It's hard to top the convenience of store-bought soup when it comes to quick and easy meals. The simple heat-and-serve products can be a huge time saver whether you're looking for a comforting bowl of chicken noodle or want to warm up with a hearty helping of beef and vegetable. But before you reach into the pantry for your next meal, you may want to take a moment to check what you've got on hand. That's because the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that a soup sold at more than 4,000 Walmart locations was just recalled. Read on to find out why the agency flagged the product due to potential health concerns.
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The FDA announced a widespread recall for a popular soup product.
On Jan. 28, the FDA announced that Sovos Brands Intermediate, Inc. had voluntarily recalled some of its Rao's Made for Home Slow Simmered Soup, Chicken & Gnocchi. Affected items are sold in 16-ounce clear glass jars and are stamped with the code date "Best By NOV 15 2024 EST 251 Code Date 2320 MDV 046030Z009, UPC 747479400015," which can be found printed on the top of the packaging. The company clarified that the recall affects only soups with the specific date code.
The soups were distributed to retail stores—including more than 4,000 Walmart locations, per Tasting Table—in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The company shipped the affected product from Dec. 8, 2022, through Jan. 27, 2023.
A labeling mix-up has led to a potentially dangerous situation for some consumers.
According to the agency's notice, Sovos recalled the item due to a packaging error that mistakenly labeled jars of vegetable minestrone as its Chicken & Gnocchi variety, meaning the product contains undeclared egg as an ingredient. Customers may notice that the soup will appear dark red instead of white as a result. The FDA warns that anyone with "an allergy or severe sensitivity to egg run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the product."
Egg is one of the "known food allergens" covered in the Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research Act (FASTER), which went into effect on Jan. 1 of this year. The legislation requires products to declare such sensitive ingredients in food on their labels, including shellfish, milk, fish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame.
Here's what you should do if you purchased any of the recalled soup.
Fortunately, the FDA says that no one has reported any adverse reactions or medical emergencies related to the recalled products so far. However, the agency urges anyone who bought the item to return it to its place of purchase for a full refund. Customers with questions or concerns can also contact the company on weekdays via a hotline posted on the recall notice.
There have been a few recent recalls related to ingredient issues.
This isn't the first time recently that an accidental ingredient inclusion has led to a recall. In fact, three recent instances have centered around the same type of popular snack food.
On Jan. 3, the FDA announced that Texas-based Avery's Savory Popcorn had issued a recall for all flavors of its Gourmet Popcorn products it shipped to nine states and sold online. According to the agency's notice, a "temporary breakdown in the company's production and packaging processes" led to potential allergens in the products not being listed on the label, including milk, soy, peanuts, sulfites, and tree nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pecans, and cashews.
The following week, the FDA issued a similar snack-related recall from Daiso California for 12 food products sold by the "Japanese dollar store," per Insider. The affected items included different types of snacks, including various flavors of popcorn, biscuits, potato rings, and crackers. The company says it issued the recall because the products contained undeclared almonds, peanuts, soybeans, milk, and shellfish.
And fulfilling the rule of threes, the FDA announced yet another popcorn-focused recall on Jan. 25. This time, it was issued by Snack Innovations—the parent company of the Drizzilicious brand—for several batches of mini rice cake bites and drizzled popcorn it sold at retail stores and through Amazon nationwide. Similar to the other snack recalls, the company said that it pulled the products due to potential "undeclared peanut residue" in the products.
