Several B.C. stores are among 16 named in a cross-Canada recall of debittered brewer鈥檚 yeast, but not because they鈥檙e suspected of doing anything wrong.

The warning was issued to protect anyone who may be allergic to peanuts.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued the food recall warning Feb. 22, one of several warnings since Feb. 11 regarding various brands of brewer鈥檚 yeast recalled 鈥渄ue to undeclared peanut.鈥� The recalls were triggered by a consumer complaint.

The stores were named because they have purchased and sold products which might have been exposed to peanuts. Those products have now all been removed from shelves.

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The CFIA points out 鈥渢here have been no reported reactions for the various brands of debittered brewer鈥檚 yeast mentioned on the Food Recall Warning. However, there have been reported reactions associated with other recently recalled brewer鈥檚 yeast products.鈥�

At Nutter鈥檚, the products that may have come in contact with peanuts were sold between April 16, 2018 up to Feb. 14, 2019. However, the risk from Nutter鈥檚 appears to be particularly low to zero. explains that the packaging on the brewer鈥檚 yeast at his store already contained a warning about potential peanut contamination, so anyone who purchased it would have been aware.

A good portion of the brewer鈥檚 yeast he sold during the time in question did not go for human consumption, but to horses, he says.

鈥淭he two kilogram bags are special orders. They feed it to their horses.鈥�

Russ Skinner, the owner of a store that sold the product in the Shuswap region of B.C., says a relatively small number of people consume brewer鈥檚 yeast to get their Vitamin Bs, usually mixing it into smoothies and other foods.

Skinner suspects that any potential contact with peanuts would have occurred somewhere down the line where the yeast was processed, not from the company that distributes the product to his store.

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At Shuswap Health Foods, owner Deanna Hartley says she sells very little brewer鈥檚 yeast, which is stored in a different section of the store from the other more popular yeasts. At her store, products sold from June 1, 2018 to Feb. 14, 2019 are included in the recall.

鈥淚t鈥檚 actually quite awful tasting,鈥� she says of brewer鈥檚 yeast, noting it鈥檚 mostly purchased for pets.

Both Salmon Arm store owners says anyone who wishes to return the brewer鈥檚 yeast subject to the recall are welcome to do so.

marthawickett@saobserver.net
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