Trendpills
Federal health officials have flagged a significant safety concern regarding shredded cheese products distributed in the Northeast and Midwest. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has escalated the classification of a recall involving thousands of pounds of cheese produced by the Great Lakes Cheese Company due to the potential presence of foreign materials, specifically stainless steel fragments.
The primary product affected by this safety alert is the Happy Farms brand Colby Jack cheese, which is sold exclusively at Aldi locations. The FDA declared a Class II recall, a designation indicating that exposure to the product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences, though the probability of serious health issues is remote. The recall effects approximately 400 cases—roughly 5,000 individual bags—distributed to stores in Connecticut, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Consumers possesssing the product are urged to check their refrigerators for 12-ounce pouches bearing the UPC code 4061463330840 and best-by dates of July 13 and 14, 2025. While no injuries have been officially confirmed in connection with this specific incident, the risk of ingesting metal fragments poses potential physical dangers, including choking or dental damage. The retailer Aldi has implemented a removal plan to ensure the compromised products are taken off shelves, advising customers who purchased the item to discard it immediately or return it to the point of purchase for a full refund.
This incident is part of a broader series of dairy-related safety actions affecting the sector in 2025. In separate events tracked by industry monitors, other cheese products have faced scrutiny for biological contaminants rather than foreign objects. For instance, Food Safety News highlighted parallel recalls involving Listeria monocytogenes contamination in soft cheeses like Brie and Camembert distributed by other retailers, including Wegmans. These concurrent events underscore the critical importance of rigorous supply chain monitoring, ranging from machinery maintenance to prevent metal shavings to pathogen testing, to ensure consumer safety.
