According to the FDA, recalls are actions taken by a firm to remove a product from the market. Recalls may be conducted on a firm’s own initiative, by FDA request, or by FDA order under statutory authority.
- Class I recall: a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.
- Class II recall: 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.
- Class III recall: a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product is not likely to cause adverse health consequences.
- Market withdrawal: occurs when a product has a minor violation that would not be subject to FDA legal action. The firm removes the product from the market or corrects the violation. For example, a product removed from the market due to tampering, without evidence of manufacturing or distribution problems, would be a market withdrawal.
From Chobani’s founder today:
Dear fans and customers,
I’m sorry we let you down.
From the workers in our factories to our sales teams on the road, there is nothing we take greater pride in than making a perfect cup of yogurt.
Chobani was created to make great yogurt that is accessible to everyone, so I take it very seriously and personally when we don’t deliver for our fans and consumers.
We recently identified mold in a limited amount of product that came from our Idaho facility.
While this type of mold is common in the dairy environment, particularly when using only natural ingredients that are absent of artificial preservatives, it’s still unacceptable to me and all of our yogurt makers.
Over the past few days, with the help of our retail partners, we proactively withdrew product from store shelves and I decided to voluntarily recall the limited amount of remaining product to be extra careful and cautious.
My heartfelt apologies to our friends, fans and consumers who were impacted, as your loyalty and safety is something we cherish and never take for granted.
We have worked round the clock to fully fix the issue and have been shipping fresh product to stores.
A few questions to Chobani:
Why did it take you until today to do a “voluntary” recall?
Why did you wait until customers complained about exploding packaging and illnesses?
Why did you delete consumer postings on your Facebook and Blog?
Why did you not return press calls over the last weekend?
Why did you at first try to quietly “withdrawal” the product instead of issuing a “recall?”
What is the mold that is causing this? Is it harmful to your consumers?