The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has upgraded a recall of several popular brands of potato chips to its most serious level, Class 1. This designation is issued for “a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”
The World Health Organization states that Salmonella is responsible for about one in four diarrheal diseases worldwide. Symptoms typically include fever, stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea and occasionally vomiting.
In May, Utz issued a voluntary recall for varieties of its Zapp’s and Dirty potato chips products due to the possible presence of salmonella in dry milk powder sourced from a third party used to make a seasoning ingredient. An estimated 650,000 bags were affected.
Utz stated that there had been no reports of illness related to the recalled products. The company urged consumers who have these products to discard them and contact Utz for a refund.