There was a total of 32 recalls in the month of May in the food, pet, and drug sectors, along with 1 canceled recall.

In comparison, April saw 29 recalls. May 2002 had 40 products recalled by the US Food & Drug Administration.

Food

Out of the 32 recalls in May, there were 27 in the food industry.

Undeclared allergens and mislabeling accounted for 17. The allergens included tree nuts, wheat, soy, milk, walnuts, almonds, peanuts, and fish.

Somewhat surprisingly, there were no recalls for the newest allergen, sesame. According to Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE), some companies are actually adding sesame flour (or actual sesame seeds) to their products on purpose and labeling it as an ingredient. The reason? To avoid the cost of cleaning the production lines.

On the other side of the coin, American Bakers Association President and CEO W. Eric Dell said in a letter to eight members of Congress in mid-May, that “since it is so difficult to remove all traces of sesame from baking equipment, many commercial bakers began adding sesame flour to their products after the seed became classified as a major allergen because they were concerned with “consumer safety, not cost savings.” 

The FDA put out a recent draft compliance policy guide.

Recalled food products last month ranged from ice cream, dark chocolate almonds, and cookies to penne rigate mozzarella salad, buffalo wing sauce, and children’s colostrum.

FDA issued a recall for possible Ecoli O157 bacteria contamination of a specific lot of lēf Farms Spice Packaged Salad Greens. It was canceled on May 12. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services determined that a laboratory error incorrectly caused the recall. The product is safe and recall canceled.

There was 1 recall for infant formula due to Cronobacter Sakazakii contamination. The product is Gerber Good Start powdered formula from Associated Wholesale Grocers. The SoothePro Powdered Infant Formula was manufactured at the company’s Gateway Eau Claire, WI, manufacturing facility from January 2, 2023 to January 18, 2023.

Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) released this additional notice due to one of the recalled products being distributed to its Nashville Division retailers after the initial recall notice was published.

Five food items were recalled due to possible Listeria monocytogenes. These are:

There were 2 recalls due to the chance of Salmonella contamination:

One additional recall under Food is for Copitas-Artisan ceramicware cups by Del Maguey Co. These cups are traditionally used for drinking mezcal — and these may exceed FDA guidance levels for leachable lead.

Pet

There were no recalls for pet food or other products the FDA governs. There hasn’t been a recall for domestic pet food since March.

Drug

The FDA issued 2 recalls for G-Supress DX cough suppressant, expectorant, nasal decongestant pediatric drops due to the packaging might contain the wrong product, and for device & drug safety/mislabeling.

A wearable smart thermometer by Walnut was recalled because it could cause injury including skin burns and irritation.

A fourth recall for Drug/Medical Devices, Pilot’s COVID at-home test due to microbial contamination in the liquid buffer solution.

Advil was recalled because it was stored outside the labeled temperature requirements.