A Canadian man and his wife were shocked to discover that a bottle of cranberry juice they ordered online included a hidden warning that could have had deadly consequences—an unexpected allergen label reading “may contain shellfish.”
The millennial man, who goes by u/hi2colin on Reddit, told Newsweek that his wife, who has a shellfish allergy, narrowly avoided drinking the beverage, thanks to a chance glance at the fine print on the bottle’s label.
“Tried a new brand of cranberry juice. Turns out it might kill my wife,” the Toronto-based man wrote in a post to the platform that has since gone viral, racking up more than 60,000 upvotes.
The cranberry juice came from Walmart’s Great Value brand and had been substituted during an online grocery order.
“We have a new baby, and we tried doing grocery delivery,” the man said. “Usually, I check every ingredient list, but when our usual cranberry juice blend was sold out, I hit ‘replace with similar’ and didn’t think too much about it.”
The husband said neither he nor his wife expected shellfish to be a risk in fruit juice.
“Since there’s never been a problem with other brands, we don’t think to check,” he said. “My wife hadn’t had any of it yet, but happened to see the allergy warning while reaching for something else.
“I’m glad she noticed!” the man added.
Despite the horror that could have unfolded if the woman drank the juice, the couple shared a laugh over their swift discovery, before anything had happened. The man said that it was his wife’s idea to post the image online.
Reddit users were able to see the plastic bottle of juice featuring a subtle line warning consumers that it “may contain shellfish”—a potential trigger for life-threatening allergic reactions.
“I didn’t think the post would reach so many people,” the man said.
Reactions to the post ranged from concern to disbelief, with some commenters praising the couple’s vigilance and others questioning how such an allergen could end up in juice at all.
Food allergy specialist Elizabeth Pecoraro, a registered dietitian with over 15 years of experience advising families, told Newsweek the answer lies in manufacturing practices.
“While shellfish obviously isn’t an ingredient in cranberry juice, manufacturers sometimes process multiple products on shared equipment,” Pecoraro said. “If those lines have handled shellfish-containing items, trace amounts still may be there.
“This is when a ‘may contain’ or ‘processed in a facility with’ statement could be on the label.”
Pecoraro added that labeling laws in the United States do not require companies to include those warnings.
“It’s important to know that, in the United States, ‘may contain’ statements are not required by law,” Pecoraro said. “A product could still be at risk for cross-contact, even if no precautionary allergen statement (PAL) is on the label.”
For consumers with severe allergies, this can be a dangerous gray area.
“The only way to be sure is to contact the manufacturer through email, phone or both,” Pecoraro added. “The key takeaway is to always read the ingredient list and allergen statement every time you buy a product, even if it’s one you’ve purchased for years.
“Manufacturers can change suppliers, production facilities, or equipment at any time without notice.”
Newsweek reached out to Walmart for comment via email.
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