Brownie Recall Warns of 'Life-Threatening' Allergic Reactions

Over 100 boxes of brownies were recalled this week over concerns for the potential of a "life-threatening" allergic reaction for consumers with a peanut allergy.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a recall announcement for the Makana Brownie Assortment Box, produced by Big Island Candies of Hilo, Hawaii.

The recall was for 120 boxes of the brownies (batch 60) that were sold from the company's Ala Moana Store located in Honolulu from December 13 to December 21, 2023, "because the product contains undeclared peanuts."

"This product is harmful to people with a peanut allergy. People who have an allergy or sensitivity to peanuts run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product," the FDA said.

According to the FDA, a portion of the box of brownies states that they "may contain Milk Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Brownies instead of Milk Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nut Brownies."

"The label does not depict peanut as a key ingredient," the FDA said.

Customers who purchased the specific recalled product with a batch code of RFFIC 326760 are encouraged to return to the company's stores for a refund or replacement.

In a statement to Newsweek, Sherrie Holi, the President and COO of Big Island Candies, said that the company apologizes for the recall.

"The safety of our customers and products is something we take very seriously and it's very unfortunate that this issue occurred. A human error was made and we are taking this to heart as a very important learning lesson. We have already implemented extra steps to our packing and labeling process and will continue to work with our team to ensure continuous improvement as we move forward," the statement said.

Over the past several weeks, the FDA has issued dozens of different food recalls for a variety of different reasons.

Earlier this month, Newsweek published a map showing different states that had food recalls for reasons including the mislabeling of fish, possible contamination of Listeria monocytogenes and undeclared wheat or other ingredients that can pose a threat of an allergic reaction.

The FDA said on Wednesday that the Makana Brownie Assortment Box recall was first prompted by the company following a report from a consumer who experienced an "adverse reaction."

"To date, no other incidents have been reported. Subsequent investigation indicates the problem was caused at the packing and labeling stage and was limited to batch 60 of this item," the FDA said.

"Big Island Candies would like to sincerely apologize to its loyal customers for this very unfortunate situation and any inconvenience this may cause," the company said.

Roughly 1 million children are allergic to peanuts in the United States and only 1 in 5 will outgrow the allergy, the FDA said in 2020.

Last week, the FDA issued another food recall for 344 cases of Aged Cotija Mexican Grating Cheese produced by the California-based Rizo Lopez Foods over concerns that the product may contain Listeria monocytogenes.

Update 1/18/24, 9:20 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with a statement from Big Island Candies.