A sweets company has issued a voluntary recall for containers of its gluten-free chocolate cake, which actually contain carrot cake. The reason for the recall? The carrot cake contains soy, which for some people is an allergen, and the presence of soy is not listed on the package.
For anyone who does not have a soy allergy, the mislabeled carrot cake is harmless and can be safely consumed. But those with a soy allergy should not eat the cake and risk a reaction.
Kalo Foods LLC said a machine mix-up had put the wrong labels on its carrot cake. The recalled boxes are labeled All Natural KALO Chocolate Cake Gluten Free. It is a small recall of only 84 packages, each of which contain a single slice of cake. Customers can positively identify the cake by looking for the UPC code 8-53407-00481-4. The cake slices were shipped only to Virginia and North Carolina. There is no information on which specific stores may be selling them.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a system of classifying recalls according to the potential health risks of the recalled products. The Kalo cake recall is a “Class II,” which applies to products that have a smaller risk level of causing “temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences,” and that does not appear to pose a much higher risk.
While most people are not allergic to common foods, a substantial minority of the population is. The FDA requires food companies to prominently disclose what are known as the nine most serious allergens: shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, soy, peanuts, egg, milk, and sesame.
The allergic reactions these can cause to sufferers vary from relatively minor and temporary ailments like hives, itching, vomiting and stomach cramps, up to more serious reactions that can close down the airway and threaten a person’s life. Such reactions are called “anaphylactic,” and they require prompt treatment. Those with severe allergies usually carry a syringe full of the stimulant epinephrine, which can reverse the reaction. Most people know this as an “Epi-pen.”
