The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning that consumers with certain allergies may have a life-threatening medical reaction to allergenic ingredients found in some Russian foods from M&P Food Production.
The FDA has recalled a number of M&P products due to undeclared allergenic ingredients—this is when a food producer fails to list common allergy-invoking ingredients like milk or peanuts on the label.
In the case of the Russian foods, the undeclared allergens are wheat, sesame, and milk. The mislabeled products represent a variety of popular Russian foods such as blintzes, vareniki (Russian-style savory dumplings similar to pierogi), and pirozhki. The latter are either savory or sweet hand-sized pastries with filling, using a buttery raised yeast dough.
The recall applies to nine different products from the company that were sold from August of 2023 to August of 2024. The foods made their way to stores in New York, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, and Florida.
The FDA warns that anyone with an allergy to wheat, milk, or sesame should absolutely avoid the foods as they might kill a person with a severe enough allergy.
All the foods affected have a sell-by date from 8/27/2024 to 8/27/2025. The FDA says anyone who bought the items should bring them back to the same store for a refund.
The recall was sparked by an FDA inspection that found the allergenic ingredients were in these food, but they were not listed on the label.
Those interested in finding out whether they have any of the recalled foods in their freezer can visit the FDA’s website for a full list of recalled items and how to identify them. They include items such as cherry-cheese blintzes, potato pirozhki, and savory vareniki dumplings.
While wheat, sesame, and milk are harmless to most people, those with severe allergies may end up with an anaphylactic reaction. This is the most dire form of allergic reaction that is caused by the immune system flooding the body with chemicals to fight off the ingredient; it’s a kind of immune overreaction. The airway can close up causing a person to suffocate. Those in danger of anaphylaxis often carry a syringe or injection “pen” filled with the stimulant epinephrine, which can reverse the condition.
