Dozens report getting sick from Chobani yogurt, Food scientist says ‘mold should not pose a health risk to most consumers’
In a follow up to the recall notice of Chobani yogurt last Friday, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spokesperson Tamara Ward told an Idaho news source that the agency had received some 89 reports of illness from eating the Greek yogurt.
Ward told the Magic Valley.com that some have described nausea and cramps after eating the yogurt; however, none have been confirmed.
The yogurt maker said last week that a mold commonly found in dairy was isolated.
However, professor of Food Science in Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Randy Worobo said last week of the implicated mold:
“Mucor circinelloides is a species of mold commonly associated with fruits, vegetables and dairy that has been reported to cause spoilage like swelling and bloating in yogurt. It is not considered a disease-causing foodborne microorganism.
“This mold should not pose a health risk to most consumers. Very rarely, it can act as an opportunistic pathogen, but not through food and usually only for people with compromised immune systems through inhalation. The organism is regularly used for the production of natural flavor compounds that are widely used in the food industry.”
The recall, announced on Thursday, follows nearly a week after Chobani sought to quietly remove the yogurt from store shelves without alerting the public, a strategy the U.S. Food and Drug Administration called “unusual.”
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