White rice urgently recalled over 'adverse health' risk
Certain white rice bags have been recalled across the United States due to the ‘possible presence of foreign material’, according to manufacturers.
The nationwide recall notice, issued on 4 April, involves 2lbs bags of Lundberg Organic Jasmine White Rice from Lundberg Family Farms.
It’s understood that the potentially contaminated bags are tagged with 2027 best-before dates and were sold at Wegmans Food Markets.
The US food retailer operates in nine different states, including Delaware, the District of Columbia, Connecticut, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Virginia.
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Rice with the best before date of 1 February and the lot code: 260201 is impacted, as are products dated 2 February with the lot code: 260202.
The Lundberg Family Farms Regenerative Organic Certified White Jasmine Rice bags have the UPC 073416- 040281, as per the adverse health risk notice.
Wegmans has not elaborated on what the ‘foreign material’ is that has potentially contaminated the Lundberg product.
All affected products may be returned to the grocery chain for a full refund, the notice read.
FOODbible has contacted Lundberg Family Farms and Wegmans for comment.
Despite the Lundberg white rice being sold at Walmart, Target, Whole Foods and Giant, other stores have not put out a recall notice, as per People.
The outlet reported that the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to publish any information in regards to the recall online.
Good Housekeeping reported that the FDA was made aware of the recall and that no reports of injury or illness had been received to date.
In a statement issued to USA Today, Lundberg Family Farms said it has issued a voluntary Class II recall of about 4,500 cases of the rice pouches.
A Class II recall means that exposure to the product may cause temporary or medically reversible health effects.
The white rice recall comes just days after 740,000 sauté pans were recalled following almost 100 incident reports.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC): “The metal cap on the screw that connects the sauté pan to the handle can become detached and forcefully eject when heated, posing impact and burn hazards to consumers.”
It’s understood that the recall notice is affecting Granitestone Diamond Pro Blue stainless steel sauté pans sold from August 2021 through to February 2026.
Dairy companies Nestlé, Lactalis and Danone issued major recall notices at the start of this year amid the Food Standards Agency (FSA) confirming the possible presence of cereulide, a toxin produced by some strains of Bacillus cereus.
Nestlé recalled the likes of its SMA Advanced First Infant Milk and SMA Comfort, while Danone recalled a single batch of Aptamil Infant Formula 800g with the Best Before date of 31 October 2026.
Lactis recalled six lots of its Picot infant formula brand with expiration dates of up to March 2027.
Australia, Chile, China, Colombia, the Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, France, Spain, Madagascar, Mexico, Uzbekistan, Peru, Georgia, Greece, Kuwait, the Czech Republic and Taiwan are all affected, as per Reuters.
Ella Scott