by Eldonté Samuel

Quaker Oats has issued two recalls in the span of one month for dozens of its products that may have been contaminated with the Salmonella bacteria. This is according to the US Food and Drug Administration, as well the PepsiCo, Inc owned company.

At least one supermarket in Kingstown, currently has a stock of one of the recalled products, ‘Quaker chocolate chip’ on its shelves.

The initial recall of the Quaker products was issued on December 15, 2023 which mainly encompassed granola bars and cereal; while in the recall on January 11, 2024, the list was expanded to include snack mixes and more cereal products. Quaker, Cap’n Crunch, Chewy and Gatorade products were all part of the recall.

The recall does not include Quaker Oats, Quaker Instant Oats, Quaker Grits, Quaker Oat Bran, Quaker Oat Flour, Quaker Rice Snacks.

In the region Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados have already taken action, recalling multiple products. In Trinidad, the Ministry of Health in a media release dated January 17, 2024, made aware the recalled products and advised “persons who may be in possession of the recalled products to discontinue use immediately”.

In Barbados the authorised local distributor of the Quaker products, Armstrong Agencies LTD, made their recall of the products. Reports are that the distributor has already identified and reached out to all retailers who purchased the recalled products and had these subsequently removed from store shelves.

On Thursday 25 January, SEARCHLIGHT reached out the SVG Bureau of Standards, as well as the Consumer Affairs Division to find out what is the local response to the recalls. However, the persons from both places who responded said that they were unaware of the issue, which at least one local supermarket is offering for sale.

The Salmonella bacteria causes severe symptoms and fatal infections in children, frail, and elderly people as well as others with a weakened immune system. A healthy person usually will experience fever, diarrhoea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain and in rare cases, a salmonella infection can result in the bacteria getting into the bloodstream.

As of January 24, 2024, no reports of illnesses related to the recalled products were made to Quaker.