The Class I designation means there is a reasonable probability that consuming the affected products could cause serious adverse health consequences or death
Credit: Utz Quality Foods / FDA.gov
Certain varieties of Zapp's and Dirty brand potato chips sold by Utz Quality Foods are under voluntary recall for possible salmonella contamination — and on Wednesday the FDA elevated the action to a Class I designation, the agency's most serious category, which it applies when exposure to or ingestion of a product carries a reasonable probability of causing severe health harm or death.
Tallying upward of 650,000 bags in total, per USA Today, the action spans six distinct products distributed through stores across the country: 164,640 bags of 1.5-ounce Zapp's Bayou Blackened Ranch Potato Chips; 179,837 bags of the 2.5-ounce version of the same flavor; 300,595 bags of 2-ounce Dirty Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips; 5,000 bags of 2-ounce Dirty Maui Onion Potato Chips; 14,976 bags of Zapp's Big Cheezy Potato Chips in 8-ounce and 2.5-ounce sizes; and 19,200 bags of 2-ounce Dirty Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chips.
At the root of the recall is a seasoning ingredient containing dry milk powder that California Dairies, Inc. supplied through a third-party manufacturer and that may harbor salmonella. Pre-use testing of the implicated seasoning batches came back negative, yet Utz — which operates as part of Utz Brands — chose to pull the products anyway, citing caution. No illnesses connected to the recalled products have been reported, the company said.
The Utz recall is part of a broader series of actions tied to the same California Dairies milk powder. When the chips were first recalled in May, the action was one of two linked to the ingredient, alongside a Ghirardelli Chocolate Company recall of powdered beverage mixes. That cluster subsequently expanded to eight brands, pulling in snack mixes, pork rinds, popcorn seasonings, and cheese curds from manufacturers including Fisher, Giant Eagle, and Stoltzfus Family Dairy, among others. California Dairies flagged its bulk powdered milk and buttermilk as potentially contaminated with salmonella in April 2026, the company said.
The bacterium poses the greatest danger to vulnerable populations — including infants and young children, the elderly, and those whose immune systems are compromised — and can occasionally prove fatal. Symptoms of infection typically include fever, stomach cramps, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, and while most patients recover without serious incident, the pathogen can in uncommon cases enter the bloodstream and trigger life-threatening illness.
Consumers who have any of the recalled products should discard them. For refunds, Utz's customer care line is available at 1-877-423-0149 on business days between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET.
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