From Cereals To Soda: 2,000 Products Recalled Over Potential Animal Waste Contamination

No food recall is good news, but the last news you want to hear is that food in your home may have been exposed to bird and rodent droppings. Unfortunately, that's exactly the case for a major new recall just issued by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), which says thousands of products, ranging beyond food into cosmetic products and medical devices, may have been exposed to animal waste. The variety of brands and products covered by the recall is so wide because it is coming from a warehouse owned by Gold Star Distribution, Inc, which ships products from many different companies to nearby retailers. The FDA says the facility was "operating under insanitary conditions, including the presence of rodent excreta, rodent urine, and bird droppings in areas where medical devices, drugs, human food, pet food, and cosmetic products were held."

The affected products were shipped to a wide variety of stores in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Indiana. While no illnesses have been reported yet, this has been set as an FDA Class II recall, which the FDA defines as "a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote." A long list of some, but not all, of the stores covered by the recall is currently listed on the FDA website, but that list pales in comparison to the 44 pages of products being recalled.

The full list of products being recalled can be found here. It would be impossible to list them all, but the food products covered by the recall involve lots of packaged snack food and drinks, along with essential pantry items like flour, rice, tea bags, and salt, and even some meals like instant noodles. Some of the biggest brands affected by the recall include Gatorade, Coke and Pepsi, Pringles, Cheerios, Rice Krispies, Hershey's, and M&M Mars candy bars. However, it is important to note that the companies themselves are not the subject of the recall, just this specific distributor.

The FDA says that these products, "may become contaminated through contact with contaminated surfaces or exposure to airborne particulates associated with animal waste." Rodent and bird waste can carry a wide variety of illnesses, which include potentially serious infections like Salmonella and leptospirosis. If you have consumed or come in contact with this contaminated food and are experiencing symptoms of these diseases, which can include diarrhea, stomach cramps, abdominal pain for both, along with fever, headaches, chills, and rashes for leptospirosis, contact a doctor immediately.

If you have any of the recalled products, they should not be returned and instead should be destroyed immediately. If you would like a refund for the product, make sure you have proof that you destroyed the product, and contact Gold Star directly at 612-617-9800.