Total recall

/ Alex Good

A week ago I had a Dangerous Dining post talking about breakfast cereals, in the course of which I mentioned how Quaker’s Harvest Crunch granola cereal was one of my go-to favourites. Just a day or two later a recall was announced by Quaker that had that same cereal listed as possibly contaminated with salmonella.

Ouch!

Usually I don’t pay any attention to grocery recalls because they seem to always involve brussels sprouts or instant ramen. This one took me a bit by surprise, and not just for coming from such a major brand as Quaker. I mean, I’m sure it’s not impossible to get salmonella from granola, but isn’t it strange?

Salmonella is a bacteria most often found in poultry, eggs, raw and undercooked meat, and dairy products. At the end of several lists of foods most likely to be contaminated with salmonella I also found things like nut butters, some processed foods, and infant formula.

Not granola.

Even stranger was the wire story on the recall:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received at least 24 reports of adverse events related to the products initially recalled, but no illnesses have been confirmed to be linked to the foods, an agency spokesperson said Friday. Adverse events can include medical problems, but also complaints about off taste or color of a product, defective packaging or other non-medical issues, the official said. FDA will continue to investigate the reports.

So no illnesses confirmed to have been linked to the foods? And “adverse events”? That sounds really vague. It even includes “complaints about off taste or color of a product, defective packaging or other non-medical issues.” Defective packaging?

I don’t know how much of this recall is due to an excess of caution, and how big the actual risk might be. In any event, seeing as I had several boxes of the suspect cereal this has become the first product recall that I’ve actually taken part in. I filled out a form online, attached a picture of the unopened boxes I had in my cupboard, and was told my request would take up to 8 weeks to process.

I’m curious to see what happens. Do manufacturers actually pay out when they have a recall? You’re on the clock, Quaker! I’m not expecting anything, but let’s see how you do.

Update, May 27 2024:

All’s well that ends well!

15 thoughts on “Total recall”

  1. tick, tick, tick….

    Yeah, I bet they’re playing safer than sorrier. But it is very odd. I’m trying to think how one would contaminate granola with salmonella. maybe a worker throws a week old leg of lamb into the big mixing machine? Or they hate their chicken sandwich they bought from that gas station and toss that in?

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    • I still can’t tell if they actually found salmonella in any of the products. But this must be a huge recall. It’s not just cereal but their granola bars too. So they could be paying out lots of money.

      Like I say, I’ve never been part of a recall for anything before and I’m interested in seeing if they actually send me a cheque.

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  2. This totally explains some of the writing on your blog, and also some of the comments you’ve left on others. Clearly your bacterial system has been compromised and the adverse effects obviously include your opinions on culture and my writings. How many fingers am I holding up?

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