Why Kraft Recalled Its Mac & Cheese

Grocers are pulling another food product off of their shelves. On Tuesday, Kraft issued a recall of its macaroni and cheese box dinners because small metal pieces were found in some of them. These original flavor boxes were stamped with a "best when used by" date between Sept. 18, 2015, and Oct. 11, 2015. Below the date, you'll see the code "C2," which refers to the specific production line where the food product was made.

Kraft said in a statement, which included a full list of its affected product codes, that it is voluntarily pulling 242,000 cases of its mac and cheese dinners after it received multiple complaints from customers.

Kraft has received eight consumer contacts about this product from the impacted line within this range of code dates and no injuries have been reported. We deeply regret this situation and apologize to any consumers we have disappointed.

Affected products could mean individual 7.5-ounce mac and cheese boxes or those part of multi-pack units, which range from three to five boxes. Multi-pack units would have different dates and manufacturing codes on either the box or shrink wrap. Just in case, you're better off tossing or returning any mac and cheese box you find stuffed in the back of your pantry.

The affected boxes were shipped to customers in the United States, Puerto Rico, and some Caribbean and South American countries. Canada is excluded. Customers have been instructed to return potentially affected boxes to the store where they purchased it for an exchange or refund. They can also contact Foods Consumer Relations at 1-800-816-9432 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET to receive a full refund.

This isn't Kraft's first cheesy situation. The food manufacturer recalled more than 7,000 cases of its American singles cheese back in September after it discovered that a supplier didn't store the product at temperatures that met company standards. In 2012, Kraft also recalled its Jalapeno flavor string cheese after discovering that part of the plastic packaging would stick to the food and create a choking hazard.

In other food recall news, Trader Joe's on Tuesday pulled all of its raw walnuts products, citing a possible salmonella contamination. Bacteria is one thing, but metal pieces are quite another. Honestly, Kraft's recall just brings back memories of that way-back-when Halloween folklore of finding razor blades in your candy.

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