Walmart’s Great Value Traditional Basil Pesto may not be worth every pasta For those allergic to shellfish.
TikTok user Paden Ferguson, 31, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, whose account is dedicated to checking food labels, surprised viewers with a clip noting that the chain’s pesto comes with a notice that ” May contain traces of anchovies, sardines, tuna and mussels.”
“There’s something fishy about this pesto,” he said, holding up a jar inside a Walmart store. The 11-second video, posted earlier this month, garnered 23,000 views.
Ferguson turns the jar upside down and reads the label: “Contains milk, eggs, cashews, and pine nuts.” He then reveals the “caught” ingredients the product may contain.
“Why? Why is this here?” she asks in disgust, captioning the video, “Also, they put it on the other side of the jar.”
The Post has contacted Walmart for comment.
Meanwhile, Ferguson told The Post on Tuesday: “I’m blown away by the support and following I’ve gotten since I started this series on food labelling.”
“The biggest thing I’ve had is that many people don’t read food labels when they don’t expect a potential allergen to be present,” she added. “I would encourage everyone to read labels, even on products you wouldn’t expect, like pesto sauce.”
Ferguson says Walmart has not contacted him in response to TikTok.
In the comments section of his TikTok, several users hypothesized that Great Value’s packaging contains the warning because “everything from Great Value is made in the same factory.”
“I think Walmart uses a machine to make each product,” one person guessed.
“Probably made in the same factory as the Caesar dressing,” another guessed.
Someone else tried to reason: “I assume your food is made in the same facility. They may even have weeks where they clean the machines and change production.”
Another grumbled, “I wouldn’t dream of checking that because of a shellfish allergy.”