Food recall

Kraft Foods Group recall: Mozzarella String Cheese made with 2% milk for 1/4 less fat

Kraft Foods Group, of Northfield, IL, recalled Mozzarella String Cheese made with 2% milk for 1/4 less fat and 7 other products. The FDA's reason: “Some varieties of Kraft and Polly-O String Cheese and String Cheese Twist products may spoil before their "Best When Used By" code dates, leading to product discoloration. The affected products all...” The FDA classified it Class II: it could cause temporary or minor harm. The company began the recall voluntarily on October 25, 2013, and the FDA first listed it in its Enforcement Report of December 4, 2013. The FDA has closed the recall: it found the company did all it reasonably could to remove or correct the product.

How serious

Class II

It could cause temporary or minor harm

Why

Other germs or toxins (botulism, hepatitis A, mold...)

Status

Terminated

Closed October 29, 2015

The recall

Company
Kraft Foods Group (Northfield, IL)
Reason, in FDA's words
“Some varieties of Kraft and Polly-O String Cheese and String Cheese Twist products may spoil before their "Best When Used By" code dates, leading to product discoloration. The affected products all have code dates from October 25, 2013 through February 11, 2014.”
Where it was sold
US: Nationwide (AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV, WY) + Guam + Puerto Rico
Recall began
, by the company
FDA classified it
First in an FDA Enforcement Report
FDA event number
66611

The 8 products recalled

As the FDA describes them, with the codes that tell whether a package is part of the recall.

  • F-0400-2014 Class II

    Mozzarella String Cheese made with 2% milk for 1/4 less fat, sold under Kraft brand or Polly-O brand and packaged with either 12 or 24 pieces of mozzarella cheese individually wrapped in plastic and sold in a plastic bag with a net weight respectively of 10 oz. (283g) or 20 oz. (1 lb. 4 oz.) 566g.

    Codes: All product with the "Best When Used By" dates between 25 OCT 2013 - 11 FEB 2014.

    Quantity: 369,502 cases

  • F-0401-2014 Class II

    Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella String Cheese, sold under Kraft brand or Polly-O brand and packaged with either 12, 16, 24, or 48 pieces of mozzarella cheese individually wrapped in plastic and sold in a plastic bag with a net weight respectively of 12 oz. (340g), 16 oz. (1 lb.) (453 g), 24 oz. (1 lb. 8 oz.) (680g), or 48 oz. (3 lb.) (1.36 kg.).

    Codes: All product with the "Best When Used By" dates between 25 OCT 2013 - 11 FEB 2014.

    Quantity: 245,722 cases

  • F-0402-2014 Class II

    Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella String Cheese With Tomato and Basil, sold under Kraft brand or Polly-O brand and packaged with 12 pieces of mozzarella cheese with tomato and basil individually wrapped in plastic and sold in a plastic bag with a net weight of 10 oz. (283g).

    Codes: All product with the "Best When Used By" dates between 25 OCT 2013 - 11 FEB 2014.

    Quantity: 16,783 cases

  • F-0403-2014 Class II

    Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella String Cheese With Tomato and Italian Style Seasonings, sold under Kraft brand or Polly-O brand and packaged with 12 pieces of mozzarella cheese with tomato and Italian style seasoning individually wrapped in plastic and sold in a plastic bag with a net weight of 9 oz. (255g).

    Codes: All product with the "Best When Used By" dates between 25 OCT 2013 - 11 FEB 2014.

    Quantity: 10,068 cases

  • F-0404-2014 Class II

    Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella String Cheese With Jalapeno Peppers, sold under Kraft brand or Polly-O brand and packaged with 12 pieces of mozzarella cheese with jalapeno peppers individually wrapped in plastic and sold in a plastic bag with a net weight of 10 oz. (283g).

    Codes: All product with the "Best When Used By" dates between 25 OCT 2013 - 11 FEB 2014.

    Quantity: 71,946 cases

  • F-0405-2014 Class II

    Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella String Cheese With Cracked Pepper, sold under Kraft brand or Polly-O brand and packaged with 12 pieces of mozzarella cheese with cracked pepper individually wrapped in plastic and sold in a plastic bag with a net weight of 10 oz. (283g).

    Codes: All product with the "Best When Used By" dates between 25 OCT 2013 - 11 FEB 2014.

    Quantity: 21,169 cases

  • F-0406-2014 Class II

    Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella String Cheese With Barbecue Seasoning, sold under Kraft brand or Polly-O brand and packaged with 12 pieces of mozzarella cheese with barbecue seasoning individually wrapped in plastic and sold in a plastic bag with a net weight of 9 oz. (255g).

    Codes: All product with the "Best When Used By" dates between 25 OCT 2013 - 11 FEB 2014.

    Quantity: 3,705 cases

  • F-0407-2014 Class II

    Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella String Cheese With Jalapeno Peppers, sold under Kraft brand and packaged with 24 pieces of mozzarella cheese with jalapeno peppers individually wrapped in plastic and sold in a cardstock display box bag with a net weight of 24 oz. (1 lb. 8 oz.) (283g).

    Codes: All product with the "Best When Used By" dates between 25 OCT 2013 - 11 FEB 2014.

    Quantity: 12,395 cases

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Source and notes

U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Enforcement Reports (openFDA food recall data) (Public domain (U.S. government work); source U.S. Food and Drug Administration, openFDA), data as of December 4, 2013.

Each week the FDA lists the recalls it has classified in its Enforcement Report, often weeks after the company announced the recall, so a month with five weekly reports tends to count more. Each recall counts once, however many products it covers, in the month FDA first listed it. Class I means the food could cause serious harm or death, Class II temporary or minor harm, and Class III is unlikely to harm anyone. Meat, poultry and most egg products are recalled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, not the FDA, and aren't included. For what to do with a recalled product, see the FDA's recalls page.