Cucina Fresca Gourmet Foods issues allergy alert due to undeclared milk in shelf-stable 24-ounce smoked tomato sauce.

Contact:
Consumer:
206-903-0825

Media:
Kristen Hamilton, for Cucina Fresca Gourmet Foods
206-838-4952 l kristen@duopr.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 24, 2012 - Cucina Fresca Gourmet Foods, a leading producer of natural gourmet foods for retail and foodservice, recently conducted an audit of its packaged goods products and found an error on the labels of 58 cases of shelf-stable 24-ounce Cucina Fresca Smoked Tomato Sauce in glass jars, resulting in a need to recall the mislabeled packages from select Pacific Northwest Whole Foods and Quality Food Center locations in Oregon and Washington states (lot# 11002A and 11002B). The Cucina Fresca Smoked Tomato labeled jars actually contain Cucina Fresca Tomato Vodka Sauce, which contains milk as an ingredient. Milk is not listed on the Cucina Fresca Smoked Tomato label. This may pose a serious, life-threatening risk to buyers unaware of its inclusion, who may have an allergy or sensitivity to milk.

The error has not been linked to any illnesses at this time, and no other Cucina Fresca packaged good products or refrigerated sauces are affected. In accordance with FDA regulations to identify known allergens, Cucina Fresca has reported the error to the FDA to issue a recall and will offer all consumers who purchased the mislabeled sauce replacement product. The product was distributed to retail locations the end of June 2012.

With the recall, Cucina Fresca will be pulling all mislabeled products off shelves at Whole Foods and Quality Food Center stores, and replacing them with correctly labeled product. Consumers who have purchased Cucina Fresca Smoked Tomato (lot 11002A or 11002B noted at the bottom of the jar) UPC code 8-84337-00522-4 are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions or concerns may contact the company at 206-903-0825 from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. PST Monday through Friday.

“We’re deeply sorry for the inconvenience to our customers,” Glaberson commented. “We’ll be implementing a more standardized labeling procedure to avoid errors like this in the future.”

About Cucina Fresca Gourmet Foods
With roots as a mom-and-pop shop in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market, Cucina Fresca Gourmet Foods is today a leading producer of natural, delicious prepared foods for retail and foodservice. Its products – including popular fresh pastas and sauces, and frozen “lazy” lasagnas and macaroni and cheese entrées – are all handcrafted in small batches from only the freshest, highest quality ingredients to ensure the most delicious experience. Cucina Fresca Gourmet Foods is sold throughout grocery stores, specialty shops and restaurants in North America. For more information and recipes, visit www.cucinafresca.com .