A new wave of concern for American consumers is sweeping across the breakfast tables as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Class I food recall alert for a coffee creamer.
The MO-CHA brand Premium Non-Dairy Creamer, which failed to disclose milk ingredients on its label, puts allergy sufferers at risk of potentially fatal reactions.
Yet another foreign product has slipped through regulatory cracks, endangering American consumers.
The Food and Drug Administration classified the recall as Class I, signaling that the product could cause “serious adverse health consequences or death.”
The creamer, imported from China by Momo Tea Inc. of Maspeth, New York, contains undeclared milk ingredients, including whey powder and casein, violating federal regulations that require clear labeling of common allergens.
Approximately 4,500 cases of the deceptively labeled product were distributed across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
The imported creamer comes in 2.2-pound bags and was voluntarily recalled on April 10 after discovering a dangerous labeling violation.
However, the FDA only announced its highest-risk classification nearly two weeks later.
This oversight is an inconvenience and potentially deadly for milk allergy sufferers. Symptoms can range from mild hives and rashes to severe anaphylaxis, a life-threatening reaction that can cause airways to close.
Consumers who use the affected product are advised to immediately discard it or return it to the place of purchase.
Furthermore, the agency defines a Class I recall as “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.”
This designation is not made lightly and underscores the serious threat this mislabeled product poses to unsuspecting consumers with milk allergies.
Medical experts have warned about the increasing prevalence of food allergies in America.
Dr. Anne Marie Singh noted that “milk allergy affects two to three percent of children in the U.S., and one to two percent of adults in the U.S.” and emphasized that “whey proteins can cause serious reactions in those with milk allergies.”
Dr. Sebastian Lighvani also expressed concern about it, saying:
“Every three minutes in the United States, someone ends up in an emergency room because of an allergic reaction after accidental ingestion of food. So even when we try hard, these reactions are happening.”
“And if you look at the incidence of anaphylaxis, it has skyrocketed in the last 5, 10, 20 years. And in the U.S., there’s like a 300 to 400 percent increase in the rates of anaphylaxis to foods,” he continued.
According to the agency’s notice, the recall remains ongoing. Consumers who purchased the MO-CHA Premium Non-Dairy Creamer should check their pantries immediately.
They also must take appropriate action to protect themselves and their families from this potentially lethal product failure.
