RELATED: If You Have Any of These Nuts in Your Pantry, Throw Them Out Now, FDA Says. B&G Foods, the manufacturer of Tone’s Taco Seasoning Blend, has voluntarily recalled 3,867 cases of its seasoning after it was determined that some of the 23-oz. containers had been mislabeled.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb The affected containers have the UPC number 0-41351-91461-5 and best-by dates of “Sept. 03 24” and “Sept 06 24,” which can be found on the bottom of the side of the container. Any Tone’s products with other UPC numbers or best-by dates are not affected. RELATED: Major Grocery Chains Are All Pulling This One Food From Shelves, USDA Says. If you’re a Sam’s Club shopper, be sure to check your cabinet to see if you have the Tone’s Taco Seasoning Blend affected by the recall, which was sold at the stores and is very popular, with 415 customer ratings and an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars. A notice on the websites for the Walmart Corporation, which owns Sam’s Club, shows the full list of stores where the affected seasoning was sold. It includes locations in the following 43 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. RELATED: If You Bought This at Walmart, Don’t Eat It, FDA Warns. The seasoning blends in question were mistakenly labeled with nutritional information for Tone’s Lemon Pepper Seasoning Blend instead of the Taco Seasoning Blend, and therefore, don’t include wheat as an ingredient. In 2004, Congress passed the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA), which identified eight foods as major allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybean. Food companies are required to disclose the presence of these ingredients in their products, but because of this mislabeled bottles of taco seasoning, these recalled items don’t include that consumer warning. As the FDA notes its recall announcement regarding the taco seasoning: “People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if the recalled product is consumed. There is no health risk associated with this product for individuals without an allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat.”
Wheat allergies are common among babies and toddlers whose immune systems are still forming, according to the Mayo Clinic, but most children outgrow it by their teens. Some adults who weren’t wheat allergy suffers as children may also independently develop wheat allergies as a “cross-sensitivity to grass pollen,” the clinic notes. Wheat allergy symptoms can range from hives, headaches, and rashes, to nausea, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. While antihistamines and steroids can typically control those symptoms, a small number of wheat allergy sufferers may go into severe anaphylactic shock if they come into contact with wheat. Anaphylaxis symptoms include throat and chest pain, difficulty breathing, trouble swallowing, and dizziness or fainting, according to Mayo Clinic. If left untreated, it can lead to death. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, around 30,000 cases of anaphylaxis are treated at hospital emergency rooms each year. Anaphylaxis can occur in a matter of minutes or even seconds, so sufferers should seek treatment immediately. RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. If you’ve purchased this recalled seasoning, the FDA notice says you should “dispose of the product” or return it to your place of purchase for a full refund. B&G Foods also says you can reach out directly to the company for a refund by calling 1-800-247-5251 Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST or submitting an online request. RELATED: If You Bought This at Aldi, Throw It Out Immediately, FDA Says.
