Costco urgently recalls nearly 40 tonnes of butter after label blunder

Over 35,000 kilos of butter has been recalled for containing a well-known ingredient which failed to be mentioned on its packaging.

A whopping 35,924 kilos of the product has been taken off the shelves at the wholesale retailer Costco as Kirkland Signature butter did not state that the product 'contains milk'.

The popular household item lists that it contains cream, but may be missing the 'contains milk' statement, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Over 2,000 cases of butter have been recalled - this includes 900 cases of Kirkland Signature Salted Sweet Cream Butter and 1,300 cases of Kirkland Signature Unsalted Sweet Cream Butter.

The mislabelled product was produced by Continental Dairy Facilities Southwest LLC and distributed in Texas in the United States.

The FDA recalled the product from shelves on October 11, however, it was reclassified on Thursday last week to a Class II. This category means products can 'cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote'.

The affected products contain best before dates of February 22, 2025, and March 29, 2025.

However, the public has taken to social media to mock the recall over such an obvious ingredient.

"I know cream is milk," said one user. He adds: "I will gladly take all of the recalled butter off your hands for free. I do not have a milk allergy."

Another person said: "I know there are lots of recalls out there but the Costco butter recall has to be the silliest. It's not recalled because of a contaminant or because it's a bad batch. It's recalled because it doesn't include an allergen statement saying it contains milk."

A third X user echoed this sentiment, saying: "If we need to tell people that BUTTER which is made from CREAM that have been separated from MILK 'Contains Milk', we are doomed."

"I worry about Americans. This is why they have to write "For External Use" on shampoo bottles," an X account posted.

The product recall comes a month after the wholesale retailer recalled its Kirkland Signature Smoked Salmon for possible listeria contamination.

A number of food recalls have been listed in America over the past few months after a listeria outbreak affected about 10 million pounds of meat. This tragically led to the deaths of 10 people and 59 hospitalisations across 19 states. The meat originated from a Liverwurst product made by the company Boar's Head.