There's been a mac and cheese recall, so check your pantry and make sure you don't have the offending packages!
According to PR Newswire, in a TreeHouse Foods, Inc. press release, the company announced a voluntary recall on some of its instant mac and cheese products, due to a possible salmonella contamination in the cheddar cheese mix. The culprit is the milk powder within the cheese powder. Three different brands of mac and cheese dinner cups have been recalled: Big Win Original Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, Cheese Club Express Mac Macaroni & Cheese Dinner and Great Value Macaroni & Cheese Original Cups. Check the UPC numbers below if you have one of these brands at home and want to know for sure if it's one that's been recalled.
As it happens, TreeHouse Foods, Inc. wasn't the only company that had to do a recall. Food Safety News reports that the powdered milk ingredient that's contaminated was from Valley Milk Products LLC and that there was a federal seizure of 4 million pounds of powdered milk. Apparently, the FDA found out that the company knew it was testing positive for the salmonella contaminate, but continued business anyway.
Salmonella is a bacterium that causes fever, diarrhea and abdominal pain, so if you've gotten it from one of these foods, these are the symptoms you'll likely experience. Many people recover on their own, but infants, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems should see a doctor and communicate the exposure to the pathogen to said doctor. Salmonella can be particularly harsh on those who don't have strong immune systems and may lead to hospitalization in some cases.
Here are the UPC numbers and "Best-by" dates to check the bottom of your mac and cheese cup for:
Big Win Original Macaroni & Cheese Dinner - UPC number: 001182258403, Best-by date: 10/25/2017.
Cheese Club Express Mac Macaroni & Cheese Dinner - UPC number: 004149817167, Best-by dates: 11/3/2017, 11/4/2017, 11/18/2017, 11/22/2017, 10/20/2017, 10/21/2017, 10/23/2017, 10/29/2017, 11/1/2017, 11/2/2017, 11/11/2017, 11/16/2017, 11/17/2017, 11/22/2017, 11/23/2017, 11/28/2017.
Great Value Macaroni & Cheese Original Cups - UPC number: 007874208249, Best-by dates: 10/22/2017, 10/19/2017, 10/27/2017, 10/28/2017, 11/3/2017, 11/7/2017, 11/18/2017, 11/20/2017, 11/21/2017.