Food Safety
Ocean Spray recalls canned cranberry drinks over sulfite concern
Contract manufacturer added the ingredient to a single lot in error
Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. recalled one lot of canned cranberry juice drinks that may contain sulfites, a preservative that can give some people an allergy-like reaction.
A contract manufacturer added the common preservative mistakenly to the 5.5-ounce cans of Pink Lite Cranberry Juice Drink, Ocean Spray’s announcement says. Since sulfites aren’t part of the formula, the packaging does not declare them as an ingredient.
The boxes of six cans were distributed to retail supermarkets, retail wholesalers and online retailers.
The recalled product has the following information:
- Lot: MH0030LPK4
- Pack case UPC: 03120003782 4
- Can UPC: 03120003682 7
- GTIN case 0003120023682 1
- GTIN case 0003120024682 0
- Best before date: 24JAN21
- Dates of distribution: 21FEB2020 through 16APR20
The contract manufacturer disclosed the error after a “root cause” investigation into consumer complaints about an off odor in the recalled drinks, Ocean Spray explains. An analysis by food safety and quality personnel determined that sulfites were added in error.
No illnesses had be reported at the time of the recall notice. “This is an isolated incident. No other Ocean Spray products are affected by the recall,” the company notes. “Ocean Spray is dedicated to providing safe, high-quality products.”
The company asks that people who bought the drinks take a picture of the best before date code on the bottom of a can before destroying the product. They can send the photo to casupport@oceanspray.com for a coupon replacement. For questions or alternate methods to submit a photo, call the Ocean Spray Consumer Hotline at 800-662-3263 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EDT weekdays.
Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!
