Chocolate Recalled Over Fears of 'Life-Threatening' Allergy

Guests make chocolate bars at the Chocolate Making Master Class with Thierry Atlan during the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival presented by Capital One on October 15, 2022 in New York City. On February 28, 2024, the FDA issued a recall for chocolate bars over concerns of life-threatening allergic reactions.

A chocolate bar recall has been issued this week over concerns of “life-threatening” allergic reactions to an undeclared ingredient.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday announced that a Pennsylvania-based company, Electric City Sweets, of Scranton, was recalling over 1,000 “Red Velvet Milk Chocolate Bars” over concerns that they contain undeclared milk.

“People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products,” the recall announcement said.

Over the past several weeks, the FDA has issued a number of different recall announcements for an array of food products. The recalls may be due to undeclared ingredients, like milk or nuts, as well as the potential contamination of salmonella or listeria.

“The recall was initiated after a consumer reported the issue to the retailer where they had purchased the affected item,” the FDA said in the recall announcement. “The milk-containing product was distributed in packaging identified with the allergen on the front panel display however it did not reveal the presence of milk in the ingredient list as required.”

According to the FDA announcement, the recalled Red Velvet Milk Chocolate Bars were distributed on the Electric City Sweets website and through wholesale to stores in Scranton and Milford, Pennsylvania; Delray Beach, Florida; Marina Del Ray, California; Orlando, Florida; and North Carolina.

According to the announcement, the recall encompasses “A 1.75oz milk chocolate candy bar with Lot 0101461635, Best By Date of 05/16/2025 and Lot 0101542739, Best By Date of 05/29/2025.”

No illnesses caused by the recalled product have been reported to date, the announcement said.

Consumers who have purchased the bars are urged to contact Electric City Sweets via phone or by visiting its website.

Newsweek reached out to the chocolatier via email for comment on Thursday.

Earlier this month, Newsweek published a map showing an array of different food recalls due to concerns of listeria contamination. In the first two weeks of February, the FDA issued dozens of recalls for products including Chicken Street Taco Meal kits, Bacon Ranch Crunch Salad Kits and soybean sprouts.

The different recalls were issued in several U.S. states and symptoms surrounding listeriosis include “a fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea,” the FDA says.

On February 9, Zingerman’s Bakehouse of Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced a recall for its Bakehouse Black Magic Brownie Individually Packaged and Zingerman’s Bakehouse Black Magic Brownie 4 Pack, over concerns that they contained undeclared walnuts, which could pose severe allergic reactions.

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