Clif Bar & Company has issued a voluntary recall for three of its energy bars due to a possible Listeria contamination after an ingredient present in the bars may carry the bacteria. The component was supplied by SunOpta, a Canadian-based organic food company.
The company announced on Friday that its Clif Nuts & Seeds energy bars, Sierra Trail Mix Energy bars, and Mojo Mountain Mix Trail Mix bars will be taken out of the shelves because the products contained SunOpta-supplied sunflower kernels, the contaminated ingredient, according to a press release made by Clif Bar & Company.
The “best by date” should be checked by customers due to not all products are the ones being recalled. For Clif Nuts & Seeds energy bars the date is from June 8, 2016, through January 21, 2017. The Sierra Trail Mix energy bar goes from June 5, 2016, through March 24, 2017, and Mojo Mountain Mix Trail Mix bars from June 16, 2016, through February 2, 2017.
Until now there have not been any reports from people infected by Listeria, which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wrote in a statement.
In healthy individuals, the bacteria can cause only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. However, another more complex consequence could be miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women, the FDA added.
People who had purchased any of the already mentioned products from Clif Bar & Company should throw it out or return it to the store. The California-based company assured to have contacted their clients to let them know the problem directly and avoid the contaminated products to remain for sale.
Infected sunflower kernels
SunOpta recalled the ingredient from all the U.S. states to which it distributes for, such as: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. This states could also expand the distribution by themselves, according to a press release by SunOpta.
The Canadian company assured to be committed to ensuring the safety of consumers and integrity of the products they make for them, said Rik Jacobs, SunOpta President, and CEO. In an abundance of caution, the company expanded the recall period to include sunflower kernel products originated from the Crookston facility that has any potential to be contaminated, Jacobs said.
“We have put into place corrective and preventative actions to ensure the safety, quality and integrity of the consumer goods and ingredients we manufacture,” Jacobs commented. “We have resumed production of roasted sunflower kernel products at our facility in Crookston after conducting a comprehensive review of our manufacturing processes. We have also enhanced our active testing activities before all customer shipments.”
Also, the company as well called their retailers and wholesale customers such as Clif Bar & Company to check their inventories and shelves to confirm that none of the recalled products are present or available for purchase directly or in the warehouse.
Source: FDA