After one of its cookie dough products was taken off shelves last year following the discovery it contained peanuts that weren’t supposed to be there, a cookie manufacturer has been issued a warning by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), after an inspection uncovered “serious violations”.
Back in October 2023, a Cookies-N-Milk product was issued a Class I recall – the most serious kind – by the FDA. While the product’s packaging indicated that it contained chocolate chip cookie dough, it was found to actually contain peanut butter cookie dough.
This mix-up meant that the presence of peanuts wasn’t declared on the label, presenting a serious risk to those with a peanut allergy. Though an allergic reaction to peanuts can be mild for many people – though still fairly unpleasant, with common symptoms including sickness, breathlessness, and hives – they can trigger a more severe reaction called anaphylaxis, which is life-threatening.
The severity of the recall triggered an FDA inspection of Cookies-n-Milk’s manufacturing facility in Texas, which revealed more concerns.
“Your facility manufactures, packages, and distributes RTE [ready-to-eat] Edible Cookie Dough products with and without peanuts, in addition to other allergens (soy, milk, wheat). Therefore, allergens are a known or reasonably foreseeable hazard,” the FDA wrote in its letter to Cookies-n-Milk.
It’s good practice to state that a product is manufactured in a facility that handles such ingredients, even if those ingredients aren’t in the actual product. That being said, they also failed to declare ingredients that actually were in one of their products, including milk powder and baking soda.
“A knowledgeable person manufacturing/processing food in your circumstances would identify allergens as a hazard requiring a preventive control at the packaging/labeling step.” Ooft.
The FDA inspection also found that the company didn’t have any processes in place to identify and evaluate the risk of mycotoxins. These are toxic compounds produced by molds, and one of them, aflaxtoxin, has been associated with peanuts.
Though Cookies-n-Milk provided a written response to the FDA’s findings in November, outlining how it would correct the issues with labeling and evaluating mycotoxins, the FDA stated that this didn’t have enough supporting evidence, nor did it include updated hazard analysis or food safety procedures.
As a result, the FDA issued the company with a warning letter.
“It is your responsibility to ensure that your firm complies with all requirements of federal law, including FDA regulations,” the letter reads. “This letter notifies you of our concerns and provides you an opportunity to address them. Failure to adequately address this matter may result in legal action including, without limitation, seizure and injunction.”
That’s a very polite way of saying, “Get your shit together.”
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