Say it ain’t so Hostess, mold in your Ding Dongs?

Hostess snack cakes and I go way back, so I cringed when I saw this latest recall of Hostess Ding Dongs for mold contamination.

Once my favorites, Hostess HoHos are off my diet today, but I will never forget them. — *Hostess shut down for a bit before an ownership change in recent years. Now, there’s a recall.*

Mold?

“An investigation confirmed that a mechanical issue with a piece of equipment could create conditions that support mold growth in Ding Dongs before the listed expiration date, Hostess said in its recall statement,” reports the Today Show on its site.

I grew up in Brooklyn living off of Ring Dings, which are made by Hostess competitor Drake’s Cakes. Ding Dongs are a Ring Ding knock-off, for those of you into junk food family trees.

I’ve spent my adult life in the Midwest, where Drake’s do not distribute, so Hostess is my fallback favorite.

I normally opt for Hostess cupcakes, however, because those Ding Dongs really don’t hold a taste candle to the original Ring Dings, in my opinion. So maybe I shouldn’t be surprised mold is a secret ingredient.

Oddly enough, I was at a local Jewel supermarket yesterday and the Hostess rack was full of Ding Dongs but out of cupcakes! The mold issue seems to be confined to multipacks, not the two-packs.

“The recall affects the following chocolate Ding Dongs products:

Hostess Ding Dong 6 count: 2.55 oz twin packs, carton (15.3 oz)

UPC: Twin packs: 00888109010027 | 6 ct.: 00888109011857

Lot numbers: 5167832, 5168832

Hostess Ding Dong 10 count: 1.28 oz, carton (12.7 oz.)

UPC: 00888109110611

Lot numbers: 5167832, 5168832, 5169832, 5170832, 5171832

Hostess Ding Dong 16 count: 1.28 oz, carton (20.31 oz)

UPC: Individual unit: 00888109011826 | 16 ct.: 00888109110925

Lot numbers: 5167832, 5168832, 5169832, 5170832

The affected Ding Dongs have best-if-used-by dates ranging from Aug. 30, 2025 to Sept. 3, 2025. Hostess did not specify which states the affected products were sold in,” Today reports.