BRAVE MAG

NEED TO KNOW

• The FDA expanded a January 2025 frozen tater tot recall to about 648,000 pounds

• Products were distributed to foodservice clients, not retail stores, 28 states

• No injuries reported, but plastic fragments pose a choking risk

A recall of frozen tater tots over concerns about plastic contamination has expanded significantly, with federal officials now reporting that roughly 648,000 pounds of product are affected.

According to anupdated noticefrom the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued Tuesday, Feb. 10, the recall now includes more than 21,600 30-pound cases of bulk tater tots produced by McCain Foods in Idaho. The expanded action builds on anearlier voluntary recallannounced in January involving Ore-Ida Tater Tots and Sysco Imperial Potato Tater Barrels.

The FDA said the products may contain "clear, hard plastic fragments," which could pose choking hazards or cause mouth and throat injuries if consumed. So far, the agency has not reported any confirmed injuries linked to the recalled items.

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Notably, the FDA clarified in its updated report that the affected products were distributed primarily to food service clients and were not sold in retail grocery stores, limiting potential exposure to the general public.

The newly expanded recall list includes 21,557 cases of Ore-Ida Tater Tots Shaped Potatoes (Item No. OIF00215A), packaged in clear, unlabeled poly bags containing six 5-pound bags per case, for a total net weight of 30 pounds per case. The UPC is 1 00 72714 00215 8. Additional batch codes now included are 1005475084, 1005476076, 1005477012 and 1005498350, with expanded use-by dates of E 20271006, E 20271007, E 20271008 and E 20271103.

The updated recall also newly includes 67 cases of Sonic Tots (Item No. SON00543), also packaged in clear, unlabeled poly bags (six five-pound bags), with a 30-pound net weight per case. The UPC is 0 00 72714 00543 5, with batch code 1005486334 and production code B 292 / 5.

In total, the FDA said the products were distributed to vendors in 28 states, including Alaska, Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

Consumers or institutions seeking more information can visit the FDA's recall page or contact McCain Foods' customer service at 1 (877) 804-6198 for guidance on refunds or disposal.

The FDA continues to classify the recall as a Class II event, meaning exposure to the product may cause temporary or medically reversible health consequences, with the probability of serious adverse health effects considered unlikely.

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President Donald Trump's administration cannot force states to hand over detailed information on people who have applied for or received aid from theSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a judge said in a tentative ruling Friday.

Food Aid-SNAP

San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney last yearblocked the U.S. Department of Agriculturefrom requiring states to provide the data, including on the immigration status of people who receive benefits and applicants, after 22 states sued over the policy.

The department kept pushing for it, telling states in December thatit would stop paying state administrative costsfor the program if they didn't comply. It also issued new protocols for securing the data, which the states rejected.

The federal government said the previous ruling did not apply to its latest demands.

Chesney said during a hearing Friday that she intends to issue an order that says the federal government cannot act on its letters to the states from last year.

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The Trump administration contends that the information is needed to stamp outfraud and waste, which it asserts is a major problem in the nation's biggest food aid program.

The states argued that the Agriculture Department could share the data with immigration enforcement authorities, which they say would be illegal.

SNAP is a major part of the U.S. social safety net, helping about 42 million Americans, about 1 in 8, buy groceries. People in the country illegally are not eligible for benefits.

Most states, including one that sued — Nevada — have complied with the federal government's request. Kansas has not complied, but also has not joined the lawsuit. All the states involved in the lawsuit, besides Nevada, have Democratic governors.

The administration has not released detailed information on the data submitted by states, but says it shows higher levels of fraud than previously believed.

The battle over SNAP records is one of several areas where the administration has sought tocut off some federal fundingto states led by Democrats, often in the name of preventing fraud.

A day after the US announced it took the unusual step of shuttering it's Drug Enforcement Administration office in the Dominican Republic — a key site in the agency's effort to combatdrug traffickingin the Caribbean — a top agent there was charged with running a visa fraud scheme.

US Ambassador Leah F. Campos announced on social media Thursday that she had closed the DEA's office, writing "It is a disgusting and disgraceful violation of public trust to use one's official capacity for personal gain."

"I will not tolerate even the perception of corruption anywhere in the Embassy I lead," Campos added.

The Justice Department announced Friday the charges against supervisory special agent Meliton Cordero, who the DOJ said in a press release was assigned to the US Embassy in the Dominican Republic for six years. Cordero was arrested Thursday.

Cordero is charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and visa fraud, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors didn't ask that he be detained, but he was ordered to surrender his passport.

Prosecutors say Cordero accepted thousands of dollars in exchange for assisting foreign nationals with securing nonimmigrant visas that would allow them to visit the US for a temporary period.

"During his assignment at the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic, Cordero expedited at least 119 visa applications, at least one of which is alleged to have been fraudulent, often coaching individuals in preparation for their visa interview with U.S. Consular Officers," the Justice Department said.

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Charging documents against Cordero have not yet been unsealed in court records.

The US ambassador made the extraordinary move to shut down the DEA's office in the Dominican Republic in recent days, in response to the corruption probe,

The decision could hamper US anti-narcotics efforts in the region, which the Trump administration has cited as a high priority.

The office is a major base of operations for monitoring and cutting off traffickers using the Caribbean as a route to traffic cocaine from South America to Europe and the US.

The Dominican government has allowed the Defense Department to use its military facilities as part of a broader effort that includes military strikes on purported trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

"The temporary closure of the DEA office in Santo Domingo is to allow time for an investigation internal to this Embassy. The Dominican Republic remains a critical partner in our work to combat narco-terrorism throughout the region," the US embassy in the Dominican Republic said in a statement on X. "That work will continue at the same robust pace between the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo and our Dominican partners even as our internal investigation ensues."

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