Trader Joe's Chicken Soup Dumplings Are Being Recalled Over Plastic
Fans of Trader Joe's frozen foods received some terrible news on March 2, when the grocery chain announced in an email to newsletter subscribers that its Steamed Chicken Soup Dumplings were recalled due to the potential presence of plastic in the product. The message was brief, alerting customers that the item has a best-by date of March 7, 2025, and lot code C1-1 or C1-2. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) confirmed the news with even more info about the nationwide recall.
CJ Foods Manufacturing Beaumont Corporation, which makes the dumplings, recalled 61,839 pounds of the product because of contamination from a permanent marker pen's plastic. The packages' USDA mark of inspection contains the number P-46009, and the recall affects all 6-ounce boxes made on December 7, 2023.
The plastic was discovered after customers contacted the FSIS to report finding it in their dumplings. While there haven't been any injury or adverse reaction reports, consumers are asked to check their freezers for the item and either return it to a Trader Joe's store for a refund or throw it away. Anyone with questions is urged to message Trader Joe's or call the company's public relations line at (626) 599-3817.
Trader Joe's has had several foreign contaminant recalls
Unfortunately, recalls are not uncommon in the grocery world. From E. Coli to salmonella, most consumers are no longer phased by news alerts stating that a product needs to be returned or thrown out. However, some have observed that Trader Joe's recalls involving "foreign material contamination" have happened more often recently.
In the last year, recalls were issued for Trader Joe's Chicken, Lentil & Caramelized Onion Pilaf for the presence of rocks, Trader Joe's Multigrain Crackers with Sunflower and Flax Seeds because of metal, and Instant Cold Brew Coffee due to shards of glass. "Rocks, glass, now permanent marker plastic? Did they dispose of all quality control measures?" one irritated customer wrote on a Reddit thread. Others were surprised by the use of plastic pens. "At the facilities I have worked at we had to use metal-detectable pens and markers for this reason and all product went through metal detectors," another person stated.
Fortunately, Trader Joe's is far from the only dumpling supplier. Devotees of Costco's soup dumplings assert that they not only taste better, but the dumplings are larger, and, as a bonus, the sauce they come with is flavorsome.