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.

Continue reading →

August 27, 2025 0

Shame on you Boar’s Head

*My dad loved Boar’s Head cold cuts. Glad he can’t see what’s happened to the brand lately.*

Boar’s Head cold cuts were always my dad’s favorite. He was old-school when it came to food — he believed in the promise major brands made in those days, namely that they sold superior products. He would tell anyone who would listen at family parties that Boar’s Head was the best.

So I’m glad he’s not around today to see how the mighty have fallen. Not only did Boar’s Head have a major recall last year after a listeria outbreak was linked to products from a factory it runs in Virginia. But now a new report details sanitation issues at several other Boar’s Head plants, reports The Patch and other sources.

Continue reading →

January 22, 2025 0

Cheese recall promoted by listeria spreads to salad kits

A listeria-related recall that started with cheese products has spread to salad kits including those cheeses, various media report.

“Salad products sold at Walmart, Costco and Winco were recalled Thursday amid a nationwide outbreak of listeria that has sickened at least 26 people and left two people dead,” reports Patch.com

“Ready Pac Foods voluntarily recalled a limited number of casesof four salad kits as a result of an expanded recall by Rizo-López Foods, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. The kits contain cheese that could be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause serious — and sometimes deadly — infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and people with weak immune systems. Additionally, a listeria infection can cause women to miscarry or lead to stillbirths,” the report says.

Some of the recalled products are sold at Costco, Walmart and Cinco. Products sold at Trader Joe’s also ahve been impacted.

To read more details in the Food and drug Administration recall announcement, simply click here.

February 9, 2024 1

Beware the apple sauce you give your children

Federal authorities are investigating apple sauce packets sold in 22 states that contain elevated levels of lead. the investigation centers around whether there pouches were intentionally contaminated, various sources report.

“The Food and Drug Administration is investigating elevated lead levels in apple cinnamon applesauce pouches sold under three brands — Weis, WanaBana, and Schnucks — and distributed by Amazon, Dollar Tree and other online retailers,” reports Patch.com.

“All three of the now-recalled applesauce brands were made at an Austrofood plant in Ecuador, where FDA officials announced last week they were focusing their investigation. The agency said health officials in Ecuador found that cinnamon from Austrofood’s supplier had higher levels of lead than the country allows. The company, Negasmart, is facing sanctions while officials there track down the source of the cinnamon, the FDA said,” Patch reports.

States where products have been recalled include California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

I never much liked apple sauce anyway, but here’s one more reason to put it aside for now.

*Beware these brands, there’s been a recall for high levels of lead.*

December 15, 2023 0

Unexplained listeria outbreak spreading across country

A recent listeria outbreak linked to deli meats and cheeses has spread to several states with no apparent source found as of Friday, Nov. 11.

*Beware deli meats, a listeria outbreak traced to a New York supermarket deli counter is sickening people.*

Most of those who have become sick are in New York and have been found to shop at the same local supermarket, which has closed its deli counter because of the outbreak.

But other people in Illinois, Maryland, Illinois, Massachusetts, California and New Jersey also have become ill and there appears no link as yet between them and the New York store.

“The true number of sick people in this outbreak is likely higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses,” reports the Centers for Disease Control.

“In interviewing those sickened, CDC investigators found that five of the seven people in New York purchased sliced deli meat or cheese from at least one location of NetCost Market, a chain of stores selling international foods. However, that is not the only location of the illness, the CDC said, as people sickened in other states reported buying meats or cheeses from other delis,” CNN reports. A total of 16 people are known to have been infected so far.

Listeria is a nasty disease that is transmitted on food. One death already has been reported in this outbreak and another sickened person who was pregnant lost the baby she was carrying because of the listeria.

November 11, 2022 0

Category: food recalls