Trader Joe's Pesto Recall Is About To Destroy Pasta Night
Before you crack open a bottle of Trader Joe's Genova Pesto for dinner, be sure to look at the Use By date — if it's marked for 05/27/2023, then the product has been recalled. On May 4, 2023, Trader Joe's announced that this batch had been pulled from store shelves due to undeclared milk and walnut. "People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk or walnuts run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reactions if they consume this product," the FDA said following the announcement.
Like most traditional pesto, Trader Joe's bottled Genova contains milk and walnuts. However, in a packaging error, it appears that the pesto was poured into the wrong containers. "These tubs do not contain an allergen declaration of milk or walnuts," said the FDA, which also released further details about the recalled batch. "The impacted product has UPC 0015 7353 on the side label and Use By date of 05/27/2023 with a time stamp between 06:28 – 07:07 printed on the bottom of the tub."
It's been confirmed that the recalled product was sent to Trader Joe's stores in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. It was delivered to these locations between 4/28/2023 and 4/30/2023.
What to do if you have a bottle of the recalled product
If you don't have a milk or walnut allergy, you do not need to discard your bottle of Trader Joe's Genova Pesto because the recall is due to mislabeling and not contamination or spoilage. If you do have a milk or walnut allergy or sensitivity, Trader Joe's advises you to discard the product or return it to one of its stores for a refund. The company has also provided a customer relations number at (626) 599-3817, as well as a link to its Product Feedback page. Thankfully no allergic reactions have been reported up to this point and the affected product has been removed from all retail locations.
The good news is that it's very easy to make your own basil pesto sauce at home according to your dietary needs. Even without milk or nuts, you can still get a lovely herbaceous sauce: Extra olive oil can be added to compensate for the lack of fat that comes from milk and nuts.