Recall Alert: These Trader Joe’s Cookies May Contain Rocks

Trader Joe’s buyers beware: The grocery store recently issued a recall of two kinds of its cookies due to the possible presence of rocks.

As NBC News reports, the items are Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies with sell-by dates from October 17 to October 21, 2023; and Trader Joe’s Almond Windmill Cookies with sell-by dates from October 19 to October 21, 2023.

“If you purchased or received any donations of Almond Windmill Cookies and/or Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies, please do not eat them. We urge you to discard the product or return it to any Trader Joe’s for a full refund,” the company said in a statement. 

It also said stores had “removed from sale and destroyed” all cookies in the contaminated batches, so any you see on Trader Joe’s shelves going forward should be safe to eat. But it’s probably best to check the sell-by dates on the containers before you buy them, anyway.

That’s basically all we know about the recall. The FDA usually publishes details about recall-related investigations, but this particular recall isn’t currently listed on its website. So we don’t know which cookie ingredient may have introduced rocks, or whether Trader Joe’s employees—or any Trader Joe’s customers—actually found rocks in cookies.

It’s not the first time rocks have turned up in foodstuff. In November 2021, for example, Conagra Brands recalled Birds Eye Broccoli Tots due to “the potential presence of small rocks and metal fragments,” per the FDA. And back in 2017, a Las Vegas man broke a couple teeth on rocks in a Whole Foods rotisserie chicken—though that’s less shocking once you know that chickens intentionally eat small rocks and other grit to help them grind up food in their gizzards.