NY among 40 states impacted by FDA recall of peanut butter products

New York is one of 40 states impacted by a recall notice of single-serve peanut butter products after foreign objects were discovered in the manufacturers, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The recall notice, initially issued in April and updated last week, warns consumers that more than 20,000 individually packaged peanut butter packets distributed by Ventura Foods of Los Angeles may contain "pieces of blue plastic" discovered in the company’s filters used to manufacture the product.

The update increases the recall to Class II, which means that consuming the product "may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote," according to FDA recall definitions.

The peanut butter products, which include individual packets and small cups with both peanut butter and jelly, were sold to distributors under different brand names, according to a Feb. 12 notice by the FDA.

"Ten months ago, DYMA Brands initiated a voluntary recall on various single use peanut butter products due to the potential presence of a foreign material (plastic)," Eniko Bolivar-Murphy, vice president of corporate communications and social responsibility for Ventura Foods said in a statement to Newsday.

DYMA Brands, a manufacturer of condiments, seasonings and dry blends, was acquired by Ventura in 2024, according to the company's website. Ventura, formed in 1996, is a privately owned food manufacturer that produces dressings, sauces and oils for restaurants and retailers.

When the recall was first initiated on April 30, Bolivar-Murphy said the company "acted with urgency" to remove potentially impacted products from shelves, and urged retailers to stop the sale of any recalled products.

Bolivar-Murphy added that the company would "continue to act swiftly and transparently as the FDA review progresses."

The impacted products include 0.5-once and 0.75-ounce packets of creamy peanut butter, 1.12-ounce and 1-ounce cups packs of both peanut butter and strawberry jam, and similar size packages of creamy butter and grape jelly, according to USA Today.

The presence of “foreign materials,” the category the FDA places contaminants like plastic under, have been cited as the reason behind one out of 10 food recalls in the United States over the last 20 years, according to a 2023 report by researchers from Tyson Foods and the University of Arkansas.

Plastic fragments were the most common foreign material cited in recalls, according to the report.