Jelly bean recall: Jelly Belly says its labels left off an ingredient people are allergic to
Filed under: Food, Recalls, Consumer Ally
For people with peanut allergies, beware these innocent-looking jelly beans. Jelly Belly is recalling 7.5-ounce cylinders of 49 Flavors Jelly Belly jelly beans, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.The label does not mention that the ingredients include peanut butter and peanut flour.
"People who have an allergy to peanuts or a severe sensitivity to peanuts run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these ingredients," the FDA said in its recall announcement.
The jelly beans that are being recalled were sold at 200 stores nationwide between Sept. 20 and Oct. 30. The packaging is clear. A white label on the bottom carries the following lot codes: 090925, 090928, 090929 or 091001. UPC code 071567989398.
The company told the FDA it discovered the labeling error during a quality control review. No other Jelly Belly products are affected by this recall.
People who are allergic to peanuts who purchased the recalled product can return it to: Jelly Belly Candy Company, One Jelly Belly Lane, Fairfield, Calif., 94533. Those with questions can call Jelly Belly weekdays between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern Time at 800-522-3267.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-06-2009 @ 8:32PM
gr8bsn said...
Not to sound insensitive (and I truly don't mean it this way), but how come I never heard of peanut allergies when I went through elementary school/high school in the 80s and 90s? Is there something being added to food that's making people hyper sensitive? I work as a tutor and I can't even have trail-mix sealed in my lunch cooler because some kids are so sensitive. I mean, I truly feel bad for them, but where were all these allergies when I was growing up?
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11-06-2009 @ 8:55PM
Jaclyn said...
Hi,
I often ask myself this same question. My daughter who is 4 is severely allergic to peanuts and honestly, no one knows why. Vaccines? Exposure while pregnant? environmental? It is just so strange to me, back in the day EVERYONE brought PBnJ to school and now so many kids are allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, milk, soy, wheat, etc. My biggest worry is when daughter starts kindergarten and is sitting at a lunch table. I know many schools are accommodating, but sadly, many are not and it is due to people not really knowing too much about the allergy.
11-06-2009 @ 10:12PM
SJH said...
Peanuts have been hybrid since the 80's. The genetics have been changed to make the peanut resistant to pest and mold. As a result the peanut has changed, making it more of a danger to people who otherwise would not be affected. This has also been done with apples, cprn and other produce. Look into your foods!
11-07-2009 @ 1:44AM
stephanie said...
i have a severe peanut allergy
when i was in school in the early ninties a kid couldnt sit next to me a reaction would be set off if i even smelt it no lie
but nowadays it is gettin more common
11-07-2009 @ 2:17AM
Ant said...
I was born in 66 and in the early 70's was rushed to the hospital a delicious PBJ sandwich. I found out at that time I am allergic to peanuts. So the allergy has been around for quite some time and really does suck. My family refused to let me eat chocolate, if you read the label most chocolate candy is made where peanuts are in the environment
11-15-2009 @ 10:05AM
tom said...
i know why you weren't reading about peanut alergies in the 60s 70s and 80s and 90s.
here you go: because you weren't paying attention. They have always been there. I still recall a warning that was always given to a classamte of mine in, here goes, 4th grade. 1968.
So, don't feel insensitve.
Innatentive? you can feel that.
11-06-2009 @ 8:33PM
robert said...
This was intentional so they could get free publicity. If the labels are always printed the same why did they change for THESE batches? So they could issue a press release and get free publicity.Cheap bastards
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11-06-2009 @ 11:36PM
Beth said...
Seriously. You are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too paranoid.
11-13-2009 @ 4:11AM
dreprince said...
robert: "This was intentional so they could get free publicity. If the labels are always printed the same why did they change for THESE batches? So they could issue a press release and get free publicity.Cheap bastards"
And how is bad publicity good for the company???
11-06-2009 @ 9:00PM
kay said...
I grew up in the 70's and 80's and I am deathly allergic to peanuts, so this allergy is not new. I can't even be close to someone chewing gum because I am so allergic to an ingredient in gum. I think people are just more aware of the dangers of allergies, which is why you hear about them now.
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11-06-2009 @ 9:11PM
Debbie said...
My two youngest children, ages 24 and 26, are severely allergic to peanuts. Doctors determined it was caused by an ingredient in the prenatal vitamin I was given. I was given a different vitamin with my oldest child, who is not allergic. I moved at the beginning of the second pregnancy and my new doctor sold this particular vitamin out of his office to all of his patients. I firmly believe doctors should not have a financial interest in the medicines they prescribe. My daughter almost died from a grocery store mislabeling cookies sold in their bakery. We were told she is unlikely to survive another reaction. At the time my children were young, I knew of no other child allergic to peanuts. Now I know several and their families have no clue as to the cause.
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11-06-2009 @ 9:38PM
Alex said...
There are actually a lot of different theories on how food allergies are caused. I am fourteen and have been allergic to peanuts since I was two. I was allergic to many more foods, but I out grew most of those allergies, and a lot of people think that it all has to do with the cleanliness (I'm not sure if that's spelled right) of the world nowadays. Back then, people weren't so obsessed with cleaning and disinfecting. I have to say, mislabelling products cannot only be deadly to me, but so many other kids. More than two million school age kids (and many more not school aged) have life threatening food allergies, and school can be really horrible until you have a plan set up. It took my parents over a year to get a plan for me because I was the first child in my school district with a food allergy so severe. I remember always being outcasted and being scared to eat anything outside of my own home. I've recently taken my expiriences and taught others about food allergies and how we need to concentrate on looking for a cure. I've done quite a bit for children with food allergies already, and my mom and I are advocating in a bunch of different ways. She has a food allergy support group and I've gone to my state capitol and the national capitol to testify to get a law passed placing set guidlines in the school districts for kids with food allergies. They're very serious, and no offense to the Jelly Belly company, but if you're allergic to peanuts, you shouldn't be eating these jelly beans at all because they're all processed on the same lines as peanut products.
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11-07-2009 @ 12:37AM
Karen Monaghan said...
My daughter was diagnosed in 1969 with a severe allergy to nuts only after eating a nut and suffering a life-threatening reaction. I was familiar with food allergies because my mother is allergic to several foods. My grandson was born in 1997 with a nut and peanut allergy. In the 1970's it was difficult to make people understand how serious my daughter's allergy was.
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