From Cereals To Soda: 2,000 Products Recalled Over Potential Animal Waste Contamination - Tasting Table

"No food recall is good news, but the last news you want to hear is that food in your home may have been exposed to bird and rodent droppings. Unfortunately, that's exactly the case for a major new recall just issued by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), which says thousands of products, ranging beyond food into cosmetic products and medical devices, may have been exposed to animal waste."

"The variety of brands and products covered by the recall is so wide because it is coming from a warehouse owned by Gold Star Distribution, Inc, which ships products from many different companies to nearby retailers. The FDA says the facility was "operating under insanitary conditions, including the presence of rodent excreta, rodent urine, and bird droppings in areas where medical devices, drugs, human food, pet food, and cosmetic products were held.""

"The affected products were shipped to a wide variety of stores in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Indiana. While no illnesses have been reported yet, this has been set as an FDA Class II recall, which the FDA defines as "a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.""

A Gold Star Distribution, Inc. warehouse held a wide variety of products that may have been exposed to bird droppings and rodent excreta and urine. The facility stored medical devices, drugs, human food, pet food, and cosmetic products under insanitary conditions. The FDA issued a Class II recall for thousands of affected items, indicating temporary or medically reversible adverse effects are possible while serious consequences are unlikely. Shipments reached retailers across Minnesota, North Dakota, and Indiana. No illnesses have been reported so far. Recalled items include packaged snacks, drinks, pantry staples, instant meals, cosmetics, and some medical devices across many SKUs.

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