Heads up: Zapp's and Dirty potato chips recalled over salmonella concern

May 2026 · Food safety

If you've got a bag of Zapp's or Dirty brand chips sitting in your pantry right now, it's worth taking a quick look at this before reaching for a handful.

Utz Quality Foods has issued a voluntary recall on select varieties of both snack brands. The concern? A dry milk powder seasoning used on certain chip flavors may potentially be contaminated with Salmonella — a bacterial pathogen that can cause serious digestive illness, especially in young children, older adults, and anyone with a compromised immune system.

What to do right now

Do not eat the chips. Discard the products immediately, even if they look and smell fine — salmonella contamination is not visible to the naked eye.

What caused the recall?

The seasoning in question originates from California Dairies, Inc. and was delivered through a third-party supplier. Importantly, the affected seasoning batches actually tested negative for salmonella before being used in production. Utz is moving forward with the recall purely as a precautionary measure — which, honestly, is exactly what you want to see a company do in this situation.

As of now, no illnesses have been reported in connection with these products, and no other Utz snacks are affected by this recall.

How to find out if your chips are included

The recall covers only certain limited varieties of Zapp's and Dirty chips — not the entire product lines. You can check the full FDA recall listing here for the exact UPC codes and lot numbers affected.

If you're a retailer, pull your inventory now and remove any matching products from shelves before customers can purchase them.

Getting a refund

If you've purchased a recalled product, Utz will make it right. Reach out to their Customer Care team:

Phone

1-877-423-0149

Email

Utz Customer Care contact form

Hours

Mon–Fri, 9 am – 6 pm ET

Source: FDA recall database · Utz Quality Foods voluntary recall notice