READ THIS NEXT: If You Bought This at Home Depot or Lowe’s, Stop Using It Now, Officials Warn. The FDA announced the first of the most recent chocolate recalls on April 28 for Strauss Israel and a wide variety of items under its Elite brand. The affected products sold in the U.S. market include Elite chocolate, cakes, wafers, energy grain snacks, energy chocolate rice cakes, chewing gum, and toffee candies. According to the notice, the company pulled the chocolate items from shelves after salmonella contamination was discovered in a facility that makes the products and some liquid chocolate that inspectors tested.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb The FDA advises anyone who may have purchased the recalled chocolates not to eat them. Instead, customers should return them to their original point of purchase for a full refund. Anyone with questions can also contact Strauss Israel via Facebook, through its website, or by emailing [email protected]. A day later, on April 29, the FDA issued yet another chocolate-related voluntary recall for H-E-B Bakery Two-Bite Brownies in 12-ounce packages and H-E-B Simply Delicious Cookies with Brownie Bites Party Trays. The items were pulled from the shelf after the company discovered the baked goods could potentially contain metal fragments. The notice specifies that the affected products were distributed only to H-E-B and Joe V’s Smart Shop stores in Texas and Mexico. The agency warns customers who may have purchased the items not to consume the packaged treats and return them to the store where they were purchased for a full refund. Customers with questions or concerns can also contact H-E-B Customer Service at 855-432-4438 on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Standard Time.
RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. On May 1, the FDA announced that Massachustetts-based TJX Companies Inc., the parent company and operator of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Sierra, and Homesense stores, had issued a voluntary recall of its own. In this case, chocolate items marketed as vegan were pulled from shelves after an inspection of production facilities discovered they might contain milk not declared on the ingredients label, posing a health hazard to those with dairy allergies or sensitivities. The affected products include Pimlico Confectioners Vegan Fine Hazelnut Truffles in a 3.88-ounce green plastic package; Keats London Vegan Hazelnut Dark Chocolate in a 4.93-ounce round green plastic package; and Keats London Vegan Irish Cream Truffles in a 4.93-ounce round blue plastic package. The FDA advises all customers who purchased the products to return them to the store where they were bought or reach out to the respective retailer’s customer service department for a full refund. On May 3, the FDA announced the latest voluntary chocolate recall for a wide range of candy products made by Wyoming-based Queen Bee. According to the agency’s notice, the affected items include “a variety of honey caramel candy products and chocolates that may contain undeclared allergens including tree nuts and dairy (milk),” posing the risk of a potentially “serious or life-threatening allergic reaction” in some people if they consume them. Besides being sold at Queen Bee Gardens locations, the 52 recalled items were also distributed and sold at retail and wholesale locations across the U.S. and include production dates through April 26, 2022. The FDA advises anyone who has the recalled products to return them to the store where they were purchased for a full refund. Customers with questions or concerns can also call 1-307-548-2818 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. MST on weekdays to speak with a recall coordinator. READ THIS NEXT: This Popular Ice Cream Has Been Recalled, FDA Warns.