Austin Foods Issues Peanut Allergy Alert

Austin Quality Foods, Inc. (Cary, NC) is recalling a small quantity of its 7.4-oz "Super Snack" packages of Whole Wheat and Cheddar cracker sandwiches. The affected packages, confined to a single retail chain in the northeast, were mislabeled "Whole Wheat and Cheddar" when they were actually Cheese Peanut Butter cracker sandwiches. Because certain individuals are allergic to peanuts, the company took the action to mitigate the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reactions among those individuals who might had mistakenly consumed these products.

The recalled Whole Wheat and Cheddar cracker sandwiches were distributed to approximately 95 of The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

An internal investigation indicates the problem was caused by a temporary breakdown in Austin's packaging processes. The processing issue has been corrected and production of both the Whole Wheat and Cheddar and Cheese Peanut Butter cracker sandwich product lines continue.

The company estimates no more than 750 packages were mislabeled and no illnesses have been reported to date.