A scoop of dry beans from a bulk bin, a twist tie and a pot of soup on the stove: it is an ordinary weeknight routine that rarely involves checking a product for glass. This fall, that routine has a wrinkle for shoppers at one Colorado-based grocery chain.
Vitamin Cottage Natural Food Markets, Inc., which operates as Natural Grocers and is based in Lakewood, Colorado, announced a recall of its Natural Grocers Brand Bulk Organic Mung Beans in 2-pound clear plastic bags, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recall notice dated Oct. 22, 2026. The company said customers reported sharp glass fragments in the product. The beans went to Natural Grocers stores in 22 states, and the notice tells customers to stop using the product.
Five Pack Dates in the Lower Left Corner
The recall covers one specific product, not every bean in the store. The FDA notice identifies it by UPC 000080112600 and by five pack dates printed in the lower left corner of the label: 26-160, 26-173, 26-196, 26-224 and 26-258. Only bags carrying those codes are part of the recall, and the affected lots began shipping on June 10, 2026.
That is a detail worth checking before anything is tossed. A shopper who bought a different bean, or a different size of bag, is outside the notice as written. A shopper who bought the 2-pound clear bag should find the code on the label and compare it against the five dates above. Dry beans are a classic budget pantry buy, a theme in poor people’s foods that even the wealthy eat, which is one more reason a bag deserves a second look before it is simply tossed. Budget-minded shoppers also weigh what smart shoppers skip at the dollar store, since dry staples are one place where a trusted label and a clear date earn their cost.
All 22 States, Spelled Out
According to the FDA, the beans shipped to Natural Grocers stores in Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The list stretches across the Mountain West, the Plains and parts of the South and Pacific Northwest. California is not on it. The Wikipedia entry on the chain says it operated about 162 stores in about 20 states as of 2018, mainly west of the Mississippi River and excluding California, which fits the pattern of the recall map.
Discard It or Take It Back for a Refund
The instructions in the notice are short. Customers should stop using the beans immediately and either throw them away or return them for a full refund or credit. Questions go to Natural Grocers at 303-226-1434, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mountain Time. The FDA notice said no injuries had been reported to date.
One practical wrinkle follows from how the recall is identified. The pack date is printed on the bag, so beans already poured into a jar or canister lose the label that proves they belong to the affected lots. A household that stores bulk beans in loose containers can look at clever storage ideas that keep labels visible, and tucking a strip of the original bag into the jar is a simple habit for the next purchase.
Some pantry basics also lose their packaging fast. Cooks who freeze or jar beans, as in this guide to freezing fresh green beans, already know how quickly labels vanish. Others may recognize the issue from lists of things never to store under the kitchen sink, where mixing food and household items is a recurring theme.
Where Mung Beans Turn Up on the Table
Mung beans are a staple in many kitchens. Wikipedia’s entry on the crop says the bean was domesticated in India, where carbonized remains at archaeological sites suggest cultivation about 4,500 years ago, and that it spread to China and Southeast Asia. The English name comes from the Hindi word mung, according to the same entry.
The same source lists a wide range of dishes. In India they become dal and sweets, in China a sweet soup and fillings for mooncakes and zongzi, in Korea bindae-tteok pancakes, and in the Philippines the stew known as ginisang monggo and a dessert, ginataang munggo. In Europe and America, the entry notes, the beans are mainly eaten as fresh sprouts.
How Recalls Like This Reach Shoppers
The FDA posts recall announcements from companies on its recalls, market withdrawals and safety alerts page, which draws on press releases and other public notices. The agency notes that not every recall has a press release or appears on that page, so a shopper who buys in bulk may want to ask a store about any product with a missing label.
Bulk bins add a layer of difficulty because shoppers fill their own containers. In this case, the company packaged the beans in 2-pound bags with a UPC and pack date, which is what makes the recall specific enough to act on. Shoppers who regularly stock up can keep a small habit in mind: save the label or snap a photo of it before the bag is emptied, and glance at the FDA page now and then.
For anyone with the affected bags at home, the steps match the notice: check for UPC 000080112600, compare the five pack dates, and then discard the beans or return them for a refund. Anyone who is unsure can call the number listed in the FDA notice.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Junho Jung – CC BY-SA 3.0/Wikimedia Commons
