(NewsInsights.org) – Northeast grocery chain Stew Leonard’s issued an urgent voluntary recall of its Florentine Cookies on Tuesday, January 23, due to product mislabeling. The move came after health authorities reported the death of a New York woman in her 20s who ate the treats at a social gathering to the FDA. The cookies contained peanuts, but the label failed to list the ingredient.
Stew Leonard’s issued a press release on Tuesday notifying the public and media outlets of the recall. The chain’s Danbury and Newington, Connecticut, stores sold the affected Vanilla Florentine Cookies, which contain undeclared peanuts, between November 6 and December 31, 2023. The chain encouraged customers with peanut or tree nut allergies to return the product to customer service at any of its locations for a full refund.
Stew Leonard Jr., the president and CEO of the company, told Newsweek the stores purchased the confections from Cookies United, an outside supplier. He claimed the supplier changed the recipe without notifying the grocery chain’s safety officer. Therefore, when the grocer repackaged and relabeled the cookies, it didn’t include information about peanuts. Leonard estimated the company sold approximately 500 packages of the treats.
In reaction to the tragedy, the grocery chain pulled all Cookies United baked items from its Connecticut stores as a precaution to allow time to investigate the labeling of other products from the vendor.
Walker Flanary, general counsel for Cookies United, also issued a press release and supporting documentation on Tuesday correcting statements made by Leonard. The company extended its deepest condolences to the family and friends of the allergy victim. However, it provided a copy of a July 2023 email sent to 11 Stew Leonard’s grocery employees notifying them of the change in recipe and specifically about the addition of peanuts to both Vanilla and Chocolate Florentine Cookies.
The press release went on to point out that the grocer repackages and relabels the company’s products at their facilities under their store brand. Despite providing updated label information, Cookies United emphasized that the chain created and applied the incorrect label to the repackaged product.
Investigations in Connecticut and New York are continuing. The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection told Newsweek it had no “additional information to provide at this time.”
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