For some reason this particular recall is trending on Facebook… this is the first time I’ve ever seen that happen. Interestingly, some news reports are highlighting the fact that it was prompted by a “recall in another (undisclosed) country”. It takes about 5 minutes to find out that the country is the USA, and that this is actually just a second wave of an earlier recall from July 2nd that didn’t extend to Canada. 

What is interesting about recalls like this is that you get to see just how truly limited our consumer choice is. Look at the list of products being recalled, all of which are manufactured in the same facility.

This facility is producing food for low-cost private label brands (e.g., No Name) as well as for food service companies. These products are likely at vastly different price points for the end consumer. While obviously standards set by the customers and other variations in QA can impact quality and price, this certainly does make plain that much of our food comes from a very small number of places, even if the perception of a plethora of choice suggests the opposite.