, harvest or process raw products that are totally free of non-hazardous, naturally occurring, unavoidable defects," the agency wrote.

Benjamin Lynch