2 popular groceries that are being pulled from store shelves right now

It’s not just the shortages of some products and the price increases for others that have turned the grocery store experience into a source of stress these days for some shoppers. A constant barrage of health alerts and food recalls — the result of everything from packaging mistakes to mishaps during the manufacturing process — means shoppers have to stay constantly up-to-date on changes related to the products they’ve purchased.

The US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, for example, issued a public health alert for Simply Fresh Market chicken salad in recent days. The reason? It was found to contain bacteria traces. Because the product is no longer available to purchase, an official recall wasn’t needed. But shoppers still need to be aware of this, because anyone who has Simply Fresh Market chicken salad at home should definitely avoid eating it.

Food recalls 2022

The product was available for sale in three local markets in Atlanta. The government’s announcement says routine product sampling returned positive results for Listeria — Listeria monocytogenes, being a bacteria that can contaminate all types of foods

Meanwhile, a few days ago, we also warned you about the El Chavito candy recall after the manufacturer discovered potential lead contamination. El Chavito issued a salted plums recall covering two types of candies. One is Saladitos Dried Salted Plums, and the other is Saladitos Enchilados Salted Plums w/Chili. The products were available nationwide in stores and online from Jan. 9, 2019, to Feb. 2 of this year.

These candies may contain lead, and that’s why the company is recalling them. All batches/lots and all best by dates are part of the recall for these three types of candies:

• El Chavito Saladitos Dried Salted Plums, net wt. 1.7 oz 859470006049
• El Chavito Saladitos Dried Salted Plums, net wt. 1.7 oz 850013297221
• El Chavito Saladitos Enchilados Salted Plums w/Chili, net wt. 1.7 oz 859470006070

Any other El Chavito products that aren’t on the list above are safe to eat.

Siren Snacks recall

Another recent food recall to mention comes from Siren Snacks, which announced just a few days ago that it’s pulling the Birthday Cake 1.7 oz Bites sold at Target. The reason? The packages might contain trace amounts of cashews and almond butter.

The problem is not just that those are potential allergens for some people. It’s that the product label doesn’t include those two ingredients.

The full announcement about this recall is available on the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recall website. Siren Snacks says the recall follows a notification from one consumer who suffered from an allergic reaction — and that, following an investigation, the company discovered that the product contains cashew and almond butter. 

This recall of the Birthday Cake 1.7oz Bites includes the following product codes and lot numbers. The UPCs are 8-62768-00048-3 and 8-62768-00049-0. Also, these lot numbers are part of the recall: 21326, 21335, 21336, and 21340.