A hefty amount of butter sold at Costco warehouses nationwide has been recalled for containing an “undeclared allergen,” Today reported Monday.
Continental Dairy Facilities Southwest LLC issued a voluntary recall on Oct. 11 of nearly 80,000 pounds of butter distributed in Texas and sold at the big-box retail chain. Per Today, the recall includes 1,300 cases (about 46,800 pounds) of 16-ounce, 4-stick packs of Kirkland Signature Unsalted Sweet Cream Butter and 900 cases (about 32,400 pounds) of 16-ounce, 4-stick packs of Kirkland Signature Salted Sweet Cream Butter.
Nearly a month later, on Nov. 7, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified the recall as a Class II because the butters’ label didn’t specify the inclusion of one key ingredient: milk. “Butter lists cream, but may be missing the Contains Milk statement,” the FDA wrote.
Milk is one of the nine major food allergens listed and recognized by the FDA. The federal agency defines a Class II recall as “a situation in which [the] use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.” Last year, the FDA classified PepsiCo’s recall of more than 25,000 cases of bottled frappuccinos as Class II because they possibly contained glass.
Those who have purchased the recalled butter products on or before Oct. 11 and are allergic or sensitive to milk are encouraged to dispose of them or return the products to their local Costco for a refund.
In the wake of the recall, several Costco customers poked fun at the ridiculousness of warning customers that butter is made from a dairy product.
“Warning, peanut butter may contain peanuts,” wrote u/sandiercy on Reddit. “But does it contain butter?” questioned another Redditor, u/ChronoMonkeyX.
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“Seemingly silly and arbitrary technicalities like this is the outcome of a couple centuries of death and illness from non-labeled, mis-labeled, and/or deceptively-labeled foods not allowing for responsible choices by the broadest number of people possible as food became more industrialized or was able to be shipped further from home,” explained user u/turnmeintocompostplz.
“Yeah, considering the fact that I have to deal with this exact allergy in my day-to-day cooking, the fact that this is getting mocked is kinda concerning to me,” said user u/Colaymorak.
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