A multi-national corporation that owns dozens of popular snack brands is recalling certain Ritz cracker products. The products contain whey powder recalled by another company because of Salmonella bacteria. 

Mondelēz Global LLC did not name the supplier of the recalled whey powder in its notice about the Ritz products. Such omissions are standard practice for recalls posted on the Food and Drug Administration’s website. The agency allows food companies to notify “trading partners” about recalls without publicly disclosing the names of those businesses, which the FDA says are protected by confidential corporate information laws. 

The Ritz recall covers the 16 cracker sandwiches and “Bits” products in the chart below. Mondelēz distributed the potentially contaminated products to retailers nationwide in the United States. The company also shipped the snacks to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Mondelēz is also recalling five Ritz cracker sandwich products distributed nationwide in Canada. The recall notice on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s website does not reference any specific ingredients in the products, simply saying there is a risk of Salmonella contamination. The Canadian notice reports the recall in that country was triggered by a recall in another country, but does not name that country.

“The company is conducting this recall as a precaution, based on the ingredient supplier’s recall,” according to the U.S. recall notice. “Consumers who have these products should not eat them, and should discard any products they may have.”

Mondelēz owns more than three dozen food brands, including Nabisco, Oreo, Cadbury, Belvita, Chips Ahoy, Tang, Toblerone, Nutter Butter, Trisciut and Wheat Thins. The company hasn’t posted any recalls related to any products other than the implicated Ritz products. 

In recent days, another company posted a recall and the USDA issues a public health alert because of whey powder used in dessert products and frozen dinners. Both of those notices, as well as the Ritz recall, say there haven’t been any illnesses confirmed in relation to the implicated products. 

In the public alert about one flavor of Hungry Man frozen microwave dinners, the USDA’s food safety arm named the whey supplier. 

“The whey powder is an FDA-regulated product that is being voluntarily recalled by the producer, Associated Milk Producers Inc.,” according to the Hungry Man public health alert posted by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

“Additional FSIS-regulated products containing the recalled whey powder may be added to this public health alert as more information becomes available.”

The Associated Milk Producers website does not appear to have any public information about the whey recall. The most recent news release on the site was posted in April.

Advice to consumers
Food contaminated with Salmonella bacteria does not look or smell bad, but it can still cause serious infections. Anyone who has eaten any of the recalled foods and developed symptoms of Salmonella infection should seek medical attention and tell their doctors about the possible exposure to the bacteria. Specific lab tests are needed to diagnose and treat Salmonella infections.

Although people of any age can be infected by Salmonella, infants, children, seniors and those with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of serious illness that can result in hospitalization and life-long complications.

Symptoms of a Salmonella infection, called salmonellosis, typically start 6 to 72 hours after exposure to the bacteria, but in some people it takes two weeks for symptoms to develop. Symptoms include fever, chills, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache, nausea and vomiting. The symptoms usually last for four to seven days.

Consumers can identify the recalled products by looking for the following label information:

Description	Retail UPC	Best When Used-By Dates
RITZ BITS CHEESE BIG BAG 3 OZ	0 44000 00677 8	07 MAR 19 Thru 13 APR 19
RITZ BITS CHEESE 1 OZ	0 44000 02025 5	07 MAR 19 Thru 13 APR 19
RITZ BITS CHEESE 12 PACK CARTON	0 44000 02032 3	08 MAR 19 thru 13 APR 19
RITZ BITS CHEESE 30 PACK CARTON	0 44000 01309 7	03 MAR 19 thru 13 APR 19
RITZ BITS CHEESE 1.5 OZ	0 44000 00929 8	03 MAR 19 thru 13 APR 19
RITZ BITS CHEESE 3 OZ GO PACKS	0 44000 03215 9	07 MAR 19 thru 12 APR 19
10.8 OZ RITZ CHEESE CRACKER SANDWICHES	0 44000 88211 2	14 JAN 19 thru 11 FEB 19
1.35 OZ RITZ CHEESE CRACKER SANDWICHES	0 44000 00211 4	14 JAN 19 thru 11 FEB 19
10.8 OZ RITZ BACON CRACKER SANDWICHES WITH CHEESE	0 44000 04566 1	05 FEB 19 06 FEB 19
1.35 OZ RITZ BACON CRACKER SANDWICHES WITH CHEESE	0 44000 04567 8	05 FEB 19 thru 06 FEB 19
10.8 OZ RITZ WHOLE WHEAT CRACKER SANDWICHES WITH WHITE CHEDDAR CHEESE	0 44000 04577 7	04 FEB 19 05 FEB 19
1.35 OZ RITZ WHOLE WHEAT CRACKER SANDWICHES WITH CREAM CHEESE	0 44000 04580 7	06 FEB 19 07 FEB 19 08 FEB 19
1.35 OZ RITZ EVERYTHING CRACKER SANDWICHES WITH CREAM CHEESE	0 44000 04580 7	06 FEB 19 07 FEB 19 08 FEB 19
MIXED COOKIE CRACKER VARIETY 20 PACK	0 44000 04100 7	01 FEB 19 thru 04 FEB 19
MIXED COOKIE CRACKER VARIETY 40 PACK	0 44000 04221 0	31 JAN 19 thru 05 FEB 19

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