No Lunchables recall over alleged glass in cheese

Some dad and mom are anxious after social media posts claimed glass was discovered in a well-liked snack for kids. 

VERIFY reader Pam shared a screenshot of a Facebook put up the place somebody claimed there have been “multiple cases” of individuals discovering shards of glass in their Lunchables nacho cheese dip. The put up was shared greater than 100,000 occasions. 

Several individuals on Facebook have claimed there’s a recall on the Lunchables nacho cheese product due to the difficulty. Recent online search data additionally present individuals are questioning if there’s a Lunchables recall. 

Is there a Lunchables recall over claims of glass shards in the nacho cheese dip?

No, there isn’t a Lunchables recall over claims of glass shards in the nacho cheese dip. 

Kraft Heinz, Lunchables’ mum or dad firm, has not issued a voluntary recall for the nacho cheese product in response to the net posts, which doubtless present edible crystals that kind throughout processing – not glass. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has acquired complaints in regards to the Lunchables product by its CFSAN Adverse Event Reporting System. But the federal company, which requests or mandates recollects in some instances, hasn’t issued one for the Lunchables product, both.   

The crystals individuals are seeing in their Lunchables nacho cheese dip are “not glass and present no safety issue,” a spokesperson for Kraft Heinz mentioned. 

“It is likely that the perceived glass is actually salt/phosphate generated as a byproduct during processing,” a spokesperson for the FDA mentioned in an electronic mail. “This can also happen in seafood, as naturally forming crystals, for instance, in canned tuna, during the natural canning process.”

Certain components in the Lunchables nacho cheese dip may cause salt-like phosphate crystals to kind on uncommon events, based on Kraft Heinz. Sodium phosphates are listed online as one of the ingredients in the Lunchables nacho cheese dip and salsa product.

“A loss of moisture or extreme temperatures can cause the crystals, similar to how freezer burn can occur in frozen foods,” the corporate spokesperson mentioned. 

Alexandria Jones, who lives in Georgia and bought the Lunchables product, additionally put the theories about glass shards to the take a look at. 

Jones wrote in a Facebook post on Jan. 24 that she discovered arduous, sharp lumps in the Lunchables cheese dip. But when she put the particles on her fingers and ran them below scorching water, they obtained smaller earlier than ultimately disappearing, she informed VERIFY in a Facebook message. 

John Lucey, Ph.D., a professor of meals science on the University of Wisconsin-Madison, wrote in a 2014 column for a dairy business journal that crystals can kind in each pure and processed cheese merchandise. The crystals can appear like white dots contained in the cheese, or white traces or spots on the skin of it, he mentioned. 

Though the salt-like crystals are fit for human consumption and received’t trigger sickness, they will “create an unappealing texture,” Kraft Heinz mentioned. 

Customers who discovered the crystals in their Lunchables can contact Kraft Heinz online or by calling 1-800-222-2323 so the corporate can “investigate and provide a refund,” the spokesperson mentioned. 

Kraft Heinz apologized to anybody who skilled the crystals in their Lunchables and mentioned the corporate has “quickly taken action to prevent further occurrences.”