HARTFORD, Conn — Stew Leonard's has issued a recall for the Florentine cookies after the cookies sold at two of its locations contained undeclared peanuts.
The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) issued a warning for the cookies sold at the Danbury and Newington locations.
This recall comes after a New York resident in their 20s died and it was reported that they consumed the cookies at a social gathering in Connecticut. The death was reported by the Food and Drug Administration and it may have been associated with the mislabeled product.
Cookies affected by the recall are Florentine Cookies with a best-by date of January 5, 2024. These cookies are seasonal and were sold in Danbury and Newington from November 6 to December 31, 2023.
President & CEO of Stew Leonard’s, Stew Leonard Jr., said in a statement that "this has never happened at Stew Leonard's before" and that they are "devastated" about the death of a consumer of their product.
"We have very strict food safety practices and one of them is having all proper ingredients listed on our labels," the statement said. "Unfortunately, we are buying these cookies from a company who never told us they changed the ingredients. We sold them in good faith and one customer was affected."
Consumers who have a nut allergy should immediately dispose of the product.
The Florentine Cookies were produced by a wholesaler, Cookies United in New York labeled with Stew Leonard’s brand name, and sold only at the Danbury and Newington stores.
Cookies United released a statement Tuesday, saying it has been cooperating with the New York State Dept. of Agriculture and was informed of being "in compliance with all applicable rules and regulations relating to this product."
"Stew Leonard’s was notified by Cookies United in July of 2023 that this product now contains peanuts and all products shipped to them have been labeled accordingly," Cookies United said in its statement.
The DCP has worked with Stew Leonard’s to remove all baked items produced by Cookies United from all Stew Leonard’s Connecticut locations. DCP investigators are working with state and local public health officials in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, the Food and Drug Administration, and Stew Leonard’s to determine the cause of the error, and if any other products were affected or sold to other stores.
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