Kraft Mac & Cheese Recall News: 242,000 Cases of Mac & Cheese Dinner Bad, Metallic Pieces Inside Boxes

Virginia D'Cruz Monday, March 23, 2015

Kraft Mac & Cheese Dinner boxes | REUTERS

Kraft has recalled nearly 242,000 cases of its Macaroni & Cheese Dinner in Original flavor after consumers discovered small pieces of metal inside certain boxes.

In making the announcement of the voluntary recall on Tuesday, Kraft indicated that eight customers who had bought the product had reported issues with the product but that none were injured.

The recall only covered 7.25 ounce boxes that were sold individually, in boxes of three, and in shrink-wrapped packs consisting of four and five. According to Kraft, the affected boxes all have "best when used by" dates that fall between Sept. 18, 2015 to Oct. 11, 2015. They also have the code "C2" visible just below the date, which denotes the affected production line.

With the amount of cases being recalled, about 6.5 million boxes were estimated to have been affected. The company indicated that the products had been shipped to the U.S., Puerto Rico and countries in South America and the Caribbean, but Canada was not affected.

Joyce Hodel, a Kraft spokeswoman, released a statement about the recall which read: "We believe a piece of stainless steel got wedged in equipment, and resulted in small pieces of metal potentially falling into the product." The company also added that they "deeply regret this situation and apologize to any consumers we have disappointed."

The press statement advised customers not to consume the product inside the boxes if they purchased such products that fall within the recall period. They should return them to the store from where they purchased them and have them exchanged for an equivalent amount of unadulterated products or get a full refund. Kraft also reassured customers that no other pasta varieties were included in the recall as they were not associated with the "C2" production line.

About four years ago, Kraft also recalled over 137,000 cases of Velveeta Shells & Cheese which were sold in single-serve cups as the company found pieces of wire in them.