New Hampshire-based Stonyfield announced late last week that it is voluntarily recalling 188 4oz six-packs of Peach & Pear flavored YoBaby yogurt cups, which are manufactured specially for babies, “in response to internal testing…that revealed the possibility that some products shipped from its Londonderry plant may have been affected by coliform contamination.”
Coliforms are a group of bacteria found in plant material, water, soil and in the digestive tracts and feces of humans and animals, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The majority of coliform strains are not harmful, according to the CDC. Some, such as Escherichia coli (E.coli), can however lead to illness.
Despite the alert, Stonyfield is yet to receive “any complaints of illness or any other concerns” from customers or consumers, and CEO Esteve Torrens believes “the risk of injury is extremely remote.”
“At the time of the recall, we had not received any complaints of illness or any other concerns from our customers or consumers, and very few products made it to store shelves. We chose to call back the product as a precautionary step,” Torrens said in a statement.
“We’re currently awaiting test results to know more about the type of coliform, and we’ll communicate what we learn on our website as new information arrives.”
On the back of this warning, Stonyfield plans to develop “even more rigorous food safety protocols moving forward,” Torrens added.
"No other...products were affected"
According to a recall notice published by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 25, the YoBaby yogurt pots in question were shipped to Target stores in Alabama, Virginia, Tennessee, Florida, Georgina, North Carolina and South Carolina and Walmart stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware.
The potentially contaminated pots, which bear the code date of June 5 2014, could only have been purchased on or after April 23 2014.
In fact, “very few” of these products actually made it to the shelf, according to Stonyfield.
“Although the potential problem is not widespread, Stonyfield is taking this measure to ensure that safety of its consumers,” said the recall notice.
“Stonyfield advised its distribution network to immediately remove these specific code-dated yogurts from retail shelves."
“No other Stonyfield products were affected," the company added.