Why did FDA issue a recall over Cheese Puffs? Drama explained

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a recall over Wegman's Jalapeno Cheese Puffs.

The recall has been classified as a Class II high-risk warning. Containing undeclared additives and flavor enhancers, these Wegman Jalapeno Cheese Puffs were distributed in the state of New York.

Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, was one of the unreported flavor enhancers; according to the FDA, it is "generally recognized as safe."

The Wegmans Jalapeno Cheese Puffs recall was initially issued on December 3rd and FDA finally declared the classification last week.

What does a Class II recall actually mean?

Recalls are usually voluntary because manufacturers and distributors fulfill their obligation to safeguard the public's health and welfare by removing products that pose a risk of harm, are blatantly misleading, or are otherwise flawed.

A class II recall is issued for goods that are unlikely to result in fatalities or major injuries but have the potential to have unfavorable effects that cannot be undone. The FDA classifies recalls according to the relative level of danger.

There are currently over ten thousand products on the FDA's recall list. The FDA recalled 10,246 goods for unreported flavor enhancers and additives as of January 6, 2025.

How are FDA recalls classified?

A recall is a process used by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove or correct products that violate legislation.

Recall refers to the FDA taking legal action, such as seizure, against a company that removes or corrects a marketed product that it believes violates the laws it oversees. A stock rebound or a market withdrawal is not considered a recall.

The FDA assigns a numerical designation (I, II, or III) to recalls in order to highlight the relative level of health risk associated with the recalled product.

• Class I: a circumstance where there is a plausible chance that using or being exposed to a product that violates the law will result in death or major negative health effects.
• Class II: a circumstance where there is a remote chance of major adverse health consequences or where using or being exposed to a violative product may have short-term or medically recoverable negative health effects.
• Class III: when using or being exposed to a product that violates the law is unlikely to have a negative impact on one's health.

Why is MSG considered unsafe?

The FDA has been notified over the years of symptoms like headache and nausea following consumption of MSG-containing foods. We were never able to verify, nevertheless, that the MSG was the cause of the stated effects.

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According to a report by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), some sensitive people who take three grams or more MSG without food may experience short-term, temporary, and usually mild symptoms like headaches, numbness, flushing, tingling, palpitations, and drowsiness.

In the 1990s, the FDA requested that the FASEB investigate the safety of MSG in part because of these adverse event reports. According to the FASEB assessment, MSG is safe.

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