FDA: Idaho Knew About Chobani Mold Problem Before 2013 Recall

A federal report obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) indicates that the Idaho Department of Agriculture knew about that moldy Chobani yogurt two months before it was recalled.

The state denies the claim found in a U.S. Food and Drug Administration report by the Twin Falls Times-News, the daily newspaper located near the Idaho Chobani plant.  Moldy Greek yogurt by Chobani made about 300 people sick in an event associated with a September 2013 recalls of the products.  Documents released to the newspaper show that the Idaho Department of Agriculture became aware of the problem during a routine inspection two months before the company’s voluntary recall of 35 yogurt varieties.  The company said that its products were contaminated with a mold commonly found in yogurt production known as Mucor circinelloides.  “In July the routine Grade A sampling and testing samples taken by the Idaho Department of Agriculture (ISDA) from the Chobani Idaho Inc. production were visually noted, by the laboratory technician, that surface defects were present and additional testing was conducted noting a yeast like growth developing in the yogurt samples,” FDA reported.  The Idaho Department of Agriculture claims it never found any mold and does not know the source of FDA’s information. What it knew in July 2013 did not prompt FDA to take any action on its own.  “All of the raw and finished product-testing results met the requirements of the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance,” a state spokesman told the Times-News. “All of the tests we’ve done met the requirements.”