Christmas Drink Recall as Dire Warning Issued Over 'Serious' Reactions

A dairy producer in Illinois has issued a recall of a batch of holiday nog over concerns the packaging may have been mislabeled and didn't mention the presence of egg in the product, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.

In an alert issued on Friday, the federal agency announced that Prairie Farms Dairy, a farm collective in Edwardsville, Illinois, was recalling half-gallon bottles of the Christmas drink sold at United Dairy Farmers stores on December 4-6 over the suspected issue.

"People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to egg may run the risk of serious allergic reactions if they consume these products," it said.

An allergy to eggs is among the most common adverse food reactions among infants and young children, according to advocacy non-profit Food Allergy Research & Education, though many grow out of it by the age of 16 and few carry it through into adulthood. A 2020 study found that 0.9 percent of American children have the condition, rising to 1.3 percent among those aged under five.

The allergy develops when the body's immune system erroneously reacts to the proteins in eggs, and symptoms range from a mild rash and difficulty breathing to vomiting, stomach cramps and anaphylaxis, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Darin Copeland, a spokesperson for Prairie Farms Dairy, told Newsweek that the recall "involves a very limited number of units from one small production run" that were "sold mostly in Ohio with some very limited distribution to Kentucky and Indiana."

The company stressed the issue was limited to the specific drink sold through United Dairy Farmers; Prairie Farms Dairy also sells standard eggnog.

"As part of our commitment to food safety, potentially impacted products have been removed from all United Dairy Farmers store shelves," the company said. "To date, there have been no reported cases of illness reported to the company."

Consumers who purchased bottles of the festive drink—which have the product number 7631005049 and lot number 21-65—have been urged to return the items to a United Dairy Farmers store for a full refund.

The dairy drink recall is just the latest to be prompted by a mislabeling of potential allergens on food products. In late November, around 1,800 sandwiches were recalled by a Michigan delicatessen over the undeclared presence of sesame, while the week before, 2,048 trays of chocolate brownies were recalled from 14 states as they contained peanuts, but didn't show it on the packaging.

A few days earlier, a nationwide supermarket brand recalled a batch of egg custard pies because some of the packages may have contained a coconut pie instead.

Update 12/13/23, 12:48 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from a spokesperson for Prairie Farms Dairy.