Trader Joe's recalled one of its falafel products on Friday over concerns that the item could contain rocks. This marked the fourth product recall from the grocer in the past week, as other foodstuffs were also reported to possibly contain rocks and insects.
In a recall notice, Trader Joe's said that its Fully Cooked Falafel "may contain rocks," and that "all potentially affected product has been removed from sale and destroyed." The grocer urged consumers to either throw the product away or return it to stores for a refund.
The falafel pullback comes after Trader Joe's also recalled two of its cookie products, Almond Windmill Cookies and Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies, that were also found to possibly contain rocks. The grocer was also forced to recall its Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup because it "may contain insects." No specifics on what types of insects may have contaminated the soup were provided, but the FDA's official recall notice said the product "has insects in the frozen broccoli florets."
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Trader Joe's said it "will never leave to chance the safety of the products we offer," in a statement obtained by NBC News. "We err on the side of caution and are proactive in addressing issues. We take action quickly, aggressively investigating potential problems and removing product from sale if there is any doubt about its safety or quality."
"We don't wait for regulatory agencies to tell us what to do," Trader Joe's added, saying that they "share news through in-store signs, on our website, and through email alerts as soon as we need to let our customers know there might be a concern with any of our products."
The origins of the possible contaminations remain unknown. Trader Joe's remains one of the fastest-growing grocers in the U.S., and has more than 560 stores nationwide.
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