Today's headline: Trader Joe's cotija Listeria, Orgain peanut alert, and baby food toxin Welcome to Food Recall Watch. This one's from FDA:
Trader Joe's of Monrovia, CA is recalling certain products containing cotija cheese, as the cheese used to make these products has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Listeria infection can cause miscarriage and stillbirths among pregnant women.
This one's been building all week, and today we're looking at the FDA's own notice page — not the downstream Trader Joe's announcement. Trader Joe's of Monrovia, California, is recalling certain products containing cotija cheese for potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. And the reason it's cotija across multiple items is the supplier: the cheese itself, sourced from Rizo-López, is the contamination point. So the affected list follows the ingredient across products instead of stopping at one SKU. Right — everything made with that cheese is in play. Which products, Cera? If it's a salad, a wrap, a dip — I need the full SKU list, not 'certain products.' The notice ties it to the cotija-containing line; for the exact items and lot codes, check the official FDA recall entry, not a brand repost. And Listeria is serious here — it hits pregnant women, older adults, and weakened immune systems hardest, per the FDA. And it's the one you can't spot at home. So if anything with cotija from Trader Joe's is in your fridge, return it for the refund — don't risk a taste test on Listeria. From FDA:
Orgain of Irvine, California is voluntarily recalling a single batch of its 30g Protein Organic Plant Based Powder - Chocolate 2.01lb because it may contain undeclared peanut residue. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to peanuts may run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product. The product has an expiration date of June 20, 2026. The product lot code is 4172-02-P.
Orgain of Irvine, California has a voluntary allergy alert on one batch of the 30g Protein Organic Plant Based Powder — Chocolate, the 2.01-pound tub. Possible undeclared peanut residue. And note the wording — the notice calls it an alert. Same as the SkinnyDipped item earlier this week. The distinction matters because this is a company heads-up rather than a formal recall action. A chocolate plant-based powder. If you've got a peanut allergy, you are not flipping over the pea-protein tub to check for peanut. Nobody is. So one batch — fine. But that tub can sit in a cabinet for months. The only thing that saves a shopper is a lot code printed clearly enough to actually read. Is it? That's what listeners need from the notice — the batch identifier and a return path, more than reassurance that it's just one batch. USA TODAY writes:
IF Copack LLC or Initiative Foods recalled its 'Tippy Toes' Apple Pear Banana Fruit Puree due to levels of patulin. Exposure to the naturally occurring substance can lead to immune suppression, nerve damage, headache, fever, and nausea. The baby food was sold in retail grocery stores throughout the United States, except Alaska. It may have also been sold in the U.S. territories of Guam and Puerto Rico.
Here's the product to look for: Tippy Toes brand Apple Pear Banana Fruit Puree, recalled by IF Copack LLC — doing business as Initiative Foods, based in California. The issue is elevated levels of patulin. Patulin — that's a toxin that, per the FDA notice, can cause nerve damage, fever, and immune suppression in babies. So a parent hears that, and the next thing out of my mouth is: which lot? And notice how they caught it — the FDA's Total Diet Study, a monitoring program that samples foods across the country. This wasn't a sick-kid report; no illnesses or injuries were reported to the company. The agency found it through routine surveillance. Good and terrifying at the same time. Last episode I was asking whether a parent clears the whole Tippy Toes line or one pouch. Now we've got the company name — so somebody tell me the lot code and tell me which retailers carried it, because 'sold across the US' is not an aisle I can find. This one's from FDA:
In the last year, Whole Foods Market has recalled more than 30 food products because the presence of major food allergens was not listed on the finished product labels. The FDA noticed similar patterns of numerous recalls by Whole Foods Market for undeclared allergens in previous years as well. This is the first time the FDA has warned a retailer for engaging in a pattern of receiving and offering for sale misbranded food products containing undeclared allergens.
More than thirty products in a year. Thirty! And now it's official agency language — the FDA put it in writing to Whole Foods. The warning letter went up December 16th, citing a pattern of misbranded food products — major allergens missing from the finished labels. I'm pointing to the federal document here rather than a downstream summary. I've been stuck on this all week, Cera. The FDA is on record saying the company's own system didn't catch it — repeatedly. So what's the consequence? Draw that line carefully. This is a warning letter: the FDA is formally telling Whole Foods to fix the pattern. No recall, no fine, no shutdown attached to this notice. Got a recall tip, a question, or a correction we should know about? Send it our way at foodrecallwatch at lantern podcasts dot com. Your notes help keep Food Recall Watch accurate and useful.
Links to every story we covered today are in the show notes, if you want to dig deeper into any recall or safety update.
That’s Food Recall Watch for Monday, June 8th. This is a Lantern Podcast.