Costco and its customers are being forced to dispose of nearly 80,000 lbs of butter because a label on the product bizarrely doesn’t state it contains milk.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalled 79,200 lbs of Kirkland Signature butter - a dairy product made by churning milk or cream - due to an undeclared allergen in October.
The brand’s salted and unsalted Sweet Cream Butter list cream as an ingredient on the packaging. However, the label does not warn consumers that the product “contains milk.”
Many social media users were quick to mock the recall, pointing out that shoppers shouldn’t need to be warned that butter contains milk.
Kristen Meg, an X user, wrote: “As someone with serious dietary restrictions, I am sympathetic to this issue but I have to say…this is pretty ridiculous. We all know butter contains milk.”
And another X user added: “Can y’all please safely dispose of it at my house? I have a lot of holiday baking to do.”
Costco just recalled 80,000 pounds of butter because they neglected to label it with ‘may contain milk.’
— Kristen Mag (@kristenmag) November 11, 2024
As someone with serious dietary restrictions I am sympathetic to this issue but I have to say…this is pretty ridiculous. We all know butter contains milk. pic.twitter.com/2wdJy55thl
The FDA listed the recall as Class II in November, meaning it is “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 or serious adverse health consequences is remote.”
Milk can contribute to some of the “most serious allergic reactions in the United States,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Independent has reached out to the FDA and Costco for more information. Typically during recalls, customers are encouraged to discard the product or return it to their place of purchase.