Pennsylvania-headquartered Bimbo Bakeries warned by FDA over misleading allergen claims
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Federal food safety regulators have issued a warning to Bimbo Bakeries USA, the company behind brands like Sara Lee, Oroweat, Thomas', Entenmann's and Ball Park buns and rolls, to stop using labels that state its products contain potentially dangerous allergens when they don't.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspectors discovered that Bimbo Bakeries USA, headquartered in Horsham, Pennsylvania, had labeled ingredients like sesame or tree nuts on products that did not contain them.
Under FDA regulations, such products are "misbranded," FDA officials said in a warning letter sent to officials at the company in Horsham earlier this month.
"Food labels must be truthful and not misleading," officials said. The warning followed inspections late last year at Bimbo plants in Phoenix, Arizona, and Topeka, Kansas, that make Sara Lee and Brownberry breads.
The FDA emphasized that food labels must be truthful and not misleading and clarified that proper allergen labeling is "not a substitute" to prevent cross-contamination in production facilities.
Advocates with the nonprofit group FARE, Food Allergy Research & Education, said such labeling "does a disservice" to the estimated 33 million people in the U.S. with food allergies. According to Sung Poblete, FARE's chief executive, hose consumers must be constantly aware of foods that can cause potentially life-threatening allergic reactions.
"Our community relies on accurate product labeling for their health and safety," Poblete said in an email. "These findings about Bimbo Bakeries' products undermine their trust and further limit their choices."
Bimbo, based in Mexico City and the largest commercial baking company in the U.S., responded in an email saying that they "take their role in protecting consumers with allergen sensitivities very seriously" and that they are working with the FDA to resolve the issue.
The concern over allergen labeling has increased since a 2022 law mandated sesame be listed as a major allergen on packaging.
Because it can be difficult and expensive to keep sesame in one part of a baking plant out of another, some companies began adding small amounts of sesame to products that didn't previously contain the ingredient to avoid liability and cost. FDA officials said that violated the spirit, but not the letter, of federal regulations.
Some companies, including Bimbo, began listing allergens such as sesame on labels as a "precaution" in case of cross-contamination.
While the FDA recognized that stating a product "may contain" certain allergens could be truthful, Bimbo officials have until July 8 to address the labeling issue or justify their practices under FDA standards.