Popular Chocolate Recalled Over Salmonella Concerns

The slew of chocolate recalls raise concerns about how salmonella can end up in chocolate, and what this means for consumers going forward. Here’s what food safety experts want you to keep in mind.

Meet the experts: Darin Detwiler, L.P.D., an associate teaching professor of food policy at Northeastern University and author of Food Safety: Past, Present, and Predictions; Wade Syers, D.Soc.Sci., extension specialist for food safety at Michigan State University Extension; Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, Ph.D., the director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia

What is impacted by the chocolate recall?

The FDA said in the latest chocolate recall that the products were pulled due to a “single lot of date ingredient” as the likely source of contamination. (Spring & Mulberry sweetens its chocolate with dates.) Here’s a full list of the recalled products and their lot numbers, which are printed on the back of the package and on the inner flow wrap:

• Blood Orange: 025217, 025289, 025325
• Coffee: 025226, 025274, 025344
• Earl Grey: 025346
• Lavender Rose: 025204, 025205, 025212, 025216, 026037, 026040
• Mango Chili: 025245, 025322, 025328
• Mint Leaf: 025225, 025272, 025342, 025364
• Mixed Berry: 025220, 025223, 025247, 025248, 025251, 025253, 025288, 025296, 025335, 026008
• Mulberry Fennel: 025230, 025287
• Pecan Date: 025233, 025237, 025238, 025239, 025240, 025241, 025290, 025294, 025329, 025330
• Pure Dark: 025217, 025218, 025219, 025254, 025266, 025269, 025324, 025338, 025350
• Pure Dark Mini: 025302, 025303, 026009
• Sea Salt: 026013, 026014

The impacted products have been available for purchase since August, according to the recall notice.

The Ghirardelli recall impacts dozens of lot numbers and best by dates. Here’s a breakdown of the affected products:

• 30lb Chocolate Flavored Frappe: S195260A03, S195261A03, S291260A03, S295260A03, S596260A03, S191260A03, S291261A03
• 30lb Classic White Frappe: S396260A03, S496260A03
• 4/2lb. Premium Hot Cocoa Pouch Bulk: S550250A04, S149250A04, S249250A04, S349250A04, S449250A04, S549250A04
• 6/3lb Chocolate & Cocoa Sweet Ground Powder: S293260, S293261
• 6/3.12lb White Chocolate Flavored Sweet Ground Powder: S394260, S494260, S594260
• 6/3lb Vanilla Frappe Mix: S495260, S495261, S594262
• 6/3.12lb Chocolate Flavored Frappe Mix: S397261, S397262, S397263
• 6/3.12lb Classic White Frappe Mix: S193260, S193261
• 10# Chocolate Flavored Frappe Mix: S295260A03, S395260A03
• 10# Classic White Frappe Mix: S296260A03, S292260A03, S292260A03, S292261A03
• 6/3.12lb White Mocha Frappe Mix: S297261, S297262, S393262
• 6/3.12lb Mocha Frappe Mix: S295261, S295262, S395260, S588260, S187260
• 6/3.12lb Frozen Hot Cocoa Frappe Mix: S195260, S195261, S295260, S393260 S487260, S587260

Why is salmonella concerning?

Salmonella bacteria causes about 1.35 million infections in the U.S. each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Salmonella lives in the intestines of people and animals—the most common way people get infected is by eating contaminated food; drinking or coming into contact with contaminated water; or touching animals, animal poop, or the places where animals live and roam, according to the CDC.

“Pathogens like Salmonella cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted,” says Wade Syers, D.Soc.Sci., extension specialist for food safety at Michigan State University Extension.

Certain groups are more vulnerable to severe salmonella infection than others, including older adults, young children, and people who are immunosuppressed.

For most, salmonella infection causes diarrhea that can be bloody, fever, and stomach cramps, according to the CDC. However, some will also have nausea, vomiting, and a headache.

How does salmonella get into chocolate?

While both recalls involve chocolate and salmonella, the entry points seem to be slightly different.

The Spring & Mulberry chocolate recall is due to dates, which the company uses to sweeten its treats.

“Dates are actually considered a relatively higher-risk dried fruit because they are grown outdoors in hot environments and most often harvested by hand,” explains Darin Detwiler, L.P.D., an associate teaching professor of food policy at Northeastern University and author of Food Safety: Past, Present, and Predictions. “Dates are frequently dried or partially dried in open-air conditions. Also, they are sticky and difficult to fully clean without affecting quality.”

Salmonella can contaminate dates anywhere from where they’re grown to where they’re processed in a factory. Detwiler says dates can be contaminated through irrigation water; contact with birds, insects, or even dust in orchards; poor worker hygiene during harvest; improper drying techniques; and cross-contamination during chopping, pitting, grinding, or converting dates into a paste or syrup. “Once dates are processed into an ingredient paste or puree, contamination can spread broadly through a production lot,” Detwiler says.

Salmonella can also contaminate dried milk—as in the Ghirardelli recall—in several ways, according to Syers. “It may survive the drying process, since drying reduces moisture but doesn’t reliably kill all bacteria,” he says. “Although it cannot grow in dried milk because the conditions are too dry, it can survive and remain present. Contamination can also occur after drying, during processing, handling, or packaging.”

Ultimately, salmonella is a hardy pathogen, says Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, Ph.D., the director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia. “Salmonella is an organism that can be present in many types of environments, and is able to survive in multiple environments,” he says.

Once the chocolate is contaminated with Salmonella, it can stick around for a long time, Detwiler says. “Since chocolate itself is a low-moisture food, Salmonella can survive in it for long periods even though it does not grow well there,” he says. “That is one reason recalls involving chocolate, peanut butter, nuts, spices, and dried fruits are taken very seriously.”

What to do if you have the recalled chocolate

The FDA is urging anyone with a recalled Spring & Mulberry product to avoid eating it. You can get a full refund if you send an email with a photo of the batch code on the packaging to [email protected]. (After that, throw the chocolate away.)

If you have one of the recalled Ghirardelli products, the FDA recommends avoiding eating or drinking it and contacting the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company at 844-776-0419.

Diez-Gonzalez says there’s a “possibility” that more products will be recalled, especially if they contain dried milk powder. “The more companies realize that they used the dried milk powder as one of their ingredients, the more recalls will happen,” he says. “We’ve seen this in previous recalls.”

Dried milk powder appears in a range of products, including many chocolate products, Detwiler points out. As a result, more chocolates may be recalled in the coming days and weeks. “The ripple effect can become very broad, very quickly,” he says.

Ultimately, Detwiler says the latest recalls are a reminder that food safety is crucial for all types of products, including chocolate. “Food safety is not just about restaurants or raw meat,” he says. “Some of the most challenging outbreaks in recent years have involved foods consumers perceive as stable or low risk.”