Thousands of cases of salad dressings sold at retailers nationwide, including Costco Food Court and reportedly Publix, have been recalled due to potential contamination of “foreign objects.”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that California-based Ventura Foods is recalling 3,556 cases of its products after black plastic planting materials were discovered in granulated onion ingredients.
The recall began on Nov. 6, and was classified as a Class II recall on Dec. 4. This classification indicates that the affected products “may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”
Popular items affected include Caesar dressing sold specifically at Costco Service Deli and Costco Food Court. On Nov. 7, Costco notified its members that it was recalling its Caesar salad and chicken sandwiches containing Caesar dressing. Publix also carried some of the affected products, according to People.
Bottles of Hidden Valley brand salad dressing sit on display for sale at a supermarket. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg / Getty Images)
Other affected items include Italian salad dressing, creamy poblano avocado ranch dressing, Ventura Caesar dressing, Pepper Mill regal Caesar dressing, Pepper Mill creamy Caesar dressing, and Hidden Valley buttermilk ranch dressing.
The FDA said seven retail customers across 42 locations in 27 states were affected, including Kentucky, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Virginia, Missouri, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Washington, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Texas, Ohio, North Dakota and Oregon. The company also distributed the product internationally, including at least one customer in Costa Rica.
A customer arrives at the pick-up window of a Costco Food Court in Florida. (Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group / Getty Images)
Ventura Foods told on Wednesday that one of its ingredient suppliers recalled a batch of onion granules. Because the company used that batch in some of its dressings, the company also issued a recall for those products.
“On November 6, Ventura Foods initiated a sub-recall on a limited number of dressings containing onion granules after one of our suppliers voluntarily recalled one lot of the ingredient due to potential foreign material,” the company said.
“The safety of our products is and will always be our top priority.”
A Caesar salad with cheese and dressing. (iStock / iStock)
“Upon receiving notice of the supplier’s recall, we acted with urgency to remove all potentially impacted product from the marketplace. This includes urging our customers, their distributors and retailers to review their inventory, segregate and stop the further sale and distribution of any products subject to the recall.”
“We are supporting our partners through the recall process and remain focused on minimizing operational disruption while prioritizing food safety.”