VISALIA – California Dairies, Inc., the nation’s largest supplier of milk products, is nearly in its fourth month of a major recall of bulk powdered milk and buttermilk products.
The Visalia-based milk cooperative voluntarily recalled the products on April 20 due to potential, but unproven, Salmonella contamination. The recall was done in cooperation with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The powder was sold to dozens of wholesale distributors and manufacturers, including well-known brands such as Zapp’s and Dirty brand potato chips, Ghirardelli powdered beverage mixes, specialty snack mixes, cheese curds, pork rinds, to name a few.
Health journalism website Medical Daily described the recall as “one of the broadest food recall cascades in recent U.S. history.” CDI produces about 40% of all dry milk powder marketing in the U.S., according to its website, californiadairies.com.
The FDA’s April 20 notice stated 2.7 million pounds of powdered milk product has been recalled. CDI’s annual production is about 900 million pounds.
Medical Daily pointed out that “Salmonella infection can cause serious illness — particularly for young children, elderly adults, pregnant people and individuals with weakened immune systems. While most otherwise healthy adults recover without treatment in four to seven days, the bacterium can cause severe dehydration, bloodstream infection and, in rare cases, death in vulnerable populations.”
The report stated that vulnerable populations include:
- Infants and young children;
- Adults 65 and older;
- Pregnant people (Salmonella can cause pregnancy complications including miscarriage in severe cases);
- People with weakened immune systems from HIV, cancer treatment, diabetes, organ transplantation, or long-term steroid use; and
- Anyone currently taking antacids, which reduce stomach acid that normally helps kill Salmonella.
Salmonella can still cause severe illness in healthy adults. Symptoms typically begin within six hours to six days of consuming contaminated food and may include high fever, diarrhea, stomach cramps or abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, headache and chills. Anyone who has symptoms should contact a healthcare provider.
Neither CDI nor a third-party manufacturer has received reports of illness or injury related to this issue to date. California Dairies did not return calls as of press time.
Since the original FDA notice, the agency has escalated the Utz/Zapp’s/Dirty chip recall to Class I status — the FDA’s most serious category, indicating a reasonable probability of serious health consequences or death — underscores that regulators consider the Salmonella contamination risk in this recall genuinely significant, explains Medical Daily.
A long list of products affected include Target’s Good & Gather Mexican Street Corn Trail Mix, Fisher nut mixes, Motor City Pizza Company’s 5 Cheese Bread (sold at Costco, Kroger, Publix, Target, and Walmart), Stoltzfus Family Dairy cheese curds, and various popcorn seasonings and pork rinds. The complete and continuously updated product list is available on the FDA’s Major Recalls page.
Powdered milk is increasingly used in the food industry, where it serves as a foundational component for infant formula, confectionery goods like chocolate and caramel, and baked goods. It is also widely used in sports nutrition, soups and instant meals. The global powdered milk market is booming in part because it is a key ingredient in meal replacements, protein bars and dietary supplements as the nation is gripped with weight loss fever.
For food makers, the benefits include lower costs since it is shelf-stable and doesn’t require refrigeration.
“These recalls show how even a single ingredient, provided by a single supplier, can affect so many different food products,” Consumer Reports food safety expert James E. Rogers told Medical Daily. “California Dairies’ approximate 40% share of the U.S. dried milk powder market is the structural reason this recall has produced such an unusually large downstream product list.”
