Snack giant Frito-Lay recalled nearly 1,300 bags of Tostitos Cantina Traditional Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips due to cross-contamination with milk.
The chips were distributed to stores across 13 states, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
The 13-ounce bags of yellow corn chips could contain another variety, the nacho cheese tortilla chips, which contain milk.
People with milk allergies should avoid bags that say ‘Guaranteed Fresh’ date of 20 MAY 2025 and one of the following manufacturing codes: 471106504 18 13:XX ; 471106505 85 13:XX ; 471106506 85 13:XX ; 471106507 85 13:XX.
Frito-Lay said in a statement: ‘Those with an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the recalled product.’
Milk allergies are relatively common. An estimated 4.7 percent of Americans have one. The allergy is more common in children, who typically outgrow it.
The company issued a similar recall in December after the FDA determined that Lay’s Classic Potato Chips distributed in Oregon and Washington could contain undeclared milk.
People with milk allergies should avoid bags that say ‘Guaranteed Fresh’ date of 20 MAY 2025 and one of the following manufacturing codes: 471106504 18 13:XX ; 471106505 85 13:XX ; 471106506 85 13:XX ; 471106507 85 13:XX
Frito-Lay is a snack industry behemoth with a revenue of about $29 billion in just one year.
The company, which is owned by PepsiCo, insisted that the recall only affects a small proportion of its products.
The chips affected by the recall were first available for sale on March 7, bearing the UPC code 2840052848 as well as a ‘guaranteed fresh’ date of May 20, 2025.
They were available for weeks at grocery, convenience, and drug stores, as well as online.
For people without a milk allergy, the mislabeled bags will not cause any harm. Neither the company nor the FDA found any evidence of unwanted dangerous chemicals or foreign objects in the bags.
Undeclared milk is a common cause for recalls.
A 2012 study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology reported that, between 2015 and 2019, allergen-related food recalls happened 64 to 87 times per year and the most common among them was milk (43 percent of cases).
In December, 6,300 bags of Lay’s Classic Potato Chips distributed in two states, which the FDA classified at its most serious level, Class 1, which means ‘there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.’
