The Costco Butter Label Lapse
As I write this, I’m still in unbelief. Costco has issued a recall of 79,200 pounds of Kirkland Signature Sweet Cream Butter recently for the most insane reason. The label failed to state the product “contains milk.”
So after decades of loyal service to sandwiches, baking, and leisure breakfasts, our beloved butter was outed as mislabeled. The reaction on social media was mocking:
“WARNING butter has been determined to be BUTTER!!! Costco conspiracy UNCOVERED. Hidden mystery ingredient REVEALED!”
Even though the package label glaringly included “cream” on the ingredients list, it wasn’t enough to magnify the fact that milk could be hiding in the butter. It’s like serving fillet mignon without mentioning that it’s, you know, beef!
Another X user quipped:
That is true. For a product to be considered “butter," as opposed to an alternative like a "buttery spread" or "plant-based milk butter," it has to contain real dairy milk. But discard the obvious, because somewhere in a huge government office, a group of experts has gathered around just-poured cups of coffee, smugly congratulating themselves on being the unsung heroes of a “Class II” recall. That means this is a violative product that may cause “temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.” Sounds far more ominous than it is!
Underneath the chuckling, there’s a kernel of truth nestled away. Allergens need to be taken seriously, and the laws exist to make sure that any food that contains a recognized allergen is labelled as such. So the FDA had to flex its regulatory muscles in the face of potential chaos.
However, are Americans as dull-witted as the FDA thinks? Do people with serious milk allergies not understand that butter and cream are both in the milk family? What are we learning in school? An American Thinker article states that we’re witnessing a bureaucratic mindset that has gone far beyond its mandate of protecting people. It flexes constant, rigid rules that ensure it exists in perpetuity because—well—it makes them look busy and important. But this bureaucratic overreach, this wasteful, abusive chaff stifling America won’t save lives; it will only drive up prices.
I’m just thinking out loud here, but couldn’t they just have stuck an “I’m a dairy product” sticker on the butter? Or maybe a cute cow graphic, so people get the hint? I guess the point is that we’re not only spreading butter, but that we’re spreading a proud and well-labelled butter! Now on to the next pressing issue—ice is, in fact, made from water.
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