Whole Foods Receives First FDA Warning Letter About Wrongly Labeled Food, Leads to Recalls

The FDA says Whole Foods recalled 32 products between October 2019 and November 2020 due to undeclared allergens.

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“The FDA has observed similar patterns of numerous recalls by the Whole Foods Market for undeclared allergens in previous years,” the agency wrote in a constitutive update posted on its website.

The FDA says the items were mostly sold under the Whole Foods brand and were found mainly in the delicatessen and bakery sections.

“This is the first time the FDA has warned a retailer that it is engaging in a pattern of receiving and offering for sale the wrongly labeled foods that contain undeclared allergens,” the update says.

In the letter to John Mackey, president and chief executive officer of Whole Foods, the FDA cited a recall of Wheat Foods Market Minestrone Soup, which contained undeclared milk.

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“[Y]you indicated that the wrong labeling took place because your internal labeling system for food repackaging has not been updated to reflect the current list of ingredients for the product, ”the letter said.

Chantilly Key Lime Tartlets were recalled because “the mention of the ingredient, which contained almond flour, on the main box was not completely transferred to the weighing label used for the individual packaging”.

Whole Foods Market White Parkerhouse Rolls were also recalled for undeclared milk and eggs.

Whole Foods has 15 days to respond to the letter, which the FDA says should include steps being taken to address these violations of federal food labeling regulations.

“You are responsible for investigating and determining the causes of the violations identified above and for preventing their recurrence or occurrence of other violations,” the letter said.

Whole Foods risks FDA enforcement measures if the violations are not corrected, the letter writes.

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“Whole Foods Market takes food safety very seriously,” a MarketWatch spokesman said in a statement.

“We work closely with the FDA to ensure that all practices and procedures in our stores meet if they do not exceed food safety requirements. We remain committed to maintaining the highest quality standards in the industry. “

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