Popcorn and Snacks Sold in 6 States Recalled Over Health Concerns, FDA Warns
These snack foods contain allergens that can cause serious reactions.
A favorite for movie-watching or a quick bite, popcorn is something many of us like to have on-hand. It's always a crowd-pleaser, whether you enjoy it plain, with some butter, or with caramel for that salty-sweet combo. If you have popcorn at home, however, you'll want to know that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just issued a warning about popcorn and other snacks sold in six states. Read on to find out more about the latest recall over health concerns.
READ THIS NEXT: Popcorn Sold In 9 States Recalled Over Health Concerns, FDA Warns.
All the recalled food comes from Daiso stores.
According to a Jan. 10 recall announcement from the FDA, Daiso California is recalling 12 food products sold in stores. The Daiso franchise was founded in Japan and is known as the "Japanese dollar store," per Insider, expanding to the U.S. in 2005, according to its website
The products currently subject to recall were sold at Daiso stores in California, Washington, Nevada, Texas, New York, and New Jersey, per the FDA, coming from two Japanese food companies, Tohato and Kashiwado.
Affected food items include different flavor varieties of Tohato popcorn, namely Caramel Corn, Almond Caramel Corn, and Bitter Caramel Corn. Tohato Harvest Sesame Biscuits, Harvest 4 Kinds of Nuts Biscuits, and Nagewa Snacks in a seaweed flavor were also recalled, as were packages of Kashiwado's Hitoritoiro Fly Beans Senbei, which are a type of Japanese cracker. The full list of recalled products and corresponding SKU numbers is included in the recall notice.
The items contain known allergens, which could put certain consumers at risk.
The Daiso products contain undeclared almonds, peanuts, soybeans, milk, and shellfish, which prompted the recall and allergy alert.
"The recall was initiated after it was discovered that packaging did not adequately disclose the presence of all allergens," the FDA notice reads. Daiso has since suspended the sale of affected products and pulled them from store shelves.
If consumed by people with allergies or severe sensitivities, these products could cause a "serious or life-threatening allergic reaction" in people with allergies or severe sensitivities. Thankfully, Daiso hasn't received any reports of allergic reactions to date.
RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter.
Reach out to Daiso and report allergic reactions, the FDA says.
Per the recall notice, if you bought any affected products, you can return them to a Daiso store for a full refund. Specific questions should be directed to Daiso by calling 833-888-1610 toll-free or emailing [email protected].
If you think you're having an allergic reaction, stop eating the food immediately, evaluate whether epinephrine (a medication used to treat reactions in emergency settings) should be administered, and seek medical care if need be. According to the FDA, symptoms can take minutes or hours to appear, and they may include hives, flushed skin or a rash, swelling in the face, tongue or lip, vomiting, and diarrhea, among others.
The agency asks that you also report any allergic reactions to FDA-regulated food and food products that have unclear labeling or allergens. You can do so by contacting an FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator in the state where you purchased the food, calling 1-888-SAFEFOOD, or submitting a report to the FDA's MedWatch Online reporting form.
This isn't the first allergen-related popcorn recall this month.
Just last week, the FDA announced that Texas-based company Avery's Savory Popcorn recalled all flavors of its Gourmet Popcorn products. Popcorn packages were sold online between Nov. 22, 2022, and Dec. 20, 2022, and shipped to Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Georgia, Maryland, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Texas, according to the recall notice.
Similar to the Tohato and Kashiwado products, the popcorn contained potential allergens such as milk, soy, peanuts, sulfites, and tree nuts, which were not listed on the label. The error was caused by a "temporary breakdown in the company's production and packaging processes," the FDA said.
Consumers who purchased Avery's Savory Popcorn within the November to December date range were instructed to throw the popcorn away and email the company for a full refund.
