Kraft Recall: American Cheese Singles Recalled Due to Gagging, Choking Risk

Nearly 84,000 cases of Kraft Singles American cheese slices have been voluntarily recalled, the Kraft Heinz company announced on Tuesday.

If eaten, the company said the cheese slices could be "unpleasant" or pose a "gagging or choking hazard."

The recall was a precaution taken after one of the company's wrapping machines developed a "temporary issue," which caused certain processed cheese slices to have a thin, plastic film on them, even after the individual plastic wrapper was removed.

No serious injuries have been reported, however, six customers contacted Kraft Heinz saying they had choked or gagged in connection to the issue.

The recall affects Kraft Heinz's 16-ounce Kraft Singles American Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Products with the following identifying information:

• Universal product code (printed below the barcode) of 0 2100061526 1 
• “Best When Used By” date between January 10, 2024 and January 27, 2024
• Manufacturing code with an “S” and 72

The recall also extends to Kraft singles packaged in 3-pound multipacks that include: 

• Universal product code of 0 2100060491 3
• “Best When Used By” date from January 9, 2024 to January 13, 2024, and January 16, 2024

The smaller packages contain 24 slices of cheese, while the larger contains 72 slices. Kraft Heinz said no other processed cheese slice varieties or sizes are included in the recall. 

The company also said that it has fixed the machine that caused the plastic film issue, and has inspected its other processing machines to check for any possible manufacturing problems.

"Kraft Heinz is committed to upholding the highest safety and quality standards and apologizes for this inconvenience," the company said in a press release.

People who think they may have purchased a recalled Kraft singles package should not eat the cheese, and can return the product to the store where it was purchased for a refund.

Customers can also call Kraft Heinz at 1-800-280-8252 during normal business hours with any questions about whether they have a recalled product, or for more information on reimbursement.

Extraneous Material Prompting Numerous Recalls

When it comes to foreign materials in food products, typically the concern is that hard or sharp objects could cause injuries, particularly if they’re greater than 7 millimeters in size.

This has been driving a number of prominent recalls in recent months.

This summer, Trader Joe’s recalled a number of its popular products, including multigrain crackers, broccoli cheddar soup, falafel, and two different types of cookies due to foreign object contamination. Specifically, manufacturers for the company reported that metal, rocks, and insects could be found in the products, respectively.

In June, Johnsonville recalled more than 42,000 pounds of its sausage over fears that some may contain small, plastic fibers. And some Vital Proteins Collagen Peptide supplements sold in April may have contained small broken bits of a plastic lid. 

The situation is slightly different for the plastic film on the recalled Kraft singles cheese. It’s unlikely that the plastic could cut or otherwise injure someone who ate it, however, these kinds of thin films are a known choking hazard.

The issue is sometimes seen with children’s toys—the plastic sometimes used to protect mirrors or other surfaces during shipping can cause choking, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warned.

It’s not entirely clear if foreign object contamination is becoming more common, however, the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that in 2022, extraneous material was the leading cause of meat and poultry recalls by pound.