Undeclared Milk Leads To Recall Of Two Bears Unsweetened Oat Milk
The Canadian coffee company Two Bears has become the subject of a recall. As the Canadian government explains on its website, the "Barista Friendly" version of Two Bears' Unsweetened Oat M*lk did, in fact, contain milk. This was confirmed through testing by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Two Bears products are sold throughout Canada and to customers in the U.S. (via the Two Bears FAQ page). The specific barcode and best by-date you should look for if you have purchased this oat milk are 6 28504 30905 6 and January 30, 2022, respectively. Customers are advised to discard or return the product for a refund. Those with questions can contact Two Bears via email. Residents of Canada and the U.S. can also call the inspection agency toll-free at 1-800-442-2342.
News of the recall was discussed on the Ontario subreddit, where a user asked, "How does a 'dairy-free' company end up with dairy in their products. As someone with a dairy allergy, this is terrifying." A commenter raised the possibility that dairy and non-dairy products went through the same supplier, and cross-contamination occurred. While no explanation was provided in the recall notice, as noted by Food Allergy Canada, cross-contaminations can happen through food suppliers. So it's not implausible in the abstract. It should be noted, however, that this is probably not a satisfying answer for someone with an allergy.
Previous oat milk recalls
The inclusion of dairy in a dairy alternative might just be the most absurd reason that an oat milk recall has occurred. But, it could also be the one that has involved the least amount of drama. In 2019, Women's Health told its readers that Oatly was recalling a specific batch of its oat milk in the U.K. The reason? The company was worried that metal had broken off of a machine and contaminated the product, leaving the Food Standards Agency to conclude that it is "unsafe to drink and presents a safety risk."
More recently, the BBC covered a recall that occurred after a spat between a Scottish TikToker and Lidl. The TikToker kept on finding lumps in her Lidl Just Free oat milk and a consistently rank odor. She claimed she tried to contact Lidl in August 2021 and was told that the "quality assurance team [was] looking into it." However, the oat milk remained stocked. She kept up a TikTok campaign about Lidl's oat milk until the company recalled the product in November. "This was due to a number of complaints we had relating to the product being lumpy/white floating bits," Lidl explained. "Was confirmed not to be a health and safety risk."