Trader Joe’s recalled its pre-made falafel balls over concerns they may contain rocks — the fourth item the store has pulled from shelves in a week.
Customers from 34 states and Washington, DC should ditch their boxes of Trader Joe’s Fully Cooked Falafel from any time period, the mega grocery chain announced Friday.
Trader Joe’s has already destroyed all boxes of the potentially rock-riddled chickpea bites that were distributed by its supplier.
“If you purchased or received any donations of Fully Cooked Falafel, please do not eat them,” the company said in a recall notice.
A Trader Joe’s spokesperson told The Post that a vendor alerted the company to the pebble issue immediately before the recall was issued.
When asked how the rocks landed inside the food boxes, the company said “there was an issue in the manufacturing processes.”
“We don’t hesitate or wait for regulatory agencies to tell us what to do. We will never leave to chance the safety of the products we offer,” the representative said.
The announcement comes just one day after the company recalled thousands of cases of broccoli cheddar soup because the product “has insects in the frozen broccoli florets.”
Additionally, last Friday, Trader Joe’s issued a recall for two signature cookies: it’s Almond Windmill Cookies and Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies.
The treats were yanked from shelves after the company said it was alerted of the “potential foreign material” by a supplier.
According to SafeFood360, stones or pebbles are more likely to contaminate food products during harvest season, which typically falls between July and November in the US.
Rock contamination is most common in items that use raw material from fields, such as nuts, fruits, and vegetables, the food safety company explained.
Trader Joe’s is offering a full refund for customers that purchased the possibly pebble-packed items.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
