Leading food and beverage production giant Nestlé USA Inc. announced a “voluntary” recall of three million of its frozen products on March 10, 2016. The corporation declared the recall due to the risk of customers suffering harm from glass that could potentially be found in any of three types of frozen meals.
The recall affects products of three different brands – DiGiorno, Stouffer’s and Lean Cuisine. The recall was put into effect after the company received multiple consumer complaints regarding small pieces of glass found in at least 12 different types of these Nestlé brand products.
The specific products being recalled include DiGiorno Thin & Crispy Spinach and Garlic Pizza, DiGiorno Rising Crust Spinach and Mushroom Pizza, Lean Cuisine Spinach and Mushroom Pizza, Lean Cuisine Spinach Artichoke Ravioli, Stouffer’s Vegetable Lasagna (10 oz., 37 oz. and 96 oz. sizes), Stouffer’s Spinach Soufflé, and several other products.
After much in-depth investigating, the company has traced the contamination of glass back to a source of spinach present in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Overall, approximately 267,042 pounds of food are being recalled by Nestlé USA Inc. Similar to most recalls, this particular one will cause the company to lose a great deal of money.
In addition to the financial impact of this callback, Nestlé is also facing a damaging blow to its reputation. This is not the first time that the company has announced and executed a major product recall. In 2015, Nestlé instituted a large-scale recall of Maggi noodles, subsequent to the discovery that they contained dangerous amounts of lead, which caused it to lose many of its customers.
Freshman Sameera Shah said, “This is yet another recall from the Nestlé company, which is kind of alarming. My family and I bought Maggi noodles quite a lot before they were recalled, and we ate them at least once every week. Now, there’s even more products that are being considered unsafe to eat, which lowers the company’s credibility and reliability in my eyes. I personally feel like the company does not value food safety as much as it claims that it does.”
Many other consumers took to social media to express their concerns, as well as to respond to Nestlé’s newest product recall. Some Twitter users showed disappointment while others began questioning their loyalty to the company for the second time in less than a year.
Sophomore Hetavi Patel said, “I actually had one of these products in my house; it was a DiGiorno pizza. Thankfully, we hadn’t opened it yet and threw it out after hearing about the recall. I think that it is very careless of companies to find out about hazards and unsafe materials in their products only after customers complain. People could become quite seriously injured by eating food that contains something like glass particles. I don’t think that we’ll be buying any Nestlé products for a long time.”
According to the company, no injuries have been reported yet, and it stated that customers who may have purchased any of the recalled products should refrain from consuming them. Instead, they are encouraged to call and consult Nestlé Consumer Services.
Despite these worrying events, Nestlé insists that the quality and safety of its products is a top priority for the company. The corporation is working with both the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture on this voluntary recall and claims that it will fully cooperate with them.
How does this newest recall affect Nestlé’s reputation in your eyes?