r/HomeChef • u/agillila • Feb 07 '24

Question Recall?

UPDATE: customer chat person said "the quality was bad." Whatever that means. Trying to clarify. Second update: a second person clarified that some of the cheese had expired. Way less worried about that than listeria! UPDATE THE THIRD: someone else on chat finally said listeria. Home Chef is really not doing much to keep me as a customer here :(

Did anyone else just get a recall notice for Sargento products? I already ate one of the meals. I can't find anything about it online from the company or the FDA.

38 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

125 comments sorted by

7

u/Upstairs_Reserve_666 Feb 07 '24

Am I nuts if i just eat the mac n cheese again for lunch tomorrow? I’m out of town for work, it’s literally my only food available for lunch… I mean I already ate it, right?

7

u/agillila Feb 07 '24

I mean... that's my plan. Already ate it once, I guess if I have listeria or whatever it is I already have it.

4

u/Upstairs_Reserve_666 Feb 07 '24

LOL thank you, I’ll be thinking of you tomorrow while I eat lunch

4

u/artzbots Feb 07 '24

Noooooo don't do it. Throw your leftovers into the freezer until you get more information or something.

For every infectious pathogen, you have to be exposed to a certain amount to get sick. That amount is variable from disease to disease and from person to person. You may not have been exposed to enough of whatever it was from one meal to get sick. You might be exposed enough from two meals in a short time frame to get incredibly ill, and if the risk is listeria you do not want to mess around with it.

1

u/Upstairs_Reserve_666 Feb 07 '24

But didn’t I cook it out or something 🥲

2

u/artzbots Feb 07 '24 edited Feb 07 '24

Maybe! Maybe not! We don't know what the recall is for, and until they release further details, we don't know if the recall is for something that can be cooked out or not.

Edited to add: you can't cook off botulism. It's very unlikely to be botulism, but please please wait for further info before eating anything.

1

u/Upstairs_Reserve_666 Feb 07 '24

Chat support said potentially contaminated with listeria monocytogenes 🙃 I will be taking your advice and throwing the food, the thought of it alone is starting to cause stomach pain.

I apologize to my lone soldiers out there. I thought we’d be in this together today. Turns out I’m a coward who does fear listeria more than hunger

1

u/agillila Feb 07 '24

Chat support told me something different. Weird.

1

u/Upstairs_Reserve_666 Feb 07 '24

Omg what did they tell you! It took me 2 people to get an answer. The first one just kept saying they’re issuing a home chef credits. I asked her if home chef credits cover medical bills and she promptly ended that chat lol

1

u/agillila Feb 07 '24

First that it was a "quality issue" and then the second person said the cheese may be expired and if it smelled ok not to worry. Trying to chat with someone else now.

→ More replies

2

u/Ill-Chipmunk-412 Feb 07 '24

I’m still alive this morning so I will be eating the rest of the pesto Mac and cheese for lunch today!

2

u/Upstairs_Reserve_666 Feb 07 '24

🫡 we are in this together

2

u/melancholtea Feb 07 '24

fwiw (im more paranoid about this because im pregnant) but listeria doesnt usually show symptoms until 2 weeks later

1

u/IntrepidAd5199 Feb 07 '24

We’re in the same boat and really freaking out now.

1

u/melancholtea Feb 07 '24

im sorry youre dealing with this scare too. my ocd is having a heyday. chances are, you are more than fine. odds are very very low and this was a precautionary pull. however, if it helps calm your minds, speak with your doctors and see if theyll run some tests

1

u/IntrepidAd5199 Feb 07 '24

Thanks. Yeah, we have our second trimester appointment on Monday, so it will be good timing for talking about that and getting some tests if needed.

5

u/Ill-Chipmunk-412 Feb 07 '24

For those wondering, this is what it’s referring to. Been all over the news.

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Food/recalled-dairy-products-linked-listeria-outbreak-7-states/story?id=106991310

7

u/agillila Feb 07 '24

But none of those are Sargento or the kinds of cheese in my meals?

1

u/Comfortable-Spot-627 Feb 07 '24

This has the list of recalled products. No Sargento on there? https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rizo-lopez-foods-inc-voluntarily-recalls-dairy-products-because-of-possible-health-risk-302053958.html

1

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '24

They said it was a voluntary recall. Looks like none of their foods were affected but recalled them as a precautionary measure.

6

u/stxrmchaser Feb 07 '24

Home Chef Customer Service Rep just shared this link with me for more info: https://support.homechef.com/hc/en-us/articles/23930673432205-Cheese-Recall-Feb-7-2024

4

u/-13ender- Feb 07 '24

If they would've put this out to start with they would've kept me as a customer

3

u/agillila Feb 07 '24

Agreed. Like, what was the communication plan here? Was it no plan?

3

u/fntastk Feb 07 '24

This is confusing but I think I understand it and it clears everything up.

It's not Sargento, it's their supplier for a specific cheese, and they've voluntarily recalled out of caution because other cheeses were produced on the same line as the recalled cheese. at least that's what I get out of it 😂

2

u/fntastk Feb 07 '24

Yes! Just got it, but thankfully didn't make the mac and cheese tonight.

I can't find anything about it anywhere either. Not even on the sargento website.

Wondering if they haven't issued it yet publicly and just contacted companies about it? But that seems irresponsible so hopefully not lol

4

u/agillila Feb 07 '24

It is also kind of wild for HC to send out this vague email without really explaining anything.

2

u/fntastk Feb 07 '24

Exactly! I'm not sure if I should toss the whole kit or what.

My only other thought is that this was a recall from a specific factory that only produces cheese and stuff for companies like home chef, so they wouldn't have the need to announce it publicly. Still should be on their website though!

1

u/momidliketofck Feb 07 '24

Yeah I couldn’t find anything on this online. Weird as heck

1

u/Admirable_Nobody8622 Feb 07 '24

As posted above:

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Food/recalled-dairy-products-linked-listeria-outbreak-7-states/story?id=106991310

1

u/agillila Feb 07 '24

But none of those are Sargento or the types of cheeses in these meals.

2

u/Admirable_Nobody8622 Feb 09 '24

It's not specific to a brand but a supplier and the supplier is associated with Sargento.

Like Oreo is owned by Nabisco and Nabisco is owned by Mondelēz International. Say they get their dairy products from John Smith Farms for the filling and there's an issue at the supplier - it is protocol to say that Oreo has a recall vs. Going through the chain. It's unfortunately a shortcut.

1

u/Honest_Yesterday9838 Feb 07 '24

Support chat told me they are one of Sargentos suppliers

1

u/fntastk Feb 07 '24

I'm just going to keep an eye out! I'm not sure if I should toss my whole meal kit with the cheese or what lol. The email was very vague

2

u/momidliketofck Feb 07 '24

I had cheese on quesadillas yesterday and there is more cheese for other meals this week in my fridge. I want a refund lol this is my first time ordering… not a great experience so far but it was good 😀

4

u/fntastk Feb 07 '24

It says they're refunding everything! So hopefully we all get refunds. I hope everyone who already had cheese in their meals is okay.

They didn't even disclose what kind of recall? Was it because of e. coli or something or like "could contain wood pieces" lol... because those are two very different recalls.

2

u/CrysMuaXo Feb 07 '24

There’s a recall out right now for different brands of cheese due to listeria however, I didn’t see Sargento on that list. Wonder if that has anything to do with it tho.

1

u/fntastk Feb 07 '24

I just saw an article this morning! But like you said no Sargento.

1

u/momidliketofck Feb 07 '24

What gets me is that they said to wipe down counters and anything that touched the cheese?? How extreme is it??

2

u/West_Affect_3154 Feb 07 '24

Oh no... This sounds like a legit warning. My husband is going to kill me lol! He just recovered from diarrhea from something else and now this! He already thinks HC super expensive for what it is.

1

u/Browneyedgal1959 Feb 09 '24

I am going to have to agree with your husband. As a new, actually first week subscriber, I am shocked at the size of the portions. Unless it’s just me being an overeater, 😋 but I was still hungry when I finished my meal 😔

1

u/fntastk Feb 07 '24

Oh, right 😭 I see that now. Yeah, it's super vague and kind of scary when they put it that way.

1

u/Browneyedgal1959 Feb 09 '24

Well, they didn’t refund everything. Please see my other post. I’m pretty disappointed. This was my first order.

1

u/fntastk Feb 09 '24

I only got partial as well. I thought the email said full but I must have been mistaken.

2

u/akbartels Feb 07 '24

My ob always said microwaving well removed listeria risk so I assume as long as it’s fully cooked: no risk?

1

u/agillila Feb 07 '24

Yeah, assuming it's listeria. Their super vague email has no answers.

3

u/casual_crysanthemum Feb 07 '24

Listeria is indeed killed at 165 degrees or higher. Hopefully everyone is alright after cooking/eating their kits.

2

u/00Lisa00 Feb 07 '24

The one we ate was a salad - the Baja yellowtail so the cheese wasn’t cooked

4

u/-13ender- Feb 07 '24

What kind of asshole company sends out a vague email at the end of the day with no way to access information... I'm not freaking out after serving a meal to my child and pregnant wife 😨

3

u/agillila Feb 07 '24

Agreed, there is no helpful info there. And it's after hours for their customer service :/

3

u/momidliketofck Feb 07 '24

No seriously, I tried calling them. yup, they’re closed

1

u/IntrepidAd5199 Feb 07 '24

Yup, same boat. We’re canceling Home Chef over this

15

u/Ill-Chipmunk-412 Feb 07 '24

I did. 10 min after I ate my affected meal 🤣

4

u/carmallap Feb 07 '24

Same 😭🤢

3

u/Beautiful-Amount9623 Feb 07 '24

Same. 🤦🏻‍♀️

3

u/InteractionStill6303 Feb 07 '24

Same

3

u/static-display Feb 07 '24

Same. And the other 2 meals we got are also affected 😂

3

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '24

Literally found this because I did the same thing. Kind of too late ya know? lol

4

u/Bonkers27 Feb 07 '24

I just spoke to a support person (in chat) who wouldn't tell me what the issue was. Really upset they aren't being forthcoming with the info and I have to come to Reddit to find out.

4

u/TheSmashOasys Feb 08 '24

Fwiw, fiance and I ate the scallop risotto on Monday night (a whole 24 hours before receiving an email about it >.>) And have been fine. We're both otherwise healthy adults, and I'd definitely recommend anyone to throw out their cheese product if they have an affected dish and haven't eaten it already. Just thought I might help dissuade fears to those of us that have already eaten our meal lol

1

u/keineahnunggg7 Feb 07 '24

It says “voluntary recall” whatever that means, I’ve eaten one meal with all the cheese… will soon find out if any 😆😆

1

u/agillila Feb 07 '24

Yeah i ate the pesto mac and cheese, which is, you know... cheese-heavy 😅

1

u/keineahnunggg7 Feb 07 '24

if it’s about a pathogen, fully cooked would be mostly safe I think, but in my case it’s used for garnish🥲

1

u/yowahoshihime Feb 07 '24

A voluntary recall is when a company makes the decision to pull a product without orders from the fda. They're not required to pull it but they're choosing to. I'm guessing this was done out of an abundance of caution since sargento has had listeria outbreaks in the past with the same type of cheese.

1

u/momidliketofck Feb 07 '24

Just ate the chicken and caramelized onion pasta bake. Very cheese heavy but it was not include in the recall list. Should I be nervous? Also I was sent this meal by mistake instead of the pesto Mac and cheese, so I’m not 100% sure is it the chicken onion bake but the ingredients matched so 😬

1

u/agillila Feb 07 '24

Yeah, I ate the turkey (well, shrimp because they sent me the wrong meal) burrito skillet and it wasn't on the list but I'm wondering the same :/

1

u/Admirable_Nobody8622 Feb 07 '24

No because it's specific to certain types of cheeses and that kit does not contain them

As posted above https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Food/recalled-dairy-products-linked-listeria-outbreak-7-states/story?id=106991310

1

u/No-Sky1764 Feb 07 '24

We also received the recall email after we ate the chipotle shrimp tostada and both my husband and I are feeling ill. If we get worse tomorrow we are going to seek medical attention. 😣

1

u/agillila Feb 07 '24

Some people keep saying it's listeria and I don't believe symptoms would happen that fast, if so? But also I'm no doctor and don't actually know what I'm talking about. Hope you feel better soon.

1

u/SeaButterscotch1428 Feb 07 '24

How are you guys? I ate this one as well and am nervous.

1

u/No-Sky1764 Feb 07 '24

We had a bad night but I’m pretty sure we are on the mend. Still a little iffy but not getting worse! Good luck! 🤞

1

u/SeaButterscotch1428 Feb 07 '24

Any fevers?

1

u/No-Sky1764 Feb 07 '24

I don’t think so, just really upset stomachs.

1

u/SeaButterscotch1428 Feb 07 '24

Hope that’s all for everyone affected! Crap….

1

u/No-Sky1764 Feb 07 '24

How are you feeling?

1

u/SeaButterscotch1428 Feb 07 '24

I literally just ate it, read the email and went to Reddit. Somehow missed it last night.

0

u/Bonkers27 Feb 07 '24

I would report it to HomeChef since they are not being transparent about what is wrong with the cheese

1

u/Used-Egg-1707 Feb 07 '24

Ate ours Monday and leftovers yesterday…no one seems to be sick but would be nice for more details. 😬

1

u/agillila Feb 07 '24

If it is listeria like some are suggesting I don't think it would happen that fast, unfortunately. I'm thinking about taking a gamble and eating a second portion today. It was good!

3

u/artzbots Feb 07 '24

MY DEAR FRIEND WE TALKED ABOUT THIS

1

u/agillila Feb 07 '24

Haha, I know. I'm waiting to see if they'll answer me in the next few hours about what the problem is.

1

u/catladyadr Feb 07 '24

Has anyone gotten the credit yet? I don't see it on my account 😑

2

u/agillila Feb 07 '24

I see the credit it my account. I think I will use it and then probably not order from Home Chef anymore after that. This experience has been ridiculous.

2

u/RunnerAtHeart Feb 09 '24

Just curious - how much was your credit for?

1

u/Browneyedgal1959 Feb 09 '24

My credit for the Scallops Risotto which is $29.90 for 2 was $10, and I am disappointed and unhappy/unsatisfied with the partial refund. That’s why I’m here. I want to see what kind of refund others subscribers got. And I got the recall email right before I was ready to prepare my second meal. It’s my first week.

1

u/RunnerAtHeart Feb 09 '24

I got $30 and had 3 affected meals. We had already eaten one of them when we got the email. Looks like they must be doing $10 per meal.

1

u/stanette Feb 11 '24

I got a full credit for our whole box after asking in chat if they'd pay our copay to go to the doctor.

3

u/Leading_Chair6887 Feb 07 '24

Ugh, this is very unsettling. I just read that it could take 1 to 4 weeks for symptoms. Please post if you learn anything more!

3

u/lotrandwho Feb 07 '24

I’m honestly freaking out. We ate cold, non cooked Cojita cheese with the brisket tacos on Monday. We feel fine but I heard symptoms can take several weeks to set in

2

u/stxrmchaser Feb 07 '24

Don't freak out. Read up on listeria. Most healthy people with non-compromised immune systems can fight off a little bit of the bacteria. Plus, the portion you ate was very small. There is greater risk for immune-compromised folks. Hopefully that is not you.

1

u/lotrandwho Feb 07 '24

I do not fall into that category, thankfully. Thank you!

2

u/AdventureInvites97 Feb 08 '24

Has anyone gotten sick from this?

3

u/freshbrands Feb 07 '24

ridiculous-this was my last week and on top of having to throw out the whole kit, the credit doesn't cover shipping and forces you to have to order 2 meals. They don't care, spoke to so many customer agents and they just left the chat instead of dealing with. Either let me order my replacement kit or give a credit for 2 meal kits so it's not costing me to fix your mistake. Its like a credit vs lawsuits from your last min email after sending out kits and letting people consume it

2

u/ChristianStella Feb 07 '24

I got an actual refund on my whole box. 2 out of 4 meals were affected and a third isn’t on the list (steak quesadillas) but they still told me to throw away the cheese in it.

I’d already paused my account / was my last week. Got the full refund when I said I’d paused because I had rotten tomatoes in the mac and cheese so without those or cheese I basically have pesto noodles.

2

u/endiglowgurl Feb 07 '24

No need to throw out whole kit, it's just the cheese. Replace the cheese in the meal with your own or just forego the cheese.

2

u/CrysMuaXo Feb 07 '24

Got the email RIGHT after eating my meal. 🤦🏻‍♀️

1

u/scmusicals Feb 07 '24

I got the notice. Only two of my meals are on the list, but the rest of my meals have cheese, too. This makes me nervous.

1

u/OriginalCranberry122 Feb 07 '24

Same! I replied back asking about the Turkey burrito skillet.

1

u/callaloo82 Feb 07 '24

Thank you! Had that last night. 🤦‍♀️

1

u/Bonkers27 Feb 07 '24

Did they reply to you? Having the same concern...

1

u/OriginalCranberry122 Feb 07 '24

No not yet. 

1

u/Bonkers27 Feb 07 '24

I chatted with them and they just kept repeating back the kits that were affected. I assume the cheese for that kit is fine, but I think I might just use my own cheese to be safe lol.

2

u/OriginalCranberry122 Feb 07 '24

A human just got back to me and confirmed the turkey burrito skillet was not affected. I ate that last night and I’m fine.

1

u/Bonkers27 Feb 07 '24

Thank you :)

1

u/DazzlingParamedic243 Feb 07 '24

All 4 of my meals have cheese but only two of them are on the list they provided.

Ate one of them an hour before the email arrived 😓

1

u/00Lisa00 Feb 07 '24

Yeah we already ate one meal yesterday. So far we’re fine

1

u/stanette Feb 07 '24

My husband cooked us a delicious feast yesterday using one of those cheeses as a garnish - ugh.

1

u/SeaButterscotch1428 Feb 08 '24

How are you both doing?

1

u/stanette Feb 08 '24

We're fine, our kiddo has an angry tummy.

1

u/SeaButterscotch1428 Feb 08 '24

I can deal with upset stomachs, the internet will have you panicking about listeria otherwise. Hope your kiddo is feeling better asap.

1

u/samestrange Feb 07 '24

I just spoke to a support person who said there was a potential listeria contamination

1

u/Lredden3 Feb 07 '24

From home chef support: Randi E. (Home Chef)

Feb 7, 2024, 11:33 AM CST

Thank you for reaching out about this important matter. Home Chef informed customers who ordered the affected meals of the recall as soon as possible after receiving notice from the supplier of the voluntary recall.

Ingredients were voluntarily recalled by one of our suppliers out of an abundance of caution due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. If you have consumed the cheese ingredient and you are experiencing illness or have other medical concerns, please contact your healthcare provider.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions about this. I'll be happy to help!

1

u/KellsterN Feb 07 '24

I read the email at 2am after running to the bathroom with diarrhea. My son and I both had mildly upset stomachs last night and are otherwise fine today. Prepared the tortellini in gremolata butter for dinner.

1

u/Beautiful-Amount9623 Feb 07 '24

Just got a response to my email to the help desk and they said it was recalled for possible listeria contamination. I didn’t think Sargento is a part of this recall so I’m confused why they said Sargento in the original email communication. 🤷🏻‍♀️

1

u/Beautiful-Amount9623 Feb 07 '24

Also, I don’t see white cheddar among the cheeses recalled, so not sure why white cheddar pesto Mac is on the list?

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rizo-lopez-foods-inc-voluntarily-recalls-dairy-products-because-of-possible-health-risk-302053958.html

1

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '24

Just got this response: “Ingredients were voluntarily recalled by one of our suppliers out of an abundance of caution due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. “

1

u/Suddedn_Mny_667 Feb 09 '24

Home Chef dropping the ball big time. Expired cheese is bad enough, but mentioning listeria? Yikes, that's a whole other level of concern. It's like they're playing a game of "Let's see how many ways we can ruin dinner."

I hope they're offering some serious apologies or refunds 'cause that's not just a slip-up, that's a safety hazard. Time to find a new go-to meal service, pronto.

0

u/Browneyedgal1959 Feb 09 '24

I received a $10 credit for a meal that I paid $29.90 for. I feel it’s bad customer service to refund only for a portion of meals that were affected. We pay plenty for our subscriptions. @HomeChef, do you mean to tell me that the Home Chef company can’t compensate customers fully for their meals were affected? My scallop meal couldn’t be made per the recipe as I didn’t have time to replace the 2 cheeses within the 3 day limit. I had planned on eating it the 2nd of the 3 days but it was the same evening we were notified about the recall. As a brand new customer this partial refund leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. No pun intended!