Target Has Issued A Recall On Nearly 200 Thousand Canned Green Beans

Bad news for Target shoppers and green bean fans, or at least the subsection of the Venn diagram that includes both categories. As the title no doubt tipped you off, there's been yet another recall. Yes, food recalls have been on the rise in recent years. In fact, it's only been a few months since the retailer with the big red bullseye had to recall over 1,000 cases of mochi ice cream due to an undisclosed allergen. 

This time around, the recall is due to an unspecified foreign object in 14.5-ounce cans of cut green beans sold under the Target-exclusive Good & Gather label. These beans — which were produced by Del Monte Foods — were first recalled by the firm on February 12, although for some reason news seems to have been slow to leak out. (We'll say nothing of government inefficiency since we'd much rather have a slow FDA than no FDA.) At the time of writing, the recall is still ongoing and has involved more than 197,800 cans of beans. 

The beans were sold at Target stores in 21 states — the full list of states is available in the FDA notice. If you're not sure whether your batch may have been affected, check the label. The UPC code for the recalled beans is "0 85239-11628 9."

If you did buy these Good & Gather green beans — in fact, even if you think you may have eaten some of this recalled food – there's no need to freak out. They weren't recalled for any foodborne illness concerns but rather because the cans might have contained some type of foreign object. The exact details weren't released, but the main danger from consuming foreign objects is typically immediate (hurting your mouth) or follows shortly thereafter (digestive distress). 

This means that even if you ate the beans, there's a good chance you're already out of the woods or were never even in them. That being said, if you do have uneaten Good & Gather cut green beans on hand, either toss them or take them back to Target since it's not worth taking any risks.

The Good & Gather recall is designated as Class 2. This means that the product, according to the FDA, "may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences," but that "the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote." The really scary recalls, however, are the ones designated as Class 1, since they involve the possibility of serious illness or even death. (A recent Class 1 recall involving canned food was for tuna contaminated with botulin.) Luckily, this particular Target recall isn't nearly as dangerous, so you can dispense with the panic along with any beans you still have in the pantry.