Kraft recalls Singles American cheese slices over choking hazard

Kraft Heinz recalled nearly 84,000 cases of Kraft Singles cheese slices on Tuesday after multiple customers reported a choking hazard.

The food giant received complaints of plastic film that stuck to the cheese even after consumers removed the wrapper, the company said in a press release. In six instances, customers said they choked or gagged because of the plastic.

No injuries or health issues were reported.

After it received the complaints, Kraft Heinz discovered a manufacturing error in a wrapping machine used to enclose the cheese slices in the plastic. The issue in some cases caused a thin strip of plastic film to remain even after customers took off the packaging, Kraft Heinz said. The company has since fixed the error and inspected other machines for it.

Kraft Heinz urged all customers with affected products not to eat them and to return the cheese slices to the store where they purchased them.

Recalled products include the 16 oz. Kraft Singles American Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product with an individual package UPC code of “0 2100061526 1” and a “Best When Used By” date of Jan. 10, 2024, through Jan. 27, 2024. Packages included in the recall will have an “S” and “72” in the manufacturing code, the company said.

Kraft Heinz is not the only major company to report a manufacturing error this year.

Trader Joe’s reported an issue of its own in July, when the grocery chain’s Almond Windmill Cookies, as well as the Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies, were found to potentially contain rocks.

“If you purchased or received any donations of Almond Windmill Cookies and/or Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies, please do not eat them,” the company said at the time.