Wakefern Food Corporation, which owns and operates ShopRite stores in Maryland, is recalling several of their organic nut butter products because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, according to news reports.
The recalled products include Wholesome Pantry Organic Creamy Salted Almond Butter, with UPC number 04119006004, Wholesome Pantry Organic Creamy Unsalted Almond Butter with UPC number 04119006005, and Wholesome Pantry Organic Unsalted Sunflower Butter with UPC number 04119005827. Also recalled is Wholesome Pantry Organic Tahini Butter, with UPC number 04119005828, and Wholesome Pantry Organic Cashew Butter, with UPC number 04119006006. No product sizes or best before dates were listed.
These products were sold in ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer and Dearborn Market stores located in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Delaware, Rhode Island and Virginia.
The recall notice states that their supplier is Oskri Organics. That company shuttered and sold its nut butter plant after all of its products were recalled for possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this recall. No product has actually tested positive for the pathogen, but the company is recalling these products “out of an abundance of caution.”
If you purchased any of these products, do not eat them. There is zero tolerance for Listeria monocytogenes bacteria in ready-to-eat foods. Throw the product away after first wrapping it well, then putting it into a secure garbage can, or take it back to the store where you bought it for a full refund.
