Costco recalls nearly 80,000 pounds of butter due to possible mislabeling

Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Costco voluntarily recalled 79,200 pounds of two types of its store-brand butter over the past month because their labels may not have said the products contain milk.

The membership club recalled 46,800 pounds of the Kirkland Signature Unsalted Sweet Cream Butter and 32,400 pounds of Kirkland Signature Salted Sweet Cream Butter.

The 46,800 pounds of recalled butter were distributed to Costco locations throughout Texas.

All of the butter recalled was produced at the Continental Diary Facilities Southwest in Texas and have "best by" dates from Feb. 22 to March 29.

The Food and Drug Administration said the 16-ounce packages of the salted sweet cream butter contain four 4-ounce sticks of butter and have the UPC code 96619-38488.

The 16-ounce packages of recalled unsalted sweet cream butter also contain four 4-ounce sticks and have the UPC code 96619-38496, the agency said.

The packages of butter list "cream" among their contents, but may be missing the "Contains Milk" statement on their ingredients labels, according to the FDA.

The FDA on Thursday said milk is an allergen that might cause "temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences" for those who are allergic to it.

But the potential for a serious health problems due to consuming the products is "remote," the FDA added.

The 2004 Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act lists milk, wheat, eggs, soybeans, fish, peanuts, crustacean shellfish and tree nuts as allergens. Any product that contains at least one of them using the preface "contains" on their labels.

The Kirkland Signature label is Costco's proprietary brand.