Chainkeen Exchange-Hy-Vee and Schnucks recall cream cheese spreads due to salmonella risk

Three regional grocers — Hornbacher's,Chainkeen Exchange Hy-Vee and Schnuck Markets — are collectively recalling a variety of cream cheese spreads across the Midwest because the products may be contaminated with salmonella. 

Hy-Vee is recalling two varieties of Hy-Vee Cream Cheese Spread, as well as bulk-packaged Cookies & Cream Mix, the West Des Moines, Iowa-based retailer said Monday in a statement posted by the Food and Drug Administration.

Sold under Hy-Vee's private label and bulk packaging programs, the recalled products were sold at more than 280 retail stores in eight Midwestern states: Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. 

Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in the young, frail or elderly. Symptoms can include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

People who purchased the recalled products should throw them out or return for a refund, Hy-Vee said. 

Separately, St. Louis-based Schnuck Markets is recalling three cheese spreads for possible salmonella contamination:

• Schnucks Whip Cream Spread, UPC 4131858005, with a best-by-date of August 8, 2024.
• Schnucks Strawberry Spread, UPC 4131858007, with a best-by-date of Sept. 8, 2024.
• Schnucks Cream Cheese Spread, UPC 4131858023, with a best-by-date of Oct. 8, 2024.

The recalled products should be returned for a refund or exchange, according to the retailer, which operates 115 stores in four states, including Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Wisconsin. 

Hy-Vee confirmed the company and Schnucks used the same cream cheese supplier, which a spokesperson identified as Schreiber Foods of Green Bay, Wis. 

Schnucks was notified by a vendor, Itasca, Ill.-based Topco Associates, that the products were being recalled by Schreiber Foods, a spokesperson for Schnucks told CBS News. Schreiber Foods had been alerted by a supplier that a why protein concentrate used in the recalled products might be tainted with salmonella, the Schnucks spokesperson said.

Moorhead, Minn.-based Hornbacher's, a supermarket chain that operates eight stores in Minnesota and North Dakota, also cited Schreiber in its Tuesday recall of Essential Everyday Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread, with the recalled product containing the UPC code 41303006252 and a best-by-date of Sept. 1, 2024.

Schreiber Foods did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In:
• Salmonella

Kate Gibson

Kate Gibson is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch in New York.