Dollar Tree offers conveniently low prices, but this discount chain's history is also littered with inconvenient cases of pests, food poisoning, and dangerously improper storage.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Dollar Tree offers conveniently low prices, but this discount chain's history is also littered
00:06with inconvenient cases of pests, food poisoning, and dangerously improper storage.
00:12Possibly one of the most severe food recalls in Dollar Tree history happened in October 2023,
00:18when Wannabana USA issued a recall for its apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches.
00:24The applesauce in the pouches was found to contain almost 200 times the amount of lead
00:29that the FDA had been considering as a limit in baby food. As of 2024, the FDA's limit is still
00:36draft guidance, but the applesauce contained so much lead that the recall was still urgent.
00:41Even worse, the FDA found that the puree contained high levels of chromium,
00:46indicating that the company may have used the compound lead chromate in the product.
00:50In June 2024, the FDA sent a warning letter to Dollar Tree, stating that the department had
00:56conducted checks of stores to ensure that the company was complying with the recall.
01:01Alas, it found that numerous stores hadn't removed the product,
01:04even eight weeks after the recall was announced. According to the FDA,
01:09Dollar Tree representatives claimed that they had already removed the products.
01:13However, the FDA maintained that the tainted products remained on Dollar Tree's shelves
01:18through at least mid-December 2023, and it also said that at least 50 children had been affected.
01:25After the Wannabanna recall, the FDA started looking into other cinnamon products to see if
01:30any of them had excess lead as well. Sure enough, that proved to be the case in brands of ground
01:35cinnamon made by Kelowna Brothers. The cinnamon was sold at different stores under a variety of
01:40names, including Supreme Tradition Ground Cinnamon at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar.
01:46If you see that you have that particular brand, I would dispose of it.
01:51At least seven different lot codes were affected by the recall. Although the amount of lead present
01:56in the tested samples was much less than in the Wannabanna applesauce, it still exceeded safe
02:01levels. It's unclear if the cinnamon in both cases came from the same source. In May 2024,
02:07both Dollar Tree and Kelowna Brothers became the targets of a class-action lawsuit
02:12based on the cinnamon recall. The plaintiff claimed that both companies should have been
02:16able to test and ensure that the products they sold were safe for human consumption.
02:21At the time, Dollar Tree was already facing a separate lawsuit regarding the cinnamon
02:25applesauce recall from parents who claimed that their children suffered lead poisoning.
02:30Back in 2013, Olam Tomato Processors issued a recall of its Mild Chunky Salsa because of glass
02:37shards that had been detected in some samples. Dollar Tree wasn't the only company affected,
02:42though it was one of the more well-known and was usually listed by name in headlines
02:46concerning the recall. Both Mild and Medium Chunky Salsa varieties were pulled after three
02:51people complained that they had found glass in their salsa. The company said the glass may have
02:56ended up in the salsa when jars were damaged during processing. Luckily, the people involved
03:01weren't hurt, as they found the glass before eating any of the salsa. Plus, the pieces were
03:05reportedly large enough to easily see, but this is definitely a lesson in the importance of always
03:10thoroughly inspecting any food that you buy. And this isn't the only time that something
03:14like this has happened. In 2022, a shopper posted on Reddit about finding a large shard of glass in
03:20salsa bought at Trader Joe's, and a 2013 article in Food Manufacturing reported about people who
03:26found glass in TV dinners and bread dough. Manufacturers do frequently use equipment that's
03:32supposed to detect contaminants and defects in glass food jars, but on rare occasions,
03:37those defects and damaged parts can still get through.
03:402024 definitely hasn't been a banner year for Dollar Tree when it comes to food recalls.
03:46In May, Hormel Foods announced that Planter's Honey Roasted Peanuts and Deluxe Lightly Salted
03:51Mixed Nuts may have been contaminated with listeria monocytogenes. You normally hear about
03:57listeria in relation to contaminated lunch meat or raw milk, but the truth is that bacteria can
04:02contaminate more than just animal or perishable products. No information was reported at the time
04:07about how the products may have become compromised, beyond that Hormel discovered
04:12that they could have been contaminated after they were sent to warehouses.
04:16"...definitely do not eat these nuts."
04:18Fortunately, this was a relatively small recall that affected only two companies,
04:22Dollar Tree and Publix. Moreover, it only affected limited lots of the products,
04:27and no members of the public reported any ill effects. But because listeria can be so serious,
04:32Hormel decided to recall the products to be on the safe side. If you're a relatively healthy adult,
04:37may have some short-term effects if you become infected with this bacteria,
04:41including symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, and severe headaches. But it can be much worse when
04:46pregnant people, children, older people, and those with compromised immune systems are infected.
04:52Listeria can cause miscarriages and even stillbirths,
04:55and it can be fatal for those other vulnerable groups.
04:59Companies that make products with multiple ingredients tend to get those ingredients
05:02from different manufacturers. And depending on what's in those deliveries, there could be even
05:07more manufacturers involved further up the chain. For example, macaroni and cheese cups may contain
05:13macaroni from one company and cheese powder from another. Furthermore, the components that make up
05:18those two ingredients, like eggs, flour, and milk powder, likely come from a variety of unique
05:23sources. A problem anywhere in that chain can result in recalls that ripple outward,
05:28affecting many products and companies that might otherwise seem unrelated.
05:31That's what happened in 2016 when the Double Takes brand of macaroni and cheese cups were
05:36recalled. Double Takes was produced by Fourth Street BBQ, which issued a recall because the
05:42milk powder used in the cheese packets was itself part of a recall. The FDA had inspected the
05:48facilities of Valley Milk Products, the company that produced the milk powder, and found both
05:53poor sanitation practices and salmonella contamination. Yet, Valley Milk Products
05:58refused to initiate a recall at the FDA's suggestion, which led the agency to seize
06:03the milk powder and force a recall anyway. A United States district court judge later issued
06:09a permanent injunction that ordered Valley Milk Products to halt production of the milk powder,
06:14until it corrected the situation under FDA supervision.
06:18A lot of recalls are issued due to allergens that are detected in food that aren't declared
06:22on the packaging. Sometimes this happens when the allergen is an ingredient, but it was omitted on
06:27the label. Other times, it's due to contamination by an ingredient that shouldn't have been there
06:32in the product in the first place. The latter case happened with Rudolph's Onion's onion-flavored
06:38rings in 2023, when they were found to contain wheat. It also contained other ingredients,
06:43like dyes, that weren't supposed to be there either. This slip-up indicated that the production
06:48line for one product was contaminated with another. For people with wheat allergies or
06:52gluten-sensitive conditions such as celiac disease, the presence of even one wheat-infused
06:57ring can mean the rest of the food in the container is contaminated. That then means
07:02having a reaction, and possibly having to seek medical attention.
07:05I'm a super genius who is allergic to all kinds of wheat."
07:10In 2015, Dollar Tree acquired the Family Dollar chain. That latter line of stores
07:16has had its share of warehouse problems that have led to some rather astounding recalls.
07:21Possibly the worst of them occurred in 2022, when an FDA inspection of the company's distribution
07:26center in West Memphis, Arkansas, revealed a major rodent infestation. Droppings were present,
07:32packaging had signs of gnawing, and products generally weren't protected from the animals.
07:37What also makes this recall stand out is that it was Family Dollar and Dollar Tree's responsibility,
07:42rather than the fault of an outside distributor or manufacturer.
07:46Complaints about the distribution center actually began as early as 2020.
07:50Family Dollar's own records indicated that in the span of just seven months,
07:55it had collected 2,300 dead rodents at the center. And this wasn't just a one-off infestation,
08:01where the warehouse was suddenly overwhelmed. Instead, it was a long-term situation
08:06that created a serious safety hazard. After this discovery, exterminators fumigated the
08:12warehouse and killed 1,200 rodents. In 2024, the Department of Justice fined Family Dollar
08:18to the tune of $41.675 million, which was then the largest criminal penalty
08:25issued regarding food safety in the United States.
08:27"...I wouldn't trust to shop there again."
08:30Family Dollar was involved in another recall in December 2023,
08:34although this time it was due to a manufacturer pulling products and not an issue with the store
08:39itself. Quaker Oats recalled some types of granola bars and cereals due to salmonella
08:43contamination. And Family Dollar wasn't the only store affected. In January 2024,
08:49the recall was expanded to include several more items. Although the company's basic oat
08:53and oat flour products remained unaffected, Quaker Oats offered reimbursement for items
08:58that customers had already bought, and there were no confirmed reports of illness.
09:02"...but I think the key part here is Quaker Oats has recalled its products before anyone
09:08has gotten sick."
09:09Normally, you don't hear much about recalls once contaminated products are off the shelves,
09:14and the manufacturer cleans up whatever caused the problem.
09:17But in Quaker Oats' case, that wasn't the end of the story. In July 2024,
09:22news broke that the FDA had sent the company a warning letter a month before
09:26about conditions that inspectors had found at a Danville, Illinois, manufacturing facility.
09:32The FDA inspected the facility after the first recall notice was issued in 2023,
09:37and it found that the products there were made in unsanitary conditions.
09:41So Quaker Oats closed the facility in June 2024. Among the violations were
09:45food debris stuck in a crack in the floor and salmonella contamination of equipment in rooms.
09:51The FDA found the company had discovered salmonella there over a year before the recall,
09:56and while it had taken corrective action, it clearly wasn't enough to stop the contamination.
10:02Family Dollar's warehouses were once again the focus of a massive recall in October 2023.
10:07This instance mainly involved medications and medical devices.
10:11Hundreds of products were subject to the recall because they had been stored in incorrect
10:15temperatures, which can affect their safety, quality, and effectiveness. The company had
10:20no evidence that anyone had gotten sick or suffered ill effects from the incorrect storage.
10:24But it wanted to be cautious because there was no telling how these products might have
10:28changed as a result. This wasn't the first time that Family Dollar had to pull products due to
10:33incorrect storage temperatures. In May 2023, the company recalled seven Advil products from its
10:39stores because they were stored in temperatures that were outside the required range listed on
10:43the product's labels. And in July and August 2022, the company had to issue two recalls
10:49of over-the-counter medications that were also stored outside required temperature ranges.
10:54Medications can often survive short periods of time outside the label's required temperature
10:58ranges, such as during shipping or when you carry the medications from the store pharmacy
11:02to your car. But longer-term storage needs to be within the specified ranges,
11:07as the active ingredients can become unstable or lose potency too easily.
11:12And unfortunately, we found some of these items still for sale today.
11:16The American division of the Mars Wrigley Confectionery Company
11:20issued a rather alarming recall in May 2022. The likes of Skittles, Starburst, and Lifesavers
11:26gummies may have contained thin strips of metal, either in the bag or even in the candy itself.
11:32These products were sold at many stores across North America, including Family Dollar. Consumer
11:37reports warned consumers that the affected lot numbers might still be on shelves at their local
11:42stores. Shoppers originally reported the problem to the company, so the risk that more candy had
11:47been affected was very real. Thirteen different products were potentially contaminated.
11:52The products in question were made by a currently unidentified third party,
11:56rather than in a facility owned and directly operated by Mars Wrigley.
12:00This isn't an unusual move for manufacturers, as outsourcing the actual manufacturing process
12:06can save money. Unfortunately, that also adds another link in the manufacturing chain,
12:11where something could go wrong.
12:17Transcribed by https://otter.ai