Bread Recall After ‘Glass Fragments Found’ Affects 6 States, FDA Says

You could call this a glass act. There is now a bread recall due to the presence of glass fragments being found on the top of the bread, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Upper Crust Crest Hill Bakery is voluntarily recalling over 800 cases of its bread.

Bread Recall Involves Over 800 Cases

That’s a lot of bread. Actually, that’s three lots of bread. Specifically, it’s Lot #90 of its Ancient Grains Hoagie Rolls involving 89 cases, Lot #90 of its Multigrain Sourdough bread involving 699 cases, and Lout #92 of its Whole Grain Multigrain bread involving 30 cases. The bread affected by the recall was originally sold frozen in paper cartons.

If you’ve bought bread recently, don’t loaf around and delay checking your package, the package that the bread came in, that is. If you find the packaging code CP45 on the four ounce container of the Upper Crust Bakery Ancient Grains Hoagie Roll or the packaging code CP12 on the 18 ounce container of the Multigrain Sourdough or the 20 ounce container of the Whole Grain Multigrain varieties, stop eating that peanut butter an hot dog sandwich or whatever else may be using that bread. Instead, throw it away or return it for a refund.

The recall initiated on April 12 should affect six states, Pennsylvania, California, Connecticut, Maryland, Delaware and Ohio. Upper Crust Crest Hill Bakery itself is located in Maryland. But even if you are not in one of those states, you may want to check your bread. After all, bread can cross state lines.

The FDA recall notice did not specify the size of the glass fragments, how much glass was found and specifically how many bread packages have actually had glass fragments to date. When some type of contamination is found in a food product, often the manufacturer will recall the entire lot that the product was in as a precautionary measure.

What To Do If You Have Ingested Glass

Naturally, it’s not a good idea to eat any glass. There are reasons why people don’t routinely munch on stained glass windows. The damage that glass fragments can do to your gastrointestinal tract depends on their sharpness, shape and size. The sharper they are the more likely they are to cut through different parts of your GI tract such as your mouth, throat, esophagus, stomach and intestines. Such cuts can lead to bleeding, damage and infections. Larger glass fragments could lead to obstructions.

However, if the glass fragments are small and dull enough, they could pass through your GI tract within days without incident. If you suspect that you ingested some glass fragments, its a good idea to contact your doctor and be on the lookout for any symptoms. Symptoms may include pain in the chest or abdomen, bloating, fever, blood in the stool or coughing up blood. Describe as best you can the glass fragments as there is a difference between ingesting very small grainy fragments versus a glass tumbler versus an entire car window pane. That can help your doctor decide how to handle your situation and your risk of getting cut on the inside.

Speaking of cuts. It’s not clear how the recent (and perhaps ongoing) cuts of FDA staff and resources may be affecting inspections and food safety oversight. During the past couple of months, the FDA doesn’t seem to be issuing as many full press releases about food recalls as it has done in the past. Regardless, you probably don’t want to hear of something like a bread recall after you’ve eaten bread that’s been contaminated. So, try to inspect any food that you are about to eat before it goes down you pie hole. Look for any unusual appearance or any foreign substances. In other words, check your bread slice on its outside before you get sliced on the inside.