There’s something very unsettling about taking out what you thought was a simple, refreshing fruit bar from the freezer on a hot afternoon and finding something that shouldn’t be there. That’s exactly what Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Inc. is going through right now, and it’s not a small matter. Outshine Fruit Bars are being recalled across the whole country because of reports of glass getting inside them.
People started telling Dreyer’s that they had found glass in their fruit bars, so the company issued the recall. The business moved quickly and said it did so out of an abundance of caution. As of the time the recall was announced, no injuries or illnesses had been officially reported. This is some relief, but it doesn’t make the situation any less scary for families who may have already opened a package.
This recall affects packs of six, each weighing 2.5 ounces and coming in five flavors: strawberry, watermelon, grape, black cherry, and tangerine. It also comes with the 24-count variety pack. These items were sent to stores all over the country, including big names like Walmart and Target as well as smaller stores like Times/Don Quijote and KTA Super Stores in Hawaii, where the state’s Department of Health has been very vocal about warning people.
Take a moment to think about what “glass contamination” in a frozen product really means. If you bite into something that has frozen solid, especially if it’s a child, which is likely to happen with a brightly colored fruit bar, even a small piece could hurt you. Concerns about cuts in the mouth, throat, or digestive tract are not just ideas. That’s what Dreyer’s seems to get, even if the company is carefully saying this is just for safety.
Hawaii’s Department of Health said that the Food and Drug Branch is working hard with local stores to get the recalled goods off the shelves. This kind of coordination on the ground is important. In the past, when there were problems with food safety, recalled items stayed in stores longer than they should have. This could be because they were hard to get rid of or because there was a communication problem somewhere in the chain.
People who may have bought any of the affected products can tell which ones they are by looking at the UPC, batch code, and best before date printed on the bottom of the package. The FDA’s official recall notice has a full list of the codes that are affected. Dreyer’s says that if a product matches, people should either throw it away or take it back to the store where they bought it and get their money back in full. If you think you may have eaten glass, you should talk to a doctor. That’s not something most people think about while they’re eating a fruit bar.
Dreyer’s hasn’t given a public explanation for how the glass got into the products, so it’s still not clear. That level of openness doesn’t happen very often, if at all. What’s interesting is that the recall only affects the flavors and packages listed. Other Outshine products are not being recalled at this time. People who need help can email Dreyer’s customer service at dreyers@casupport.com any questions they have. As I watch recalls like this happen, I get the sense that the system is working as it should—customers report a problem, the company fixes it, and regulators step in. Things don’t always go so well. At least it looks like it’s going in the right direction this time.
