Ritz Crackers Recalled Over Possible Salmonella Contamination

More than a dozen Ritz cracker products have been voluntarily recalled over concerns of a possible salmonella contamination.

Mondelēz Global LLC, the company that produces the snacks, announced on Saturday that a total of 16 products – including Ritz Cheese Cracker Sandwiches and Ritz Bitz Cheese – are being pulled from the shelves in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands because the whey powder used to make the snacks may have been contaminated with salmonella.

"These products contain whey powder as an ingredient, which the whey powder supplier has recalled due to the potential presence of Salmonella," Mondelēz Global LLC announced in a statement.

Although Mondelēz Global LLC has not yet received any reports of people falling ill in connection to consuming any of the Ritz products, the company is urging people to discard the products as a precaution.

"There have been no complaints of illness reported to Mondelēz Global to date in connection with these products. The company is conducting this recall as a precaution, based on the ingredient supplier's recall," they said. "Consumers who have these products should not eat them, and should discard any products they may have."

You can see the full list of products here.

This is the second salmonella-related recall in recent weeks. In June, Caito Foods, LLC recalled pre-cut watermelon, honeydew melon, cantaloupe and fruit medley products sold at Coscto, Jay C, Payless, Owen's, Trader Joe's, Walmart, Walgreens, Kroger, and Whole Foods in several states due to a salmonella outbreak in Missouri, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio. Roughly 60 people became ill after eating the pre-cut melons and 31 people were hospitalized.

During that same week, The Kellogg Company announced a voluntary recall of its Honey Smacks cereal due to possible salmonella contamination. Although there were no reported deaths, 73 people in 31 states became ill after eating the cereal, with 24 people having to be hospitalized.

People infected with salmonella develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps between 12 and 72 hours after infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with the illness typically lasting between four and seven days. While most cases do not require medical treatment, some cases require the individual to be hospitalized as the infection can spread from the intestines to the blood stream.

The CDC reports that salmonella is responsible for about 1.2 million illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations, and 450 deaths in the United States every year, with food products being the main source of infection.