In the latest food safety warning, several Ritz cracker products have been recalled across the U.S. because of concerns about salmonella. Ritz Cracker Sandwiches and Ritz Bits have been voluntarily recalled, with salmonella potentially having been in whey powder used to make them. Mondelez Global, which makes Ritz products, said there have been no reported illnesses, and the recall is a precaution. The products in the recall include Ritz Bits Cheese Cracker Sandwiches, Rits Cheese Cracker Sandwiches, Ritz Bacon Cracker Sandwiches with Cheese Filling and Ritz Everything Crackers. Click here for the full list of recalled Ritz products being recalled.
Regarding the recent Salmonella outbreaks, food experts say that despite what it seems like, there has not been an increase in food-borne contaminants; it’s just that the ability to detect them has been improved. Basically government and agencies such as local and state health departments are using better technology to better identify, track and contain outbreaks.
Unfortunately, experts say there’s no way to produce an absolutely safe food, but consumers can be more diligent about cooking meat to the recommended temperatures, keeping their hands and food-preparation spaces clean, refrigerating food and being careful not to cross-contaminate raw meat and poultry with ready-to-eat food. Also, compared to decades ago, our food comes from much farther away, so it’s gone through more steps to get to your table, and therefore has more chances to get contaminated along the way.
