What You Need To Know About The Bantam Bagels Recall

Bagel lovers know that the absolute best bagels come fresh, not frozen. But that's not always convenient. What is almost always convenient, however, is a nice box of frozen bagels that you can store in your freezer and heat up whenever the craving strikes. What's even more convenient is if your frozen bagels have their schmear on the inside. That may, in fact, be the key to the popularity of the Bantam Bagels, which are bite-sized "bagel holes" (think doughnut holes, but made of bagel dough) stuffed with whipped cream cheese. Bantam Bagels are sold in the frozen food sections of many supermarkets across the U.S. They also used to be on the menu at Starbucks, but are no longer, much to the disappointment of people who like to enjoy their bagels-with-an-interior-schmear on the go (via Change.org).

Now Bantam Bagels fans are facing a new disappointment, albeit one that will hopefully be limited in scope. On March 2, 2022, the manufacturer, the Damascus Bakery company located in Newark, New Jersey – which should not be confused with the Damascus Bakery in Brooklyn, New York, a longtime storefront bakery famous for its artisanal flatbreads (via Facebook) - put out a press release warning customers of a potentially dangerous mistake that seems to have been made during production and which has led to a recall. 

Here's what you need to know about the Bantam Bagels recall.

Damascus Bakery OPCO LLC announced the recall of one production lot of its Bantam Bagels, the Classic (plain bagel bites stuffed with plain whipped cream cheese), "due to an incorrect item being placed in the carton with an undeclared egg allergen." According to the press release and the FDA, which announced the recall on March 9, "people who have an egg allergy run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the items in this product lot."

The lot number for the recalled bagels is "12031." The boxes in this lot were distributed to retail stores around the nation and are also available via Instacart (via Instacart). All of the affected boxes have a "Best Buy" or "BB" date of May 27, 2023. As you can see from the photo above, that date is printed along the left side of the package. It is also printed on the bag of bagels inside the box, itself, at the top of the bag.

To date, no illnesses related to this recall have been reported, but let's do our part to keep it that way. So, if you have a box in your freezer, you are urged to dispose of it immediately. For a replacement option, contact the Bantam Bagels Customer Service line at 866-451-6744.