A cream cheese manufacturer issued a voluntary recall this month for select cream cheese spreads distributed to multiple stores and sold in multiple states due to a risk of salmonella.
 Schreiber Foods, which manufactured the spreads, said May 7 it was informed by one of its suppliers that an ingredient used in several cream cheese spread formulas has the potential to contain salmonella. No cases of illness related to this incident have been reported to the company, Schreiber Foods said, and the company advised customers who purchased any of the items should discard the product, or return it to the store for a full refund.
Some of the spreads were sold at Aldi, which issued a recall for the following products sold at select stores in 28 states and Washington, D.C.: Happy Farms Whipped Cream Cheese Spread, Chive & Onion Cream Cheese Spread, Cream Cheese Spread and Strawberry Cream Cheese Spread products.
Hy-Vee is recalling two varieties of its its Hy-Vee Cream Cheese Spread as well as its bulk-packaged Cookies & Cream Mix due to the salmonella risk. These products were distributed to Hy-Vee, Hy-Vee Drugstore and Dollar Fresh Market locations, as well as Hy-Vee Fast and Fresh convenience stores in eight states.
Candy recall:White coated candy shipped nationwide recalled over salmonella contamination concerns
Map: See states with cream cheese spread recalls from Aldi, Hy-Vee
In total, 30 states and Washington, D.C. have stores that are affected by the recall.
Aldi noted the recalled products were shipped to “select” stores across the affected states. Neither grocer has specified which locations have the recalled product.
Cream cheese spreads recalled in the majority of states were sold at Aldi, although there was an overlap of both Aldi and Hy-Vee stores in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
What is salmonella?
Salmonella is bacteria that causes about 1.35 million infections, 26,500 hospitalizations and 420 deaths in the U.S. every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most people who become ill from salmonella have diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, and symptoms usually begin six hours to six days after infection and last 4-7 days. Most people recover without specific treatment and should not take antibiotics, the CDC says, which are typically only used to treat people who have severe illness or are at risk for it.
Some people may become so severely ill from salmonella that they need to be hospitalized.
