Update: The recall has spread to several baking mixes and other snack chips and products.
Dive Brief:
- Three brands of potato chips have initiated product recalls due to potential salmonella contamination of the powdered milk used in their seasoning blends, Food Safety News reported.
- Dieffenbach's did not name its powdered milk supplier, but the two Herr Foods chip brands said Chesapeake Spice Co. was their secondary supplier.
- Powdered milk has been the culprit ingredient in more than a dozen companies' product recalls since Dec. 7. Valley Milk Products LLC is another supplier implicated in some of these recalls.
Dive Insight:
In several of these cases, lab tests have not confirmed the presence of salmonella, but the companies have pulled these products as a precaution. Ingredient suppliers notified the manufacturers of the potentially contaminated powdered milk ingredient, and manufacturers took the next and arguably safest step.
Like other dairy products, powdered milk has a high microbial load. This leaves the ingredient — and any products that contain it — susceptible to contamination by bacterial pathogens.
Powdered milk can extend the shelf life of cow's milk and give it more functionality for a wider range of food and beverage applications. However, if the ingredient isn't properly managed at each level of the supply chain, this broadens the opportunity for contamination in a larger amount of products and product categories.