I am baffled by food safety issues related to the recent recall of Ritz Crackers and Goldfish by their manufacturer, Mondelēz.
I understand how their whey protein ingredient could be contaminated by Salmonella. Whey is an excellent growth medium for bacteria.
What I don’t understand is how people eating Ritz Crackers or Goldfish could become ill with Salmonella (the New York Times reports two cases of illness).
Aren’t crackers baked? Isn’t that a kill step?
I can understand why Mondelēz would issue a recall as a precautionary measure.
But can someone please explain to me how Ritz Crackers or Goldfish could contain live Salmonella from whey baked into them?
I am not the only one puzzled by this. BakeryAndSnacks.com quotes Stewart Eton, an industry food safety official, who emphasizes that baked goods undergo a kill step.
This would ordinarily be a CCP [Critical Control Point] under their HACCP [hazard analysis and control plan] program with the process validated and verified at regular intervals. Under the FSMA [FDA’s food safety laws], for example, this risk-based rationale would be deemed sound and would not require a recall.
What’s going on here?