A Non-Recall Recall of Chobani Yogurt

This morning I woke to see numerous articles about some problems with  Chobani Greek yogurt. We like yogurt in our house although we usually eat Yoplait. I have always given foods like this a quick look to make sure it looks and smells alright.

The problems being reported with Chobani yogurt are swelling or bloated looking cups, yogurt that appears to be "fizzing", that it tastes really old or even sour. There were complaints of the yogurt being runny and still others complained of gastrointestinal issues. The company is in the process of removing the affected product from store shelves, but have not issued a formal recall. According to the company, a type of mold commonly found in dairy may be to blame. They also say it it was limited to yogurt cups produced at their Idaho plant and is only about 5% of their production. The company has not revealed which states the products were shipped to or which products were affected. 

Fans of Chobani's Facebook page are complaining of ailments stemming from the bad batch. One user says her 15-month-old daughter has been consuming Chobani Champion tubes that had that code, and now she has a horrible rash and a few other problems. Another fan revealed she's had stomach pains for three weeks as well as cramps, nausea, and bloating.

It's not very comforting to me that Chobani has chosen to not make more of an effort to let people know what is happening. It's fine that they are pulling the product, but a lot of it is still out there in people's homes. People that may not hear of this are going to continue to eat and get sick from their yogurt. If you eat Chobani products, please check them.

 Here's what you need to check if you have Chobani's yogurt in your refrigerator:

Cups with the code 16-012 and expiration dates between September 11, 2013 and October 7, 2013 are affected. 

I understand that Chobani was probably trying to avoid creating a hysteria as well as a major drop off of sales, but the safety and health of their customers should have come first.  Consumers have the right to have a little more information when a product they purchased has issues. Especially food items. The goal should be to prevent more people from ingesting the tainted products and letting those that have eaten it know the risks to their health. 
If you have purchased yogurts with the affected codes, you are encouraged to contact Chobani's customer service team at care@chobani.com to get replacement products.

UPDATE: The FDA is investigating why Chobani did not issue a recall over this matter

Tamara Ward, a spokeswoman for the FDA said the FDA is in discussions with the company to assess the nature of the problem, the level of risk to the public, whether the issue has been contained, and whether Chobani is doing enough to communicate any risk to the public.