The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday (June 25) that they warned the Mexican-American bakery Bimbo Bakeries to stop using labels, saying that their products may have potentially dangerous allergens when they contain none. 

The Associated Press reported that FDA inspectors visiting Bimbo's Phoenix, Arizona and Topeka, Kansas plants found that the breadmaker listed ingredients such as sesame or tree nuts on labels even when they were not included in the ingredients in its Sara Lee and Brownberry breads, making such products "misbranded."

A warning letter was sent to Bimbo's US headquarters in Horsham, Pennsylvania, regarding the matter earlier this month, admonishing them to rectify their labeling.

FDA officials added that allergen labeling was "not a substitute" for preventing cross-contamination in food factories. 

Concerns over labeling at Bimbo and several other food manufacturers came after a law took effect in 2022. It added sesame to the list of major allergens that must be listed on the packaging. 

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Advocacy Group Calls Bimbo's Misbranding a 'Disservice'

On the other hand, the nonprofit advocacy group Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) said that Bimbo's products' mislabeling was doing a "disservice" to the estimated 33 million people in the United States who have food allergies. 

FARE's CEO Sung Poblete said in an email that consumers must be constantly aware of the food they purchase as it could cause potentially life-threatening allergic reactions. 

Poblete added that the findings about Bimbo's products "undermine [the community's] trust and further limit their choices."

Globally based in Mexico City, Bimbo billed its US operations as the largest commercial baking company in the country. The company's representatives responded to the FDA findings in an email, saying they were taking their role in "protecting consumers with allergen sensitivities very seriously," and coordinating with the FDA to resolve the concern. 

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