Walmart Shopper Buys Great Value White Rice for Tacos — Spots an Unexpected Allergen on the Label

People with allergies move differently when it comes to food. Every product, every ingredient, is double-checked to ensure they are safe from their immune system overreacting to harmless substances. By the same token, a Reddit user (u/Primary_Papaya3016) revealed how their nephew was saved from a “horrible” allergic reaction after purchasing a Great Value white rice pack from Walmart. The user’s mother made sure to recheck the ingredients for the third time, and that is when she noticed the allergen– sunflower oil.

In a viral post, the Walmart shopper revealed that their mother was making tacos and wanted to be extra cautious about the nephew’s allergy to sunflower. “Nephew is allergic to sunflower, which causes him to break out in horrible scaly eczema,” the post narrated. She ordered an allergen-friendly rice for the child from a Walmart pickup. “She was placing a Walmart pickup order and always triple-checks the ingredients. This rice was listed as containing canola oil,” the user added. Even though she was confident there were no allergens that would threaten the child’s immune system, his grandmother decided to quickly skim through the labels on the back. 

“After delivery and before cooking, she decided to check just one more time (those with allergies know the struggle of always double checking), and it’s a good thing she did...they have sunflower oil! So frustrating,” the Reddit user shared. They shared a snap of the order of the Great Value Long Grain Rice 90 Second Pouch that cost about $1.42. Acknowledging the incident, people had a range of opinions about the Great Value rick pack. One person (u/UseDaSchwartz) wrote, “Aside from the allergy issues. This is the worst 90-second rice I’ve ever tasted. The Aldi brand is much better...if you’re talking about cheaper, store brands.”

Meanwhile, another (u/EC_TWD) stated, “This is probably due to multiple suppliers for the same product. One uses canola and another uses sunflower. It still sucks.” Someone else (u/Radiant_Picture9292) suggested a better alternative to purchasing rice bags. “Not to be that guy, but rice cookers are cheap and super reliable, and making rice in them is just as easy as these bags,” the comment read. u/JenJen3236 advised the shopper to report the issue to Walmart with a contact number. “My mom worked here for 26 years,” they mentioned. “My kid has food allergies and Great Value/Walmart is known for inconsistent labeling like this and terrible cross-contamination,” criticized u/irecommendfire, adding that they lived outside of the U.S. but refrain from Walmart products during their visits. 

According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the FALCPA (Food Allergy Research & Resource Program) requires companies to list any of the eight major food allergens, also known as the Big Eight, on their ingredients list. The list includes milk, egg, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, and soybeans. Even though gluten is a major allergen, the FALCPA does not require the presence of gluten to be declared in food products, but the FDA did implement rules for gluten-free labelling of foods, per the report.