WASHINGTON — Islandia, NY-based Whitson’s Food Service (Bronx) Corp. is recalling nearly 9,000 lbs of frozen, ready-to-cook chicken alfredo pasta products due to misbranding and undeclared allergens, the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced on Feb. 16. The frozen meals contain egg, a known allergen, which was not declared on the product label.
The chicken alfredo with broccoli penne pasta meals were produced on Jan. 25 and 31. The following are subject to the recall:
- 13.7-lb. boxes containing 30 plastic trays of 7.3-oz. meals containing “Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli & Penne Pasta” with a best if used by date of 1/25/24, product code number 903419 and lot number W01252308897.
- 13.7-lb. boxes containing 30 plastic trays of 7.3-oz. meals containing “Chicken Strips over WW Penne Pasta with Alfredo Sauce & Broccoli” with a best if used by of date 1/31/24, product code number 403127 and lot number W01312307698.
The products bear establishment number “P-32073” inside the USDA mark of inspection and were shipped to institutional locations in New York and Pennsylvania. While the product was distributed to schools, it was through a commercial sale and was not part of the food provided by the USDA for the National School Lunch Program, FSIS noted.
Whitson’s Food Service received a consumer complaint and notified FSIS of the issue. After an investigation, the establishment determined that it updated the product formulation with a sauce containing egg, but the added ingredient was not communicated to the nutrition department that creates the product labels. As a result, the immediate product labels do not list egg as an ingredient or allergen.
There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of the products, according to FSIS.
