In accordance with the CDC’s guidance, Walmart is urging all customers who purchased the spray since it launched in February 2021 to stop using it immediately and return it to a Walmart Store in a double-bagged, clear zip-top resealable bag and placed in a small cardboard box. Do not dispose of it in the trash or pour the contents down a drain. In exchange for the return, the retailer will provide a full refund and offer an additional $20 gift card. Walmart has emailed all customers who purchased the item online and more than 2,000 customers who purchased the product in stores. The company is also sending letters to another 263 customers with no email address on file and placing calls to the small number of customers with no available email or physical address on file. On Friday, October 22, Walmart issued a recall including approximately 3,900 bottles of the room sprays due to the possible presence of Burkholderia pseudomallei, a bacteria that causes melioidosis. Melioidosis, also known as Whitmore’s disease, is a rare but serious disease in the United States. Annually, about 12 cases are reported worldwide, and most cases are in people who live in or have traveled to where the bacteria naturally occurs including parts of South and Southeast Asia and northern Australia. The product was manufactured in India by Flora Classique Inc. and sold under the Better Homes & Gardens brand at Walmart stores and Walmart.com from February to October 2021. Sold in about 55 stores in 18 states and retailing for about $4 a bottle, the now-discontinued product was available in the six scents below:
84140411420 Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) Gem Room Spray Lavender & Chamomile84140411421 Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) Gem Room Spray Lemon and Mandarin84140411422 Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) Gem Room Spray Lavender84140411423 Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) Gem Room Spray Peppermint84140411424 Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) Gem Room Spray Lime & Eucalyptus84140411425 Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) Gem Room Spray Sandalwood and Vanilla
Symptoms of melioidosis include fever, cough, chest pain, headache, respiratory distress, brain infections, seizures, and more. If you have used the product within the last 21 days and experienced any of the symptoms of melioidosis, the CDC urges you to seek immediate medical care and notify your doctor about product exposure.
