Ritz Peanut Butter Cracker Recall Sparks Nationwide Warning
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Mondelēz Global LLC is recalling multiple carton sizes of Ritz peanut butter cracker sandwiches due to fears the product may be mislabeled.
Newsweek reached out to the company via email Tuesday for comment.
Why It Matters
Numerous recalls have been initiated in 2025 due to the potential of damaged products, foodborne illness, contamination and undeclared food allergens.
Millions of Americans experience food sensitivities or allergies every year. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the nine "major" food allergens in the U.S. are eggs, milk, fish, wheat, soybeans, Crustacean shellfish, sesame, tree nuts and peanuts.
People with a sensitivity or allergy to peanuts may experience "serious or life-threatening allergic reactions" if they consume the recalled product, the FDA warns.
Accidental ingestion can lead to anaphylaxis, a rapid and life-threatening allergic reaction that requires immediate medical intervention. Even trace amounts of peanuts can cause symptoms from hives and swelling to difficulty breathing and shock.
What To Know
In the alert, the FDA says the products were manufactured in the United States and sold nationwide.
The Ritz Peanut Butter Cracker Sandwiches in eight-pack, 20-pack and 40-pack cartons as well as the 20-pack Ritz Filled Cracker Sandwich Variety Pack cartons are being recalled due to the possibility of the individually wrapped packages inside the carton potentially being labeled cheese, the FDA says.
"All outer cartons affected are labeled correctly and provide an allergen advisory statement indicating that the product 'contains peanuts,'" the FDA notes.
No other Mondelēz Global LLC products or Ritz products are impacted by the recall. In the alert, the FDA posted a chart with corresponding best if used by dates along with retail UPC numbers. The alert also has pictures of the affected products.
Ritz cheese cracker sandwiches, peanut butter cracker sandwiches and Ritz filled cracker sandwich variety packs with different best by dates and UPC numbers are also not affected by the recall.
There have been no reported illnesses or injuries as of Tuesday, the alert says. Mondelēz Global LLC reaffirms the recall was initiated as a precaution.
A grocery store aisle in Brooklyn is pictured on May 13 in New York City. (Photo by)
A grocery store aisle in Brooklyn is pictured on May 13 in New York City. (Photo by)
What People Are Saying
The FDA in its alert, in part: "The recall was initiated after Mondelēz Global LLC discovered that film packaging rolls used to package individually wrapped products containing peanut butter may contain defects due to a supplier error. Corrective actions are being taken to help ensure this issue does not recur."
What Happens Next
Customers with questions or concerns may contact the company around the clock via phone at 1-844-366-1171.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
A new Barbie wears blue polka-dots, and a glucose monitor
The company released the Barbie with Breakthrough T1D, an advocacy and research organization with the goal of finding a cure for diabetes. Advertisement Introducing a doll with Type 1 diabetes was part of Mattel's 'commitment to inclusivity and representation,' Krista Berger, the company's senior vice president of Barbie and global head of dolls, said in a statement. She said a Barbie with an insulin pump would help some children see themselves in the stories they imagine while playing. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Tens of millions of Americans have some form of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes the pancreas to make very little insulin or none at all. Unlike Type 2 diabetes, which usually emerges slowly in adulthood and can sometimes be reversed early on with exercise and dietary changes, Type 1 often strikes in childhood or adolescence. On TikTok and Instagram, some users with Type 1 diabetes expressed their joy with the new Barbie, some sharing emotional posts about seeing their disease represented. Advertisement Anurati Aggarwal, who posts about Type 1 diabetes online from Goa, India, was among them. 'Sorry I can't hold my excitement,' she said on Instagram. 'This is actually so emotional for me. The little me who was obsessed with Barbies would lose her mind if she saw this.' Managing diabetes can be difficult. People with the disease have to monitor sugar levels and inject insulin around the clock. It can also lead to complications including heart disease, blindness, kidney damage and the possibility of losing a limb to amputation. The newest Barbie is part of Mattel's Fashionistas line, which the company has called its 'most diverse doll line.' Last year, Mattel introduced a blind Barbie, who has a red-and-white cane with a marshmallow roller tip and sunglasses suited for light-sensitive eyes. In 2019, Mattel released a Barbie in a wheelchair and a Barbie with a prosthetic limb. Other dolls in the Fashionistas line include a Barbie with Down syndrome, a Barbie with hearing aids, a bald Barbie, a Barbie with a skin condition and Barbies with different hair types and body shapes. Barbie, one of the most successful dolls of all time, was criticized for a period in the early 2000s as other companies started to manufacture more diverse and inclusive dolls while she continued to look roughly the same as her 1959 self. In 2010, the company apologized for a book about Barbie and computers that critics said was sexist. Since then, the company has worked to reinvent Barbie. And in 2023, Barbie's favorite color — bright pink, obviously — catapulted back to the center of popular culture with the release of 'Barbie,' the movie directed by Greta Gerwig that earned $1.4 billion worldwide. Advertisement This article originally appeared in .
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
US Birth Rates Are Falling—But It's Not Worrying Americans
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump and Congress have offered tax credits and proposed legislation to tackle declining birth rates in the U.S., but according to polling, Americans don't consider the issue to be a "major problem." Fertility rates are projected to average 1.6 births per woman over the next three decades, according to the Congressional Budget Office's latest forecast released this year. This number is below the replacement level of 2.1 births per woman required to maintain a stable population without immigration. Despite those numbers, only three in 10 Americans say declining birth rates are a "major problem" in the United States, according to a recent survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Just 12 percent of those surveyed said that encouraging families to have more children should be a "high priority" for the government, researchers found after they interviewed 1,158 U.S. adults between June 5 and June 9. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Overall, 28 percent of Americans surveyed said declining birth rates were a "major problem" while 44 percent said it was a "minor problem" and 27 percent said it was "not a problem." A newborn baby in the hospital. A newborn baby in the hospital. EyeEm'Americans Correctly See the Problem as Not Having the Support They Need' Taking a closer look at the numbers, Americans seem to be concerned about the issues that they think may be the cause of birth rate declines. Some 76 percent said the cost of child care is a major problem while 41 percent said the same about the cost of fertility treatments. The risks of pregnancy and childbirth was also placed above birth rates with 39 percent saying they are a "major problem" and 43 percent saying they are a "minor problem." "Americans correctly see the problem as not having the support they need to have the number of kids they want whether that's zero kids or five kids," said Beth Jarosz, a senior program director U.S. programs at the Population Reference Bureau. "Americans understand that birth rates themselves are not a problem," she told Newsweek. "Birth rates only become challenging—whether they're high or low—when society doesn't plan ahead." "A large number of babies without a plan means overcrowded schools, but you can plan ahead and build those schools," she continued. "The same is true for a smaller number—things like workforce training, automation, and family supportive workplace policies (like child care, consistent scheduling, and flexible leave) mean that we don't need to be afraid of low birth rates." Declining Birth Rate Is Not Just an American Issue Financial concerns are repeatedly cited as a reason for not having children. Last month, the United Nations Population Fund warned of a global birth rate crisis, after finding that one in five had not had or did not expect to have the number of children they wanted. Some 39 percent said this was because of financial limitations. But financial concerns do not appear to be the lone cause of declines with cultural shifts also playing a role in global birthrate. For example, Norway is considered a global leader in parental leave offering parents 12 months of shared paid leave for birth and an additional year each afterward. It has also made kindergarten (similar to a U.S. day care) a statutory right for all children aged 1 or older in 2008. And yet, Norway's fertility rate has dropped dramatically from 1.98 children per woman in 2009 to 1.44 children per woman in 2024, according to official figures. Newsweek spoke to several experts about Norway specifically, who all cited recent culture changes. For example, "young adults are more likely to live alone" and "young couples split up more frequently than before," Rannveig Kaldager Hart, a senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health's Centre for Fertility and Health said. Recent Pew Research Center analysis showed that fewer Americans in their 20s and 30s are planning to have fewer children than a decade ago. "Focusing on intentions rather than outcomes this study highlights the deeply complex and nuanced challenge of boosting birth rate," Theodore D. Cosco, a research fellow at the University of Oxford's Institute of Population Aging, told Newsweek. "By flagging lower intentions as an upstream issue, we recognize that both immediate and long‐term factors must be tackled well before births occur," he continued. "If there is going to be meaningful change in birth rates, upstream and downstream factors will need to be addressed in a comprehensive and accessible manner."
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
Not all brands are onboard with ditching synthetic dyes
Major American brands have vowed to remove synthetic food dyes from their products, but M&M's and Skittles, made by Mars, remain colorful holdouts. Mars has continued to use synthetic dyes in its candies after backing off a 2016 plan to remove all artificial colors from its food portfolio. The company reversed course after it found that consumer attitudes varied by country, with Europeans largely opposed to synthetic dyes, while others preferred artificially colored treats, according to the Mars website. Synthetic dyes have come under fire recently from Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who wants them removed from the nation's food supply over potential health risks. Some research has linked the dyes to behavioral health issues in children and places like Australia, Canada and the European Union generally have tighter restrictions on their use. Despite those concerns, synthetic dyes remain widespread, appearing in nearly 1 in 5 packaged foods and beverages on U.S. grocery shelves, according to a recent study. That study, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, found that confectionery companies had the most products containing synthetic dyes. The National Confectioners Association, a candy industry trade group, criticized the study, accusing the authors of having 'major gaps in their analysis.' The NCA argued that chocolate and candy differ from other foods because Americans eat them less frequently, only two to three times per week. Both Skittles and M&M's list several synthetic dyes on their ingredient labels, including common dyes like Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. Mars did not respond to NewsNation's request for comment on Tuesday. So far, Kennedy has favored the carrot over the stick, encouraging companies to voluntarily phase out synthetic dyes rather than pushing for major changes in federal regulation. Recent announcements suggest the approach is gaining traction. Food giants like Kraft Heinz, General Mills, PepsiCo, Nestle and ConAgra have all unveiled plans to move away from artificial colors in their U.S. products. The question is whether they'll follow through. Thomas Galligan, principal scientist for food additives at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, has expressed skepticism, noting that many companies have failed to keep similar promises in the past. 'If the FDA were to require warning labels on synthetically dyed foods, similar to the rule in place since 2010 in the European Union, there would be a much stronger incentive for industry to reformulate,' Galligan said in a recent statement. Several states have taken matters into their own hands, passing legislation restricting synthetic dyes. In West Virginia, most artificial food dyes will be banned starting in 2028. California and Virginia have banned six artificial dyes from school food. Meanwhile, beginning in 2027, Texas will require warning labels on foods or beverages made with any of more than 40 dyes or additives. 'We follow and will continue to follow regulatory guidance from the authorities in this space because consumer safety is our chief responsibility and priority,' the National Confectioners Association said in an April statement responding to Kennedy's push to phase out synthetic food dyes. While several artificial dyes remain, Mars has removed another controversial additive, titanium dioxide, from Skittles. The chemical, which helps make candy appear shiny, was removed from all Skittles production at the end of last year, the company confirmed to Bloomberg in May. The ingredient was already banned in the European Union in 2022 over possible health risks. According to its website, Mars is still committed to avoiding synthetic colors in its dinnertime foods.
