Mars Chocolate North America issued a recall of certain boxes of M&M’S candies sold at theaters because the outside of the box did not list peanuts as an ingredient.
But look at what was allegedly found inside one of the boxes.
For those who are not allergic to peanuts and don’t know anyone well who is, this is extremely serious. About 3 million people are allergic to peanuts in the U.S. These people are at risk of going into anaphylactic shock if they eat even a trace amount of peanut butter.
These products were distributed months ago (between May 8 and July 1, 2014). During this time, an unsuspecting theater goer with a peanut allergy could have purchased one of these boxes, opened it in the darkened theater (hence unable to read the inside label), and eaten a Peanut Butter M&M. How come it took so long to recall this product?
There are no reports of anyone having an allergic reaction after eating this product, but that does not mean there were not people who had allergic reactions. Not every incident is reported.
M&M Recall Details
Mars Chocolate North America recalled M&M’S® Brand Theater Box 3.40 oz UPC #40000294764 with the following lot numbers: 417DH4JP09, 417EM4JP10, 417FM4JP09, 418AG4JP10, 418BG4JP10 , 418CG4JP10, 418DM4JP09, 418EG4JP10, 419AM4JP09, 417EG4JP09, 417FG4JP09, 417FM4JP10, 418AM4JP09, 418BM4JP10, 418CM4JP10, 418DM4JP10, 418EM4JP09, 419AM4JP10, 417EG4JP10, 417FG4JP10, 418AG4JP09, 418AM4JP10, 418CG4JP09, 418DG4JP10, 418EG4JP09, 418EM4JP10, 419BM4JP10
These boxes of M&M’S with these lot codes may contain product containing peanut butter without listing on the ingredient label on the outside cardboard box. The inside package is correctly labelled with ingredients and allergy information.
The recall announcement warns of the risk of anaphylactic shock:
People who have allergies to peanuts run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if their theater box contains an inner M&Ms Brand Peanut Butter bag and they consume the product. No adverse reactions have been reported to date.
Mars found out about the problem when a consumer notified the company of a M&M’S® Brand Peanut Butter package containing peanut butter M&M’S® inside a M&M’S® Brand Milk Chocolate Theater Box, according to the recall announcement.
Thee recalled products were shipped and distributed to customer warehouses between May 8 and July 1, 2014, located in: NC, TX, MN, IL, FL, KY, MS, AZ, GA, AI, CA NJ, PA, WA NY, CO, MO, MI, NH, CT, TN, MD, SC, OH, ME, VA, RI, WI, WV, IA, LA, OK, MA, NE, OK, AR, VT, ID and IN . The products were then redistribute for retail sale nationwide.
The M&M’S® Brand Milk Chocolate Theater Box comes in a 3.40 oz brown, 3 inch x 6.5 inch cardboard box stamped on the right-hand side panel with the lot number and best before date.
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