The Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned consumers in the Barrie, London, Newmarket and west Toronto to throw out any Kirkland Signature brand all-butter croissants they might have purchased from Costco. The recalled products may contain traces of plastic, and should be either disposed of, or returned to the stores from whence they were bought.
The problematic croissants come in two varieties. The first type are the cooked ones, which were packaged on the 5th of January, and have the expiration date January 7th. The second type are the frozen, uncooked variety, packaged January 5th, with the expiration date April 2nd 2018. These were only sold at Costco outlets in Newmarket and west Toronto.
So far, there have been no incidents reported associated with the consumption of these croissants. It’s always unsettling when a company has to issue a recall for such a wide-spread pastry as a simple butter croissant, but Costco were very quick in addressing this issue.
Kirkland Signature is Costco’s private brand. The store chain has been selling goods under this brand since 1992, and consumer confidence has grown significantly during this time. Sometimes, Kirkland Signature products are partnered with some other, more well-known brands, precisely to encourage more consumer confidence.
Still, Costco products are no more immune to slip-ups than any other brand. Just last year, a Costco exclusive Royal Asia branded soup had to be recalled from outlets in 6 US states, for failing to include egg as one of the ingredients printed on the packaging. This led to at least one allergic reaction.
In light of the recent warning concerning romaine lettuce being tainted with E.Coli, at least in the eastern provinces of Canada, consumers should pay extra special attention to what they purchase and eat nowadays. Perhaps cooking things from scratch, an activity which relies on very basic ingredients, could alleviate some of the concerns sparked lately by pre-packaged foods.
