De Todito potato chip recall linked to pork in Colombia as highest warning issued

Certain De Todito potato chips are affected by a recall involving pork cracklings imported from Colombia, where the highest-risk classification, Class-I, has been issued by U.S. food safety officials. El Eden Import Distributor Corp. is recalling ineligible pork cracklings products imported from the South American country after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) determined that the products were not eligible to enter the United States. The recall was announced Wednesday.

The recalled products include De Todito-branded potato chips that contain pork cracklings, a popular snack product made with fried pork skin. The issue stems from the products’ origin and import status, rather than an announcement that the De Todito chips themselves have tested positive for a specific pathogen.

According to the FSIS alert, Colombia is currently ineligible to export meat products to the United States.

The FSIS describes a Class I recall as involving a health hazard situation “where there is a reasonable probability that use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.”

Newsweek reached out to the company via email on Thursday for comment.

What To Know

According to the FSIS recall announcement, the 264 pounds of impacted product includes 45-g. foil bags of “De Todito NATURAL” mixed chips with “CHICHARRÓN AMERICANO JACKS,” “Margarita,” and “NATU CHIPS” and 45-g. foil bags of “De Todito BBQ” mixed chips with “CHICHARRÓN AMERICANO JACKS,” “Margarita,” and “NatuChips.”

The impacted product was imported on July 28, shipped to a New Jersey distributor along with retail locations in New Jersey and Utah, and does not bear import markings on the label, the recall alert says.

The issue was identified after FSIS received a consumer complaint about “De Todito” snack products containing dried plantains, potato chips and chicharrónes, or pork cracklings, that had been imported from Colombia, according to the alert.

There have been no reported illnesses or injuries associated with the recalled products, the alert says. Consumers who are concerned about potential injuries or illnesses are advised to contact a healthcare provider.

The recall comes amid a recent recall involving imported pork products. Earlier this month, FSIS announced a separate recall of ready-to-eat pork guanciale products because of possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. That recall involved products distributed in multiple states and was separate from the Colombian pork cracklings recall.

In the latest alert, the FSIS warns that the agency is concerned the recalled products may be in people’s pantries. “Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” the alert says in part.

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The recall comes amid heightened attention to foodborne illnesses, including recent cases of Cyclospora, a parasite that can cause gastrointestinal illness and has been linked to contaminated food.

Keith Schneider, professor of food safety at the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), said in a release sent to Newsweek on Thursday, in part when asked in a survey if recent food recalls mean the food system is becoming less safe, “No. In many cases, a recall is evidence that the food-safety system is working as it was designed to work. We cannot make food completely risk-free. Food is grown outdoors, handled by people and, in many cases, eaten raw. There will always be some level of risk. The important thing is having systems that can identify a problem, determine how serious it is, identify the affected product and remove it from store shelves or consumers’ hands. It is not possible to prevent every single problem from ever occurring. The goal is to identify problems as quickly as possible and limit their impact.”

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Gray R. Thomas