A Popular Hostess Snack Food Is Being Recalled Over Concerns About Mold Contamination

We have bad news for anyone with a sweet tooth that skews towards chocolate cakes: Hostess has announced a recall of its popular Ding Dongs. The Hostess' parent company issued a statement about the recall, explaining that the product possibly had been contaminated with mold during production.

According to the statement, select lots of the boxes were being recalled as a precaution, and retailers were being instructed to check their Hostess inventory immediately.

It sounds like these cakes were sold across the country, which means that there's a good chance that you were on the shelves in your local grocery store. Considering this recall was timed almost perfectly with back-to-school season, it's important for parents and caregivers to double check those lunch boxes before their kids head out to school.

Of course, it's not just adults with kids; Hostess says that everyone should be on the lookout for these recalled items. Here's everything we know.

The J.M. Smucker Co., the parent company of the popular prepackaged snack brand, issued a statement about the product recall on Aug. 20, 2025.

According to the statement, which the company refers to as a "withdrawal notice," some of the items that were sold in the U.S. may have been contaminated with mold due to a piece of equipment that malfunctioned, creating an environment where mold could develop prior to the chocolate cake's expiration date.

The company notes that the issue was a short-lived one, and that it was able to identify and correct the problem pretty quickly. As such, it says that there is only a limited number of products impacted by the recall, and that no other products produced by The J.M. Smucker Co. should be affected by this issue.

The recalled items all have best by dates that run from Aug. 30, 2025, to Sept. 3, 2025, and All Recipes says that it only includes the following products:

• 2-count Hostess Chocolate Ding Dong Single Serve, UPC 8-88109-01002
• 10-count Hostess Chocolate Ding Dong, UPC 8-88109-11061
• 16-count Hostess Chocolate Ding Dong Family Pack, UPC 8-88109-11092

While the statement from The J.M. Smucker Co. instructs retailers what to do — the letter specifically says that they should inspect their inventory for the recalled items, destroy the ones they find, and then complete a form to be reimbursed for any stock that they already purchased — it's not clear what individual shoppers should do, or even if the Hostess brand is even worried about shoppers having purchased these products to begin with.

With no clear direction from the company, it seems like the best course of action is for shoppers to do their due diligence and check their Hostess products to see if they were involved in the recall. If so, they should discontinue using them at once while they wait for the company to issue additional instructions on how to get a refund, or contact the retailer where they purchased them from directly instead.