Trader Joe’s can’t shake the recall bug, and coincidentally, insects have been one of the many reasons the retailer has been involved in product pulls over the last several months.
Trader Joe’s has now been linked to almost a dozen recalls since last July, with the latest involving an organic herb that has led to one hospitalization due to a possible infection caused by Salmonella, reports Newsweek.
Almost four months into the year, Trader Joe’s products have been named in five product recalls.
Organic basil produced by Infinite Herbs, based in Miami, Fla., has been cleared from Trader Joe’s stores in 29 states over the last 24 hours.
An investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with help from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, discovered the herbs were linked to a Salmonella outbreak.
The culprit of the recall is 2.5-ounce packets of basil purchased between Feb. 1 and April 6. Trader Joe’s is asking shoppers to discard the product or return it for a full refund.
So far, 12 people have been infected with the Salmonella outbreak strain in seven states, and one has been hospitalized.
“The true number of sick people in this outbreak is likely much higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses,” the CDC said on its website. “This is because many people recover without medical care and are not tested for Salmonella.”
Dealing with product recalls has become standard procedure for Trader Joe’s:
- In late March, cashew company Wenders LLC recalled specific production lots of Trader Joe’s nuts because they might be contaminated with salmonella
- In early March, the retailer pulled its Steamed Chicken Soup Dumplings due to the potential presence of plastic material
- In early February, Trader Joe’s Chicken, Lentil & Caramelized Onion Pilaf was recalled just a couple of weeks after the frozen food product made its store debut due to the presence of “foreign matter”
- Trader Joe’s, along with several other grocers, were tied to product recalls that came out of Rizo-Lopez Foods in Modesto, Calif., in February
- In September 2023, the company withdrew Texas Tamale Company Gourmet Black Bean Tamales due to the possibility the product would contain milk allergens
- Also in September 2023, multigrain crackers were behind a recall because some packages contained metal
- In late July, rocks were found in the packaging of two types of cookies
- Rocks were also discovered in a Trader Joe’s brand of falafel, leading to a recall
- Trader Joe’s broccoli cheddar soup was pulled due to bugs that were found in the product
Trader Joe’s has blamed some of the recalls on an issue with the manufacturing process at the facilities.
The retailer has not responded to a request for comment in time for publication of this story.
