Why Whole Foods Got Slapped By The FDA

Whole Foods (AMZN) is in hot water with the Food and Drug Administration over a number of recalls it issued for food allergens.

The Amazon-owned grocer received a warning letter from the agency after it recalled 32 products from October 2019 to November 2020 because they were mislabeled and contained undeclared food allergens.

The FDA said that it also “noticed similar patterns of numerous recalls for undeclared allergens in previous years.” The products recalled were primarily found in Whole Foods' deli and bakery sections.

Some of the product recalls that Whole Foods made during this timeframe included minestrone soup, which had undeclared milk as an ingredient; gelato, which had egg as an undeclared ingredient; and rolls, which contained undeclared milk and eggs.

The FDA is now requiring Whole Foods to conduct an investigation to determine the cause of the food violations to prevent them from occurring again. Whole Foods has 15 days to respond to the FDA letter, which was dated Dec. 16, to provide the steps it will take to correct the violations.

“Failure to promptly correct these violations may result in enforcement action by FDA without further notice, including seizure and/or injunction,” the FDA said in the letter.

In a statement to the New York Post, Whole Foods said, “We are working closely with the FDA to ensure all practices and procedures in our stores meet if not exceed food safety requirements.”

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