Pillsbury is a trusted name in baking, but even the best brands can slip up. And when it comes to cookies and E. coli, it's definitely a recipe for disaster.
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00:00Pillsbury is a trusted name in baking, but even the best brands can slip up.
00:04And when it comes to cookies and E. coli, it's definitely a recipe for disaster.
00:09If you ever doubted Pillsbury's influence, remember that between 1979 and 2001, it also
00:15owned Green Giant.
00:16So, when Green Giant faced a quality issue with its cut-leaf spinach in 1995, it was
00:21Pillsbury's responsibility to handle the fallout.
00:24We hate spinach.
00:26Hate spinach?
00:27Ya has to eat it to get health, strength, and vitality.
00:31In June 1995, a consumer in Connecticut discovered fly larvae in a box of Green Giant spinach,
00:37prompting the FDA to take immediate action.
00:40Investigators tested spinach from the supplier's warehouse and found it contaminated with both
00:44fly larvae and rodent particles.
00:46Initially, Pillsbury issued a nationwide recall for two specific production codes of Green
00:51Giant cut-leaf spinach in butter sauce.
00:54However, this was just the start.
00:55The recall quickly expanded to include over two dozen production codes, affecting both
01:00boxed and bagged spinach.
01:01Among the recalled products were 16-ounce bags of Green Giant pasta accents, Florentine,
01:07and various cuts of spinach, all sourced from the same tainted batch that had reached Connecticut.
01:12In 1998, Pillsbury recalled nearly 9,000 cases of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
01:17due to a labeling error.
01:19A manufacturing mistake led to packages of chocolate chip dough being incorrectly filled
01:23with walnut dough instead.
01:25"'Pillsbury Chocolate Chip Cookies.
01:26Hey, you can play with our food!"
01:28What seemed like a simple labeling error turned into a serious issue for Pillsbury in 1998.
01:34Walnuts, classified as a major allergen by the FDA, were accidentally placed in chocolate
01:39chip cookie dough packages, which lacked proper warning labels.
01:42For individuals with severe tree nut allergies, consuming walnuts can trigger anaphylactic
01:47shock, a potentially fatal reaction.
01:49The recall was announced on September 8, 1998, and expanded shortly after, but fortunately,
01:55no illnesses were reported.
01:56However, Pillsbury's dough troubles didn't end there.
01:59In September 2014, the company recalled its refrigerated biscuit flaky layers and buttermilk
02:04biscuits.
02:05The problem arose when buttermilk biscuits, which were individually wrapped, mistakenly
02:09ended up in the biscuit flaky layers four-pack packaging.
02:12Although the individual wrappers correctly listed ingredients, the four-pack didn't include
02:17a milk warning.
02:18This recall affected 720 cases, but like the earlier incident, no illnesses were reported
02:23from the mix-up.
02:25In 2002, Pillsbury issued a voluntary recall of its chocolate chip muffin mix across 12
02:30states after it was discovered that some packages contained milk-based chocolate chips, which
02:35were not labeled as such.
02:36Normally, the mix uses semi-sweet, dairy-free chips, making the error especially concerning
02:41for those with milk allergies.
02:43Rather than wait for the FDA to intervene, Pillsbury acted quickly, recalling 753 cases
02:49of the affected product.
02:50By removing the mislabeled mix from store shelves, the company prevented potential allergic
02:54reactions.
02:55Fortunately, no illnesses were reported in connection with the recall.
02:59Pillsbury's prompt response helped protect consumers from health risks due to the mix-up.
03:04When you think of Pillsbury, cakes, biscuits, and rolls come to mind, foods that all start
03:08with one key ingredient — flour.
03:10Isn't this the instant you've been waiting for?
03:14New Pillsbury Instant Blending Flour.
03:17Flour is the foundation on which Pillsbury was built.
03:20Established in 1869 as a flour miller, the company's identity has always been tied to
03:24its core product.
03:26However, in 2019, a series of flour-related recalls threatened to shake the brand's longstanding
03:31reputation.
03:32In March of that year, a random inspection found traces of salmonella in a single bag
03:37of Pillsbury All-Purpose Flour.
03:39This led to a recall of two lots, which had already been distributed to major grocery
03:43chains like Publix and Winn-Dixie, but the situation worsened just two months later.
03:47The ADM Milling Company, a major supplier to Pillsbury, issued a recall for All-Purpose
03:52Flour due to E. coli contamination.
03:55Pillsbury's flour was included in the multi-brand recall, which affected over 16.5 million pounds
04:00of flour nationwide.
04:01Then, in June 2019, another recall followed, this time for 185,000 pounds of Pillsbury
04:08Best Bread Flour.
04:09Also due to the risk of E. coli contamination, the outbreak was linked to ADM's Buffalo,
04:14New York facility, one of the world's largest grain processing plants.
04:17While the source of the contamination was traced back to wheat milled there, the exact
04:21origin of the bacteria was never definitively confirmed.
04:24The recalls highlighted the vulnerability of the domestic flour industry, impacting
04:28multiple brands across the nation.
04:31Pillsbury's recent history has been marked by a series of recalls, and the company's
04:35troubles didn't end in 2019.
04:37After things settled with the flour recall, Pillsbury returned to business as usual, until
04:41May 2021, when a new issue arose involving the U.S. Armed Forces.
04:46The Defense Commissary Agency, which oversees food supply to military personnel, filed a
04:50complaint against Pillsbury's parent company, General Mills, regarding its refrigerated
04:55pie crust.
04:56The issue wasn't related to food safety concerns, but rather the product's off-flavor, which
05:00led to dissatisfaction in commissary kitchens and stores.
05:03Although no pathogens were suspected, the flavor problem failed to meet the agency's
05:07quality standards.
05:09In response, Pillsbury chose to act swiftly to protect its reputation.
05:13General Mills pulled one specific product code of the pie crust from military distribution
05:17to prevent further issues, showing its commitment to maintaining quality.
05:21Pillsbury's history with recalls goes back much further than its recent issues, stretching
05:26all the way to 1971.
05:28That year, the company was forced to recall its Farina cereal after glass particles were
05:32found in the product.
05:34The recall involved 27.5-ounce packages from a specific lot code, which had been inadvertently
05:38contaminated during processing at Pillsbury's Springfield, Illinois plant.
05:42The glass had come from a shattered shield in the manufacturing process, which occurred
05:46in November 1970.
05:48While the recall was a significant setback, it had an unexpected silver lining.
05:52In the years leading up to this incident, Pillsbury had been working with the U.S. government
05:56to create specialized food products for astronauts, ensuring that they would remain safe from
06:01foodborne illnesses while in space.
06:03Despite the glass contamination, the company's reputation with the government remained intact.
06:07The close call prompted Pillsbury's director of research to speak at the 1971 National
06:12Conference on Food Protection.
06:14In 1972, the company took further steps to improve food safety by launching training
06:18programs for FDA investigators.
06:21These efforts helped popularize the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, HACCP,
06:26system, which is still a key part of food safety protocols today.