One week after Chobani discovered a mold problem with yogurt produced at its Idaho facility, the company has issued a recall. Up until today, the company had initiated a product withdrawal, which it told customers about via Facebook.
The initial post about the problem on August 31 was vague and left consumers with more questions than answers. In the dark with moldy yogurt is not a good place to be, and Chobani customers let the company know with hundreds of comments on Facebook.
The initial post contained the following language: “Upon hearing of isolated quality concerns surrounding certain cups, we thoroughly investigated and were able to determine an issue of quality, not food safety. We are working with our retail partners to voluntarily and proactively remove and replace cups where there have been reports that don’t meet our very rigid quality standards. Our team is working ’round the clock to send our fans fresh replacements.” It was later modified to include information about the affected products -yogurt marked with the code 16-012, and an expiration date between 9/11/2013 – 10/7/ 2013. And the food safety reference was removed.
On September 3, the company provided more information in a new post. “Our thorough investigation has identified a type of mold commonly found in the dairy environment. The product in question is less than 5% of our production and is limited to products produced at our Idaho facility, which accounts for only one third of our production capacity.”
Today’s post, announcing the recall, is as follows: “We sincerely thank you for your understanding as we do our best to provide new details in real time. To be extra cautious, we have moved from a voluntary withdrawal to a voluntary recall. This partnership with the FDA will allow us to ensure every single potentially affected product is removed from store shelves, and that we’re reaching the vast majority of our consumers with notification of reported quality concerns.
“We won’t sugar coat it – this type of mold is not pleasant. While unlikely to have ill health effects upon consumption, nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our consumers, and we are taking all of the necessary steps to uphold our very rigid quality standards. If you’ve purchased these products with the code 16-012, expiration dates 9/11/2-13 – 10/7/2013.” The post also advises customers not to eat the affected products.
