Slim-Fast Recalls Tainted Drinks

I briefly heard about the recall of the Slim-Fast drinks on yesterday's news. I didn't really pay attention or even listen to the entire television report, knowing full well though that I had a box of Slim-Fast Optima® drinks in my pantry. But today I was speaking with my brother and he mentioned something about the Slim-Fast recall. I told him that I actually have some of the Slim-Fast milk chocolate drinks here at home and I should check the UPC code to see if it matches. After I got off the phone, I pulled up the Slim-Fast website and started reading the press release. To read a copy of the release, click here.

I was surprised to see Slim-Fast was voluntarily recalling all products that came in 11 ounce ready to drink cans and were sold in cardboard packages of 4, 6 or 12 cans. The Slim-Fast recall also included individual cans. The Slim-Fast press release stated "The recall involves all Slim-Fast® RTD products in cans, regardless of flavor, Best-By date, lot code or UPC number." They do include an entire list of all products involved and that list was pretty extensive. And of course, my box was listed by product name, flavor and product code. Interestingly, I had actually purchased two of these boxes, but only one was left.

Unilever is the manufacturer of Slim-Fast products and is working in conjunction with the United States Food and Drug Administration on the recall. The recall came about as a result of quality control testing on the Slim Fast ready to drink cans. As a precautionary measure, Unilever decided to recall all Slim-Fast 11 ounce cans from retail stores, distribution centers and even homes of those who purchased the product because of possible contamination with Bacillus cereus. Initial estimates put the recall at over 10 million Slim-Fast cans.

Bacillus cereus is a form of food poisoning that can cause vomiting and diarrhea in patients having been afflicted by the contaminant. The FDA gives a detailed description of the illness. To find out more, click here.

If you're a consumer, like me-and in possession of a box of Slim-Fast ready to drink cans-Slim-Fast is asking you to dispose of the product. Slim-Fast is also offering a full refund of the product. Please call the company at 1-800-896-9479 for more information about obtaining your refund. The Consumer Services Center is open Monday - Friday, 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM eastern time but a recorded message is available 24 hours a day. At the end of the recorded message, you are asked to leave your name, address, city, state and zip, phone number and number of cans you have. You are informed to dispose of the Slim-Fast cans immediately. The company stresses the importance of not consuming the recalled Slim-Fast cans.

Sources:
http://www.slim-fast.com/
www.fda.gov