Whole Foods issues allergy recall after FDA's strict warning to improve food labels

Whole Foods Market issued another recall over undeclared allergens after receiving a strict warning from federal health officials over its "pattern of receiving and offering for sale misbranded food products."

The company -- which was acquired by Amazon in 2017 --  issued a voluntary recall of its Cranberry Biscotti because it "may contain" undeclared pistachios, which is a tree nut.

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Consumers who are allergic to or have a sensitivity to tree nuts "run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic," according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's notice.

The recall was issued after Whole Foods received a customer complaint. However, as of March 12, all of the packages that were sent to six locations in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia have been removed.

Still, there has been one illness reported as a result of the affected product, the FDA said.

The recall came just months after the FDA posted a warning letter issued to Whole Foods Market after discovering that undeclared allergens were the leading cause for dozens of its recalls in the last year alone.

From October 2019 to November 2020, the company had recalled 32 food products "because the presence of major food allergens was not listed on the finished product labels," the FDA said.

FDA ORDERS WHOLE FOODS TO IMPROVE ALLERGEN WARNINGS ON PRODUCTS

However, the agency cited similar recall patterns in previous years.

Grocery products are required to declare all major food allergens under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the agency said.

In its warning letter, the FDA said Whole Foods is "responsible" for investigating and determining the causes of its recent recalls in order to prevent their recurrence or other violations.

The company is also required to take "prompt action" to correct the violations if it hasn't already, the FDA said. Failure to do so may lead to further enforcement, including seizures or injunctions, the agency said.

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Right after the letter was issued, a Whole Foods Market spokesperson told FOX Business that the company takes food safety very seriously and is working "closely with the FDA to ensure all practices and procedures" in its stores "meet if not exceed food safety requirements."

Representatives for Whole Foods Market did not immediately respond to FOX Business' request for comment regarding the latest recall.