Quaker Oats has had people starting their day right for nearly 150 years — so maybe it's no surprise that the company sometimes finds itself in hot water...
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Quaker Oats has had people starting their day right for nearly 150 years,
00:04so maybe it's no surprise that the company sometimes finds itself in hot water.
00:09The most recent food recall for Quaker Oats was actually a three-parter. The discovery of a
00:15potential risk from salmonella contamination prompted a recall in December 2023, involving
00:20about 40 granola-based products, including chewy bars and some cereals. Products were distributed
00:26not just to all 50 U.S. states, but to Puerto Rico, Guam, and Saipan as well. The recall's
00:32scope then expanded significantly in January 2024 to include nearly two dozen other products,
00:39including more granola bars, some cereals, cereal bars, a protein bar, and a snack mix.
00:45Later that month, Quaker Oats added one more granola bar to the list.
00:49Such a widespread recall ended up causing significant repercussions for Quaker Oats.
00:54First, the company's operating profits dropped, while certain expenses rose amid efforts to bounce
00:59back from the situation. In April, Quaker Oats confirmed that it would close the Illinois-based
01:04plant that was purported to be the source of the salmonella contamination. That plant had
01:09operated for about 65 years and employed more than 500 people. For what it's worth,
01:14there have been no reported illnesses resulting from salmonella in a Quaker Oats product,
01:19suggesting that the recall successfully mitigated any potential harm.
01:24In early 2021, Quaker Oats initiated a recall of a specific flavor of its rice crisps,
01:30bite-sized rice cakes, that serve as an alternative to potato chips.
01:34As it turned out, the company determined that snack-sized bags of its sweet barbecue rice
01:39crisps may have contained soy ingredients, which the packaging failed to mention.
01:44Since undisclosed soy might pose a risk for customers with soy allergies or sensitivities,
01:49Quaker Oats decided to institute a voluntary recall of the product. This was not an altogether
01:54surprising decision, given that items with undeclared allergens account for some of
01:59the foods most likely to be recalled. Of course, in these sorts of cases,
02:03the product remains safe for anyone who isn't allergic to the offending ingredient,
02:07but the risk that it might unexpectedly trigger an allergy is enough to necessitate a recall.
02:12The distribution area for the recall covered 21 states and involved 4,550 bags
02:18of sweet barbecue rice crisps. It's unknown whether it was an error in production,
02:23a packaging gaffe, or a change in the product's recipe that led to the recall. No illnesses were
02:29reported. The 2023 to 2024 product recall wasn't the first time Quaker Oats has had to take action
02:37due to the risk of salmonella. Another instance occurred in 2018 when the company instituted a
02:42recall of the peanut butter crunch flavor of its signature Cap'n Crunch cereal.
02:47While this recall affected only five stores in three states,
02:51the severity of the risk necessitated a recall all the same. People exposed to
02:55the salmonella bacteria can become ill and develop stomach cramps, diarrhea, and fever.
03:00Certain populations, such as young children, people over age 65,
03:04and those with other health issues may be at greater risk of more severe illness.
03:10Horrifying, isn't it?
03:11In total, the 2018 recall affected Target stores in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska.
03:17And Wichita, Kansas. As well as Pea Fresh stores in St. Louis. And Blue Springs in Missouri.
03:24Luckily, only 21 boxes of peanut butter crunch Cap'n Crunch cereal produced during a specific
03:29period of time were determined to be at risk of carrying salmonella. Quaker Oats was able to
03:34isolate the salmonella danger to that particular batch of cereal, thanks to a sample taken at
03:39some point during the production process. This kind of sampling occurs regularly,
03:44and is presumably how the company has been able to catch potential contamination risks
03:48in other cases. Thankfully, no illnesses were reported as a result of this scare.
03:54In 2016, Quaker Oats recalled two quinoa-based flavors of its granola bars over concerns that
04:00they might have carried listeria. That possible contamination was traced back to a company that
04:05supplied Quaker Oats with certain ingredients. It had apparently distributed sunflower kernels
04:10that could have potentially carried the bacteria. When Quaker Oats found out about the listeria risk,
04:16the company was able to withhold a significant number of the affected granola bar boxes from
04:20circulation. Nevertheless, a small quantity of chocolate nut medley and yogurt, fruit and nut
04:26flavors of the Quaker quinoa granola bars were implicated. Since boxes of both relevant flavors
04:31were distributed nationwide, the recall had no geographic limit. Listeria infections mostly
04:37cause intestinal symptoms, but it can be fatal in certain individuals if the bacteria spreads
04:42to other areas of the body. So even if the volume of product posing a danger was limited,
04:47the danger wasn't insignificant. Ultimately, the recall came and went without any customers
04:52reporting any illnesses. Around September 2011, a recall was issued for eight-count boxes of
05:00Quaker Chewy Smash Bar graham pretzel bars. While the company didn't provide a specific number of
05:05affected boxes, those with 13 distinct best-before dates were implicated. The source of the problem?
05:11Everyone's favorite dairy product.
05:13"...gut milk."
05:14It seems that Quaker Oats had failed to include the text,
05:17may contain milk, on the product's packaging. Further necessitating the recall was a reported
05:22case of an adverse reaction from a customer with a milk allergy, who promptly underwent treatment
05:28for their allergic reaction. It's worth noting, however, that such disclaimers are voluntary,
05:33usually indicating a risk of allergens, rather than a guarantee that the product will contain
05:38the listed allergen. In 2003, Quaker Oats decided to recall 16-ounce boxes of Brown Sugar Bliss
05:45Oatmeal, a flavor the company produced at the time. This came down to a failure to
05:50declare that the product may have contained almonds as an ingredient. Since this flavor
05:54is no longer in production, it's unclear whether almonds were an intended ingredient
05:59lacking representation on the oatmeal's packaging, or whether they were mistakenly
06:03added to this particular oatmeal product's recipe. The affected boxes of Brown Sugar Bliss Oatmeal
06:08were all produced at one plant in Sparks, Nevada, so it's also possible that equipment used in this
06:14oatmeal flavor came in contact with another product that contained almonds. The recall
06:19covered about 23,000 cases of that oatmeal flavor distributed across the country, with best-before
06:24dates limited to three days in September. Customers were encouraged to throw away the
06:29affected products and apply for a refund. Almonds are one of several varieties of tree nuts that can
06:34cause allergic reactions in some people. While different from peanut allergies, tree nut allergies
06:39can also cause severe symptoms. Anywhere from 70% to 90% of anaphylactic deaths involve a reaction
06:46to either peanuts or tree nuts, according to a 2018 review in the Journal of Asthma and Allergy.
06:53The first time Quaker Oats instituted a product recall over the risk of salmonella was in 2008.
06:59In this case, it was three pancake and waffle mix products from its Aunt Jemima brand that were
07:04determined to potentially carry the bacteria. Included in the recall were Original, Original
07:10Complete, and Buttermilk Complete flavors of the pancake and waffle mix, sold in both two-pound
07:16and five-pound quantities.
07:17This has more buttermilk than any other mix, any other."
07:21As has been the case with similar product recalls, not every box of the three types
07:26of pancake mixes were found to be at risk, but boxes produced during a certain period of time.
07:31Customers could determine whether a product fell within the purview of the recall,
07:35based on its best-before date. Quaker Oats had already pulled a majority of the affected
07:39pancake mix boxes from circulation at the factory before they hit store shelves. The company
07:45estimated that roughly 1,000 affected boxes had nevertheless been distributed to stores in 17
07:50states, prompting the official recall.
07:54You can't deny it's a great pancake.
07:58That said, a statement the company published on its website at the time said the risk was
08:03limited to consuming the pancake mix raw, or after cooking it for less than the recommended
08:08amount of time. Quaker Oats' recall of Brown Sugar Bliss Oatmeal marked the company's second
08:14recall over an allergen risk in two years. In 2002, another recall had involved Apple Cinnamon
08:21Quakes, a crispy, rice-based snack product that is no longer in production. The company estimated
08:26that there were only about 50 to 100 cases of Quakes in circulation that needed to be recalled.
08:32At fault was the presence of a dairy product in the snack's flavoring component that somehow
08:36made its way into the batch without proper labeling, though nobody reported any kind
08:41of allergic reaction as a result. Given the small size of the batch, which was identifiable
08:46by a single best-before date, the error seems to have been the actual presence of dairy in
08:51those Quakes, rather than an issue with the packaging. In addition to encouraging consumers
08:56to return bags of Quakes implicated in the recall, Quaker Oats urged stores to take the
09:01bags in question off of shelves. Many of the older recalls issued by Quaker Oats were of a
09:07markedly different nature than scares over allergens or bacterial contamination.
09:11In 1993, Quaker Oats had to recall boxes of three different types of Cap'n Crunch cereal
09:17after a toy injured multiple children. The three cereals in question were Cap'n Crunch,
09:22Crunch Berries, and Peanut Butter Crunch. The offending toy, included in about 8.3 million
09:28cereal boxes distributed nationwide, was a sort of hollowed-out half-sphere made of rubber called a
09:34popper. Used as intended, kids could invert the piece of rubber and place it on a hard surface.
09:40After a few seconds, it would snap back into its original shape, propelling itself into the air.
09:45However, some children opted to press the toy onto their faces, or their eyes,
09:50rather than a flat surface. Reported injuries ranged from bruises to bloodshot eyes.
09:56Won't somebody please think of the children?"
09:59In total, 36 kids were injured before the cereal company issued a recall for cereal boxes that
10:04contained it. Meanwhile, parents who had already purchased boxes of cereal containing the toy
10:09were urged to throw the toy away. The company added that the cereal itself was still safe to eat.
10:15The jumping rubber toy wasn't Quaker Oats' only recall in 1993.
10:19About a month and a half prior, Quaker Oats recalled a batch of chocolate-chip
10:23chewy granola bars. Rather than undeclared allergens or potentially harmful bacteria,
10:28the impetus for the decision was the possibility that the batch of granola bars at issue
10:33might have contained pieces of metal. The source of the metal was not specified,
10:37but the danger posed by unexpected metal particulates in a food product was clear.
10:42In total, the recall's scope covered 1,600 cases of chocolate-chip chewy bars,
10:47which had been sent to stores in California, Massachusetts,
10:50Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. At the time Quaker Oats issued this
10:55recall, the company claimed that the boxes of granola bars in question were likely not yet
10:59stocked on store shelves. It's possible, then, that some of the stores that received boxes of
11:04the recalled product were able to return them before customers could get their hands on them.
11:09There had been no customer complaints as of the time the recall was announced.
11:14What appears to have been the earliest Quaker Oats food recall based on present-day public records
11:19was an instance in which the company recalled cans of beans and chili produced by then-subsidiary
11:25Stokely-VanCamp, Inc. In total, 11 products under both the VanCamp's and Wolf labels were
11:32subject to the nationwide recall, ranging from the VanCamp's signature pork and beans product
11:37to Wolf brand chili with beans. The issue with these batches of canned beans and chili was an
11:42error made at some point during processing, which was normally intended to prevent food spoilage
11:47in the relevant products. Due to insufficient exposure to heat, those cans of beans were
11:52more likely to swell and develop harmful bacteria. The problem was discovered during a
11:57routine check at a manufacturing plant in Dallas. Customers at the time could identify whether or
12:02not a can of beans was a part of one of the relevant batches, based on an alphanumeric
12:07product code. The company decided to take action before any illnesses were reported,
12:12and it seems that, ultimately, none came about as a result. VanCamp beans and Wolf brand chili
12:18remain in production to this day, but neither brand is currently owned by the Quaker Oats Company.