Why So Many Food Recalls for Metal Fragments? The Latest.
It seems there have been a lot of recalls lately. There's a brand new recall to consider.
A popular bottled Starbucks drink sold here in West Texas has been voluntarily recalled. Bottles of the delicious Starbucks Vanilla Espresso Triple Shot in the 15-ounce bottles have been pulled by Pepsico, the manufacturer. According to a statement from the Food And Drug Administration, the drinks may contain metal fragments.
Texas is one of seven states where the drinks were distributed. Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, and Oklahoma are the others.
So what's the deal with all these recalls lately because of "metal fragments"? Just in the last few months, there have been recalls of Skippy Peanut Butter, frozen pizzas, Skittle, Starbursts and Life Savers candies, HEB recalled brownie bites and that is just a partial list.
So why does it happen so often? Many production lines that create food items contain machinery that have a number of moving parts that have metal moving against metal. Whenever this type of machinery is used, metal fragments are always possible. There are steps that some companies can take to reduce the problem.
Many are very sophisticated according to an article from Time, some use ultrasound and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. These sophisticated measures are expensive, however. Nobody likes paying more for food, so often these preventative measures just can't happen.
So the dangers will remain. In 2016 the FDA released a 7 page document about the dangers of eating metal fragments in food. They include dental damage, lacerations of the mouth or throat or lacerations and perforations of the intestines. Intestinal perforations are extraordinarily painful and can cause toxins to leak into your body cavity which can result in death.
So, it looks like the problem of metal fragments in food are not apt to end anytime soon. I would tell you to relax and have a tasty Starbucks Vanilla Espresso Triple Shot to calm your nerves, but, well you know. In the meantime, it's a good idea to take these recalls seriously.