A crab cake recall has raised concerns about an undeclared ingredient that could cause potentially life-threatening allergic reactions.
A voluntary recall notice posted on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website on Wednesday alerts consumers that certain County Road Seafood crab cake packages distributed in North Carolina and South Carolina over the past two years contained eggs, which were not listed on the packaging.
The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services notified County Road Seafood about the issue last week, leading the company to issue the recall on Tuesday.
The affected products are 4-ounce packages containing two crab cakes each.
Although no UPC or lot codes were provided, the crab cakes were vacuum-sealed in clear plastic and distributed under the County Road Seafood label from August 26, 2022, to May 9, 2024.
Richard Newman, co-owner of County Road Seafood, told Newsweek that the ingredients were “not properly labelled on the packaging” but declined to comment further.
The packages did list blue crab, wheat, and soy as potential allergens.
It remains unclear how the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services discovered the undeclared ingredient.
No illnesses related to the affected crab cakes had been reported at the time of publication. However, consumers with egg allergies are urged to discard the product.
Undeclared ingredients like eggs can cause anaphylaxis, a potentially deadly condition, in those with allergies.
Earlier this year, a recall was issued for Florentine cookies sold by the Connecticut-based supermarket chain Stew Leonard’s after a woman died from consuming cookies that reportedly contained undeclared peanuts.
The victim, identified as Órla Baxendale, a 25-year-old UK national living in New York City, suffered from anaphylaxis after eating the cookies in January.
“This is a heartbreaking tragedy that should never have happened,” Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli said in a statement. “Our condolences go out to the family affected by this incident.”
Additionally, a crab recall issued by Alabama-based company Irvington Seafood earlier this week may affect consumers without any allergies.
One-pound tubs of the company’s “Crabmeat: Jumbo, Lump, Finger, and Claw meat” product were potentially contaminated with Listeria, a potentially deadly bacteria.
Although no related illnesses were reported, 12 of 94 crab meat samples from the company tested positive for Listeria last week.
FDA inspections revealed unsanitary conditions at Irvington Seafood’s facilities, including the presence of maggots, flies, roaches, and Listeria on multiple preparation surfaces.