news Hot Sauce Recall as Life-Threatening Warning Issued

[Siv]

https://www.newsweek.com/hot-sauce-recall-life-threatening-warning-issued-1859251

TLDR: Hot sauces were recalled over concerns for consumers who have a wheat allergy.

I have never considered wheat or flour as an ingredient in a hot sauce so it seems surprising that a sauce maker would - perhaps as a thickening agent?

 

[The Hot Pepper]

"Dry" hot sauce is a dry spice.

 

[growyourown]

and they tell people to send back/destroy it, but if you are not wheat-allergic surely you can safely still eat it?

 

[HellfireFarm]

...was notified by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture on January 4 that the labels for their hot sauces did not "state the flour used is a wheat flour."

This is VERY basic labeling, Quite an oversight.

and they tell people to send back/destroy it, but if you are not wheat-allergic surely you can safely still eat it?

Theoretically, but given the egregiousness of this labeling error, I don't know how much I would trust their product. Allergen labeling is pretty serious stuff.

 

[HellfireFarm]

From their website:

"Up until recently we were not aware, nor told by inspectors, that wheat as an allergen was required to be listed on our packaging"

"Our label has listed 'enriched flour' as an ingredient for over 15 years"

They did not know about labeling requirements to list wheat as an allergen for FIFTEEN YEARS? What else have they missed?
(Although WTF with NC Ag not catching it either - they review labels annually)

yeah maybe I am making too big a deal out of it, but allergens are serious business.