Frozen Vegetable Recall

Recall! Recall! Recall! Several types of Kroger and Great Value frozen vegetables have been recalled. Although CNN reports that there have not been any injuries, there is a possibility that the frozen vegetables contain glass fragments. Thus, The Pictsweet Company of Tennessee has issued a “voluntary” recall.

According to Supplier recalls frozen vegetables because of glass fragments, the products that could be affected are Kroger 12-ounce Green Peas, Kroger 12-ounce Peas and Carrots (UPC 11110 89741), Great Value 12-ounce Steamable Sweet Peas (UPC 78742 08369) and Great Value 12-ounce Steamable Mixed Vegetables (UPC 78742 08026). If you think you may have one of these bags, please return it to where you purchased the product for a complete refund.

As indicated by the FDA’s recall release on October 15, 2010, the products involved in this recall “were distributed only to Kroger stores in the Southeast United States and Walmart stores throughout the United States.” The cause of the glass fragments within the vegetables was not given. Those of you who have further questions regarding this recall should call The Pictsweet Company at 1-800-367-7412, extension 417 between the Central Time zone hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Both Great Value and Kroger have had other products recalled this year. As indicated by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, in July of 2010, Perdue Farms issued a recall of “91,872 pounds of frozen chicken nugget products.” The product containing this was Great Value Fully Cooked Chicken Nuggets. The recall was not due to bacteria or salmonella but rather “blue plastic.” In March of 2010, Kroger recalled two types of seasoning blends due to possible salmonella poisoning. The products affected were Kroger Special Seasoning Blend Lemon Pepper and Kroger California Seasoning Blend Garlic Powder. Kroger is a brand that is sold in many stores like Walmart and Ralphs.

Indeed, the list of recalls go on and on and is not limited to Great Value and Kroger. Sometimes, companies are able to catch the contamination before anyone is harmed and sometimes people become sick anyhow. Even further, according to Rutgers study finds many consumers ignore food product recalls, some people are simply not aware of the recalls while some will eat the food anyways. For instance, only about 60 percent of people in a phone study said they had “looked for recalled food in their homes.” On the other hand, “12 percent reported eating a food they thought had been recalled.” These findings were based on a telephone survey of over 1,000 people.

It’s hard enough to worry about salmonella and e coli. Now consumers are being faced with foreign substances like glass and plastic in their food. At least Pictsweet was able to catch the problem before someone was hurt. And, hopefully, everyone with the possibly harmful vegetables will be made aware of the recall. For those who knowingly eat recalled food, I suppose they will continue to do so until they have a serious consequence. For me, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Sources:

Supplier recalls frozen vegetables because of glass fragments CNN.com

The Pictsweet Company Announces a Voluntary Recall of Frozen Green Peas Due to Possible Health Risk fda.gov

Georgia Firm Recalls Frozen Chicken Nugget Products That May Contain Foreign Materials fsis.usda.gov

Kroger Recalls Two Seasonings Due to Possible Health Risk fda.gov

Rutgers study finds many consumers ignore food product recalls esciencenews.com