Citing salmonella risk, FDA issues highest recall alert for some Zapp's, Dirty chips
Utz Quality Foods, LLC, a subsidiary of Utz Brands, Inc., issued a recall of certain varieties of Zapp’s and Dirty potato chips. Credit: FDA
Long Islanders may want to check their pantries. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has classified the recall of some popular potato chip brands at the agency’s highest risk level.
Utz Quality Foods recalled some Zapp's and Dirty potato chips in May due to concerns of salmonella contamination in its seasoning. Last week, the FDA classified the recall as a Class I, meaning there is a “reasonable probability” that the products can cause “serious adverse health consequences or death,” according to the agency.
The classification follows the recall of several products that contained milk powder and buttermilk from the California Dairies cooperative over salmonella concerns.
Utz issued the voluntary recall for some chips in May “out of an abundance of caution,” and at the time had received no reports of illness. The FDA's classification “is not a new recall or the result of any new developments,” said Colleen Farley, a spokesperson for Utz.
“The FDA routinely assigns a classification to recalls after they are initiated,” Farley said.
Long Island retailers including Costco, Target and ShopRite sell Zapp’s and Dirty potato chip brands. Utz recalled six types of Zapp’s potato chips and three types of Dirty potato chips.
California Dairies recalled its milk and buttermilk products in April, leading to a number of other recalls, including for some Ghirardelli drink mixes, Pork King Good seasonings and trail and nut mixes from John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc., according to the FDA.
It’s fairly common for the recall of an ingredient to have ripple effects across multiple food products, said Donald Schaffner, a food microbiology professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
“The food supply chain is very interconnected,” Schaffner said. “Why we're seeing these additional recalls is because [companies] sourced powder from the same batch of contaminated powder. Therefore we need to, in an abundance of caution, recall those products.”
A recall can also prompt the FDA to perform additional inspections, and larger food brands will often inspect suppliers themselves, he added.
Schaffner recommends that consumers not consume the products and return or throw them away.
Salmonella bacteria can cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting, fever and other symptoms, and can hit older individuals particularly hard, Newsday previously reported.
A representative for California Dairies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
