No grocery run is complete without stopping for a little treat at the bakery section, however, Walmart shoppers should double check the labels of some of their baked goods as a recall notice has been sent out for over thousands of products from the bakeries found in Walmart supermarkets.
This retailer’s bakery department is known to offer baked goods with excellent quality, and more importantly, great value for money — hence the house brand name of Great Value.
Great Value — the brand housed by Walmart
Shoppers may sometimes show an initial apprehension when considering purchasing products from a store’s in-house private label due to reasons like brand loyalty or a sense of skepticism regarding why these private label items are priced lower than its counterparts.
What shoppers are not aware of is that, more often than not, these private label store brands are made by the same manufacturers as the more well known commercialized brands. The lower price point for private label products comes from not having to pay for branding — and not because the products are of a lower quality.
The case for Walmart, specifically its baked goods, is quite similar. The retailer is known for its tasty offering of baked goods, with this bakery department arguably being one of the grocer’s strongest suits. But did you know that Smuckers — the brand beloved nationwide for their wide range of fruit spreads, jams, and peanut butters — actually manufactures a fair amount of the treats found at Walmart bakeries across the country.
J.M. Smucker, the Orville based company, boasts a portfolio that extends well beyond its range of tasty spreads, with an array of recognizable brands in different departments on the list. Products like Milk Bone pet foods, Jif, Cafe Bustello Coffee, and even Twinkies, the “sweet baked treat” we all know and love, are manufactured by J.M Smucker.
Recall details
A report released by the U.S. Food and Drug administration last week revealed that Walmart bakery goods manufactured by J.M. Sucker were the subject of a recall notice. Close to 45,000 packages of the retailer’s Great Value Cheese Danish and Great Value Cinnamon Rolls have been recalled due to potential contamination.
24,325 boxes of the recalled 16.5 oz Great Value Cheese Danish can be identified by the following codes:
- UPC 078742201177
- Lot # L092525200 269X
19,224 packages of the 16.5 oz Great Value Cinnamon Rolls can be identified by the following codes:
- UPC 078742201160
- Lot # L092525200 269X
A recall of the total of 43,548 packages was issued after the FDA identified it to be a part of an ongoing “nationwide distribution pattern” issue.
The initial recall noticed was sent out on November 1, 2024, which was then followed by an update on November 19 wherein the FDA elevated the recall status to a Class II. According to the FDA, a recall of this level is defined as “a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”
Neither Walmart nor J.M. Smucker have put out any sort of notice or announcement on their respective websites.
This mass recall was issued due to pieces of plastic being found in the products. Since this product was a freshly made item with a short expiration window, it is more than likely that expirations dates have passed and customers may have already consumed the recalled items.
This issue of foreign materials being found in food products is quickly becoming a growing concern for the FDA. This often occurs during the manufacturing process whereby materials, often metal, makes its way into the product for a various number of reasons. Aside from obvious health benefits, recalls of this nature serve as a good reminder to always chew your food carefully.