Ritz Ritz Bits Cheese are one of several snack products being recalled over fears of a potential salmonella outbreak.
- Food-poisoning outbreaks have been in the news quite often in 2018.
- Most recently, a potential salmonella contamination was linked with a number of products containing dry whey powder.
- Goldfish, Ritz crackers, and Flower Foods' Swiss rolls have all been recalled over salmonella fears in the past month, and the US Food & Drug Administration is warning that more recalls could be on the way.
Food-poisoning outbreaks seem to be happening nonstop lately, and it's led to a growing number of precautionary product recalls.
Most recently, Hungry Man Chipotle BBQ Sauced Boneless Chicken Wyngz were recalled due to fears of a potential salmonella contamination - the same reason for recent recalls of Ritz crackers, Goldfish, and Flower Foods' Swiss rolls.
All of these products use dry whey powder produced by Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI), which issued a precautionary recall of the whey powder over the potential for salmonella contamination. AMPI has several distributors, and the US Food & Drug Administration is working to determine whether any other products may have come in contact with the contaminated whey.
The FDA warns that more recalls may be on the way.
"Our team is onsite investigating the facility that processes the dry whey used in the recalled products and we're working to identify what other companies may have used this ingredient to determine what, if any, food may be contaminated with Salmonella. We take this work very seriously and will continue to communicate about this potential health risk as we learn more," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a press release on Thursday.
Symptoms of salmonella food poisoning include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. Typically, healthy adults can recover in less than a week, but the infection can be fatal for young children, older people, and others with weakened immune systems.
So far, there have been no reported illnesses associated with any of the recalled products. The FDA recommends throwing away any of the products that might be infected.
Here's the full list of snack products that are currently being recalled in connection with the potentially contaminated whey products: