Boxes of Freedom's Choice pasta, minus penne rigate, fill shelves inside the commissary at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — The Defense Commissary Agency has removed its own brand of penne rigate pasta from store shelves after consumers reported finding insects in several boxes.
“Now that we have been made aware of the situation, we have pulled the product and will have our medical food inspectors inspect this product and other similar items for wholesomeness,” agency spokesman Keith Desbois told Stars in Stripes by email Thursday.
Desbois did not immediately respond Friday to requests for further information, including the scale of the product recall.
Freedom Choice-brand penne rigate pasta was still on the shelves Friday morning at the Ramstein Air Base commissary in Germany. A box purchased Friday and opened by a customer did not contain any insects.
The commissary agency had already heard two complaints about insects in the Freedom’s Choice pasta, Desbois said, before a third shopper posted on Facebook that she found bugs in boxes purchased Wednesday at Yokota.
Shoppers enter the commissary at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
Freedom’s Choice is the commissary’s brand of lower-cost food items.
“Check the freedoms choice penne if you’ve bought any recently … I bought these boxes this morning and they are full of bugs,” a Facebook user wrote in the Yokota Community group.
The woman who posted the message did not respond to a message seeking further information Wednesday.
In a subsequent post, the Yokota shopper identified the insects as weevils, based on an older photograph posted by another person.
Weevils are common kitchen pests often found in pantries and dry food cupboards, according to Pestdefense.com, a pest control and prevention service. They are commonly discovered in flour and wheat products, but are safe for human consumption.
“The Defense Commissary Agency and the military services work together in unison to ensure the safety of your groceries,” Desbois said. “Our ultimate goal is to safeguard and protect the food that commissary patrons bring home to their families. If any patron would like to return the item for a full refund, please see the customer service office.”
