Nearly 65,000 pounds of butter have been pulled from distribution nationwide after officials found a serious labeling error involving a major food allergen. Bunge North America, based in Chesterfield, Missouri, issued a voluntary recall on July 14 for 1,800 cases of NH European Style Butter Blend because milkย was not listedย on the product label. The company is a major agribusiness that produces food ingredients for restaurants, bakeries, and food manufacturers.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administrationย firstย classified this as a Class III recall,ย meaningย low risk of health problems.ย On July 30, regulators upgraded the classification to Class II,ย meaningย the product may cause temporary or reversible healthย problems.
The recalled butter is NH European Style Butter Blend, sold in white paperboard cases with 36 individual blocks.ย Consumers should look forย theseย identifying numbers: product code 5023937, UPC (barcode)ย 10078684 73961 2, and lot code 5064036503.
The FDA urges consumers to check their butter products for the identification codes listed above.ย The problem here is that milkย appearsย in the product but not on the packaging, whichย breaksย food safety rules.
If the codes match, do not eat the butter at all, even if no one in your household has milk allergies. You can either dispose of the product safely or return it to the store for a full refund. Most retailers will accept returns even without a receipt.
Do not give theย recalled item to others or donate it to food banks.ย Thisย puts more people at risk of allergic reactions, especially those with milk allergies who wonโt know the ingredient is present.
If you ate the butter and feel allergy symptoms, see a doctor right away.ย Doctors canย evaluate howย seriousย the reactionย isandย decideย if youย needย emergency treatment.ย If you have severe milkย allergies, keep your emergency medication ready, such as an EpiPen if prescribed.
Milk is a common food allergen in children. If someone with a milk allergy eats this unlabeled product, the immune system can react within minutes.
Leaving milk off the labelย violatesย federal law. The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 requires clear labeling for eight major allergens, including milk. The Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research Act of 2021 added sesame as the ninth. People with allergies rely on these labels to stay safe, and manufacturers are required to follow the rules.
Symptoms may start with hives, swelling of the face or lips, nausea, or vomiting. Severe reactions can bring wheezing, throat tightness, trouble breathing, or dizziness. Anaphylaxis is life-threatening and can send the body into shock.
This product carries added risk because many cooks use it without checking labels each time. Families could unknowingly serve milk to someone with allergies. Even careful readers had no way to know it contained milk.
The recalled butter reached consumers nationwide through 12 distribution centers in the United States and one in the Dominican Republic. People bought this product in stores, on Amazon, or ate it at restaurants that purchase from Food Service Direct.
This wide distribution means the butter could be anywhere across multiple states. Check your butter even if you donโt live near Missouri, where Bunge is based.
The FDA noted there was no initial press release for this recall, which made the safety warning harder to find. Many consumers had to rely on federal monitoring databases to learn about the problem, making it easy to miss the recall notice entirely.
Butter recalls have become increasingly common. In March, Agri-Mark Inc. recalled more than 1,700 pounds of Cabot Creamery butter because of possible coliform bacteria contamination. The Vermont companyโs recall was classified as Class III, the lowest risk level, and covered products distributed in seven states. Coliform bacteria are common in the environment and in fecal matter. They usually do not cause illness, but their presence can signal germs that do. Luckily, no illnesses were reported.
These labeling errorsย keep happeningย because quality controls at some plantsย fail toย catchย them.ย This butter recallย shows how a missing allergen on a label canย move throughย production, shipping, and sale without beingย flagged.ย FDA warning letters to food companies describe ongoing lapses in allergen handling and label review, including cases where undeclared peanuts or eggsย were linkedย toย deaths. An FDA survey of dark chocolate found milk in 6.2 percent of products sold as dairy-free, evidence that hidden allergens still reach store shelves.
If you have questions about this recall, contact Bunge North America through the form on its website.ย The company has notย saidย how the error occurred or what changes it willย makeย to prevent aย repeat.
