These Hostess Snack Cakes Face A Recall Over Potential Mold Contamination

We've got a recall alert on our hands, this time involving a sweet handheld treat from Hostess. The Twinkie manufacturer has issued a recall notice on one of its classic impulse purchases, Ding Dongs, because there's a batch of them could be potentially contaminated with mold. The issue stems from a particular piece of equipment that could have caused "conditions that could support the development of mold in the product prior to the expiration date," according to the recall notice.

The issue was caught quickly, but a few shipments were sent out under these undesirable circumstances. All the Ding Dongs involved in the recall expire between August 30 and September 3. 2-count single-serve Chocolate Ding Dong packages with UPC 8-88109-01002, 10-count Chocolate Ding Dongs with UPC 8-88109-11061, and 16-count Chocolate Ding Dong family packs with UPC 8-88109-11092 are the ones you'll want to look out for. If you have purchased some recalled Ding Dongs, simply return them to where you purchased them, or toss 'em — no need to risk eating a mouthful of potentially moldy snack cakes.

The current recall is only limited to that small batch of Ding Dongs, and no other products are affected. It's also possible that J.M. Smuckers, the manufacturer of Hostess Ding Dongs, caught the issue early enough to intercept some of it from going out, though grocery store chain Tops did alert its customers to the recall. So it's likely at least some Ding Dongs made it out to retailers. 

When things like this happen, either manufacturers catch the issue early on, or governmental agencies catch them through sample testing, routine inspections, and verifying customer complaints — we have rigorous systems in place that prevent most recalls from turning into full-blown crises. Unfortunately, there are some things that slip through, which can trigger recalls as unusual as ones stemming from bird feet being in chocolate cake. But thanks to vigilant systems, this kind of thing doesn't often turn out into the worst possible scenario, like the one time the slivered onions were contaminated with E. coli at McDonald's. That particular contamination caused actual deaths, which is why it's important to stay on top of news like this just to be safe.