The Food and Drug Administration has sent a warning letter to Whole Foods Market, referring to a “pattern of receiving and putting up for sale the wrong branded products” that doesn’t reveal allergens. This failure has led to recalls.
Whole Foods Market is part of Amazon.com Inc. AMZN,
wallet.
The FDA says Whole Foods recalled 32 products between October 2019 and November 2020 due to undeclared allergens.
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“The FDA noted similar patterns of numerous Whole Foods Market recalls for undeclared allergens in previous years,” the agency wrote in a constituent update on its website.
The FDA says the items were primarily sold under the Whole Foods brand and found primarily in the deli and bakery departments.
“This is the first time that the FDA has warned a retailer about a pattern of receiving and offering for sale wrong branded products containing undeclared allergens,” the update said.
In the letter, which was addressed to John Mackey, Whole Foods’ president and chief executive, the FDA cites a recall of Whole Foods Market Minestrone Soup, which contained undeclared milk.
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“[Y]ou indicated that the mislabelling happened because your internal labeling system for repacking food products had not been updated to reflect the current ingredient list for the product, ”the letter said.
Chantilly Key Lime Tartlets were recalled because “the ingredient declaration, which contained almond flour, on the outer carton had not been fully transferred to the scale label used for the individual containers.”
And Parkerhouse Whole Foods Market White Rolls were recalled for undeclared milk and eggs.
Whole Foods has 15 days to respond to the letter, which the FDA says should include measures taken to address these violations of federal food labeling regulations.
“You are responsible for investigating and determining the causes of the violations identified above and for preventing the recurrence or occurrence of other violations,” the letter said.
Whole Foods risks FDA enforcement action if the violations are not corrected, the letter says.
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“Whole Foods Market takes food safety very seriously,” a company spokesperson told MarketWatch in a statement.
“We work closely with the FDA to ensure that 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. “
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