Officials issue warning following recall of popular food item: 'Adverse health consequences'

Hundreds of thousands of frozen acai bowls have been recalled because of the risk that they may contain plastic.

What's happening?

The Food and Drug Administration announced a Class II recall on more than 25,000 cases of organic acai bowls made by California company Stiebs LLC, Food Safety News reported. The recall is due to potential contamination with blue pieces of plastic.

The frozen, prepackaged products are labeled as Organic Acai Bowl with Berries, Bananas, Granola, and Dried Coconut, with expiration dates that range from Sept. 30, 2025, to Feb. 5, 2026. Each case contained 24 bowls, and they were shipped to retail locations from distribution centers in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia.

The FDA labels a Class II recall as "a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote."

Anyone who purchased one of these acai bowls should not consume it.

Why is plastic contamination of food important?

This isn't the only food recall involving plastic contamination. In March, a Canadian supermarket recalled ground beef because it may have contained plastic pieces.

Each of these recalls shows one of the many dangers posed by the overabundance of plastic in our society. 

Plastic has become such a common pollutant that there are an estimated 170 trillion pieces of plastic in our ocean, and that number is expected to double every six years. Most of those are microplastics, tiny pieces that are smaller than 5 millimeters in diameter.

Not surprisingly, a lot of that plastic waste ends up in our food. EarthDay.org cited research that shows the average person ingests thousands of microplastic particles from things such as seafood, tea bags, apples, carrots, and salt.

However, bottled water may be the biggest culprit. A 2024 study found that 1 liter of bottled water had an average of 240,000 plastic particles.

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What's being done about plastic contamination?

In food packaging alone, there are many sustainable alternatives to plastic, such as packaging made from recycled fiber, seaweed, and even food waste. 

Many governments are also taking action against plastic waste. In California, for example, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law to ban plastic shopping bags.

You can also make decisions in your day-to-day life to help use less plastic. Along with grocery bags, consider replacing plastic food containers and single-use health and beauty products.

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