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Costco issued a recall notice for mislabeled bakery items that could cause allergic reactions in customers.
Costco announced that one of its products, “Mini Beignets filled with Caramel,” was “inadvertently packaged with Mini Beignets filled with Chocolate Hazelnut.” The company said the mislabeled units contain “undeclared Tree Nuts.”
“If you are allergic to Hazelnuts/Filberts, do not consume this product. Please return it to Costco for a full refund,” the company said in a statement.
Costco says the warning applies to purchases from Jan. 16-30 in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington.
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The recall comes days after Costco was hit with a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of falsely advertising that its Kirkland Signature Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken contains no preservatives, according to court documents.
The lawsuit, filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, alleges that Costco’s in-store signage and website “create an overall net impression that the Rotisserie Chicken does not contain added preservatives.” But the suit further claims those representations are false, arguing that “the Rotisserie Chicken is made with two added preservatives—sodium phosphate and carrageenan.”
“The presence of sodium phosphate and carrageenan, added preservatives which function as such in the Rotisserie Chicken, contradict the overall net impression that Costco’s ‘No Preservatives’ representations and advertising create,” the lawsuit, filed on behalf of Anatasia Chernov and Bianca Johnston, states.
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The plaintiffs argued that customers, including themselves, make purchasing decisions based on whether a food product is “preservative free” and that they were unable to determine prior to buying the chicken if it contains added preservatives.
The lawsuit argues that any mention of the ingredients, if disclosed at all, appeared only in small print on the back of the label and did not explain their preservative function. The suit claimed these disclosures were inadequate to counter the “no preservatives” claims prominently displayed by Costco.
It also alleges the company had superior knowledge about how the ingredients functioned and failed to share that information with consumers.
“Consumers reasonably rely on clear, prominent claims like ‘No Preservatives,’ especially when deciding what they and their families will eat,” Wesley Griffith, California managing partner at the Almeida Law Group LLC who is representing the party suing Costco, told FOX Business.
Fox News’ Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.
