Recall Alert Issued for Cookies Ahead of Christmas
The recall was issued as a "precautionary measure" after a labeling error resulted in the cookies posing a major risk to people with allergies.
If you're planning to give a gift basket this holiday season, you may need to find a last-minute backup present. Just a day after Thanksgiving, and amid the rush of the holiday shopping season, gift basket company Wine Country Gift Baskets issued a voluntary recall of all gift baskets that feature Acorn Baking Company raspberry crème filled cookies due to allergy concerns.
The recall affects several holiday and non-holiday gift baskets that were shipped between Aug. 29 and Nov. 21 this year, including: Believe Cookie, Cake and Brownie Collection, Gourmet Bakery Basket, Bakery Bonanza, Brownie, Cookie & Cake Assortment, Brownie, Cookie & Cake Sleigh, Cookie, Brownie and Cake Winter Assortment, Bakery, Coffee & Cocoa Gift Collection, Tis The Season Bakery Gift Box, and Fresh Baked Cookie, Brownie and Cake Collection baskets. Of these, only those with certain lot codes are affected, according to a recall notice shared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The complete list of lot, which can be found on the white label with black print on the bottom of the basket, can be found here.
While several gift baskets are affected by the recall, most of the items in the baskets are still safe for consumers to eat. The baskets are being recalled due to a labeling error that resulted in some packages of the raspberry crème filled cookies containing hazelnut crème filled cookies. The lot code for the cookie is #106052023. Since hazelnut is a tree nut and listed as one of the nine major food allergens, the cookie poses a potentially life-threatening risk to some consumers, but Wine Country Gift Baskets said it has not any complaints about the recalled gift baskets and there have been no reports of injuries or illnesses. The company noted that an allergen statement on each individual cookie package states, "May Contain Traces of Peanuts, Hazelnuts, Almonds, Sesame, Sulphites," as both the raspberry crème filled cookies and hazelnut crème filled cookies are produced in the same facility.
Due to the health risks associated with the cookies, consumers are encouraged to check to see if they have the correct cookie packaged inside. If the package contains a hazelnut crème filled cookie and someone in your household is allergic to tree nuts, the cookie should be thrown away. Consumers who purchased the gift baskets for someone else are encouraged to let them know to check to see if they have the correct cookie packaged inside. In a statement, Wine Country Gift Basket, part of a firm named Houdini Inc., said they are "committed to providing only the highest quality of product and is taking this action out of an abundance of caution in the interest of consumer protection."
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