Undeclared Allergen Whey Triggers Recall of Chicken Tamales in California

California Firm, Diana’s Mexican Food Products, Inc. has announced the recall of around 41,670 pounds of chicken tamales. The recall was triggered due to the presence of an undeclared allergen, whey. The company had not declared the same on the label.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) made the announcement regarding the recall. Routine inspection by the FSIS brought this discrepancy up.

It is mandatory for companies to provide appropriate labeling of their products with a listing of allergenic ingredients. Therefore, companies are strongly encouraged to declare any allergenic ingredient contained in a spice, flavor, or color.

The violation

The non declaration of whey is a violation of Section 403(i)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act).

Products that contain an allergenic ingredient by design must comply with section 403(i)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act), which requires each ingredient in a food to be declared. Processing aids that contain allergenic ingredients must be declared in accordance with 21 CFR 101.4(a)(1). Production practices that lead to unintentional addition of allergens to food may be considered insanitary conditions that may render the food injurious to health and cause the food product to be adulterated under section 402(a)(4) of the Act.

USDA Recall Classifications

The recall is a USDA Class I recall posing high health risks.

Class I: This is a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.

Class II: This is a health hazard situation where there is a remote probability of adverse health consequences from the use of the product.

Class III: This is a situation where the use of the product will not cause adverse health consequences.