On Sept. 26, a vegan snack sold across Canada was flagged by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) after it was found to have contained an undeclared allergen.
The CFIA issued a food safety warning for Smarter Snacks’ “Vegan Protein Puff Chili & Lime Flavored” bags because the product contained milk, which was not listed on its label. According to an article by CP24, the CFIA advised that people who are allergic or sensitive to milk should avoid consuming the inspected snacks, as it could cause a serious or life-threatening reaction.
Following the warning, the CFIA suggested consumers check their pantries to see whether they have the vegan snacks at home. If so, it is expected that consumers do not serve, eat, sell or distribute them. Food recalls happen when a product may pose a health risk to Canadians, whereas food safety warnings are issued when a recall is unable to be carried out. Recalls are unable to be carried out if the company responsible for the recalled product cannot be reached or refuses to recall the product.
Food safety warnings provide consumers with information about potentially unsafe food items so that they can avoid consuming or purchasing it.
When a product is issued a food safety warning, the CFIA investigates it to assess the risk to consumers. If a risk is discovered, the company responsible for the product is expected to remove it from grocery stores and markets under the law. The CFIA then checks whether the recall was effective and continues to monitor the situation.
Consumers will also be advised to check their kitchen for recalled products and follow the instructions provided by the CFIA. Depending on what the issue was with the product, the CFIA may suggest for people to throw the product away, return it to stores or avoid consuming it altogether.
The Smart Snacks food safety warning was not the only issue reported by the CFIA this year.
On Mar. 17, the CFIA issued food recalls for several products distributed by Ajinomoto, such as it’s Yakitori Chicken with Japanese Style Fried Rice, Tokyo Style Shoyu Ramen with Chicken and Yakitori Chicken Fried Rice, due to the possible presence of glass within the items.
These products were sold at major grocery stores, such as Costco, various Asian supermarkets and online stores across Canada.
On July 28, the CFIA recalled the Shrimp Ring with Mild Cocktail Sauce distributed by Our Finest brand due to 3-amino-2-oxazolidinone, chemicals that carry several health risks. The product was distributed in retail stores all over Ontario, such as Walmart.
Most recently, on Sept. 29, the CFIA recalled several Summerhill Market products, including their frozen raspberries, frozen berry mix, frozen smoothie mix and Protein Power Pod Raspberry over possible norovirus contamination.
These fruit products are currently distributed across Ontario, so consumers should avoid buying these products in stores before they can be filtered out.
The CFIA advises consumers to check on whether they have any food products that have been recalled or issued food safety warnings, and if so, to avoid consuming or distributing said products to others.
Recalled food should be thrown out or returned to the store where it was purchased. Anyone who believes they became sick from eating a recalled product should contact their healthcare provider.
For more information about recalled foods and food safety warnings, visit the CFIA website.
To report a potentially mislabelled or unsafe food product to the CFIA, visit the Government of Canada website.