Sugar Foods LLC announced on May 15, 2026 that it is voluntarily recalling specific lots of Kroger Homestyle Cheese Garlic Croutons, 5-ounce pouches sold at Kroger stores in 17 states, due to potential Salmonella contamination linked to milk powder used in the product’s cheese garlic seasoning.
The FDA posted the recall on May 18. No illnesses have been reported. If you shop at Kroger and have a bag of these croutons in your pantry right now, the UPC to check is 0 11110 81353 4.
The Kroger crouton recall is the latest addition to the expanding list of products caught up in the California Dairies Inc. milk powder contamination that has produced nearly a dozen separate recall actions this month alone.
The same root cause, a milk powder ingredient from California Dairies traced to potential Salmonella, has already produced recalls covering Zapp’s potato chips, Fisher nuts, Pork King Good pork rinds, Ghirardelli commercial powders and Straus Family Creamery ice cream among others.
Every time a manufacturer identifies that California Dairies milk powder was used in one of their products during the affected period, a new recall joins the list.
The Kroger crouton is the salad topping that the Kroger brand markets as Homestyle Cheese Garlic Croutons, the kind of crouton that goes on salads, on soups and sometimes straight out of the bag because croutons are difficult to resist.
The specific bags affected are the 5-ounce pouches distributed to Kroger stores in 17 states between March 7 and April 7, 2026.
The best by dates on the affected bags range from February 17, 2027 through April 7, 2027, meaning the bags currently sitting in kitchen cabinets are well within their shelf life and look and smell completely normal.
The Specific Product Affected And How To Identify It
The recalled product is Kroger Homestyle Cheese Garlic Croutons sold in a 5-ounce pouch.
The UPC code printed on the back of the bag is 0 11110 81353 4. That is the fastest way to determine if your specific bag is affected.
If your bag has that UPC and a Best By date that falls between February 17, 2027 and April 7, 2027, it is included in the recall.
Sugar Foods announced nine specific best by dates within that window. The complete and authoritative list of all affected lot numbers and best by dates is available on the FDA’s official recall database at fda.gov, searching the product name or company name will pull up the full filing with every affected lot.
Given that nine separate best by dates are involved, the FDA page is the definitive source for confirming whether your specific bag is recalled.
The bags were distributed to Kroger stores in 17 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
Distribution happened between March 7 and April 7, meaning if you purchased the product at a Kroger in any of those states in March or early April, it is worth pulling the bag out and checking the UPC and date.
Why This Recall Is Precautionary
Sugar Foods was explicit about what their own testing found when they announced the recall.
“The affected seasoning batches tested negative for Salmonella prior to use,” the company stated in the announcement reported by ABC News and Good Morning America.
The company tested the seasoning before it went into the croutons. The seasoning tested clean.
The reason the recall is happening anyway is the same reason the dozens of other California Dairies-linked recalls have happened: the precautionary principle applied to a contaminated ingredient source, regardless of what the downstream product’s own testing showed.
California Dairies Inc. recalled its milk powder after identifying potential Salmonella contamination. Sugar Foods used California Dairies milk powder in the seasoning for these croutons.
Even though Sugar Foods’ own testing of that seasoning showed no contamination, the fact that the ingredient source has been recalled creates enough uncertainty that pulling the product is the responsible call.
“Out of an abundance of caution, and because this milk powder was used in a seasoning ingredient supplied to Sugar Foods, the company is initiating this recall,” the company’s statement read. “Sugar Foods is recalling this product based on the ingredient supplier’s recall.”
That is the specific logic that has been driving the entire wave of California Dairies-linked recalls since mid-April.
A single contaminated milk powder supplier creates a cascade of precautionary recalls across every manufacturer who used that powder, regardless of what those manufacturers’ own testing shows. The cascade has now reached the crouton aisle.
The California Dairies Wave
The California Dairies Inc. story has been covered here before in the context of the dozens of snack recalls it produced, the chips, the nuts, the pork rinds, the chocolate powders, the ice cream.
The agricultural cooperative supplies approximately 40 percent of the US market for dried milk powder, which means when California Dairies has a problem, the downstream effects reach an extraordinary number of products across an extraordinary number of categories.
Croutons would not be the first place most people would look for a dairy connection.
The cheese garlic seasoning that gives these croutons their flavor contains milk powder, a shelf-stable dairy ingredient used across the processed food industry to add protein and dairy flavor notes without the refrigeration requirements of liquid milk.
When California Dairies’ milk powder enters a seasoning blend, and that seasoning blend goes into a crouton, the connection is real even if it is not obvious from looking at the finished product.
Sugar Foods LLC, headquartered in Westlake Village, California, manufactures a range of snack and meal accompaniment products and supplies the Kroger store brand for this category.
The company took the precautionary action within the appropriate timeframe after the California Dairies recall triggered their review of which products had used the affected ingredient. The Kroger crouton is the result of that review.
What Salmonella Does And Why This Matters Even Without Reported Illnesses
Salmonella contamination produces symptoms that typically appear within six hours to six days of consuming contaminated food.
The symptoms, fever, diarrhea that may be bloody, nausea, vomiting and stomach cramps, are not pleasant for healthy adults and resolve within four to seven days in most cases.
The people for whom Salmonella poses more serious risks are young children, elderly individuals and anyone with a compromised immune system.
In those populations, the infection can spread beyond the gastrointestinal tract and produce complications that require hospitalization.
No illnesses connected to these croutons have been reported as of the recall announcement.
The fact that no illness has been reported is not the same as saying the croutons are safe, it means that the precautionary recall was initiated before any consumer harm occurred, which is exactly how the system is supposed to work.
The California Dairies recall at the ingredient level creates the trigger. The Sugar Foods recall at the product level creates the consumer-facing action.
The public notification creates the opportunity for consumers to check their pantries before anyone gets sick.
Salmonella does not change the look or smell of food. A bag of croutons contaminated with Salmonella looks, smells and tastes identical to a bag that is not.
That is why checking the UPC and the best by date is necessary rather than simply inspecting the product.
How To Get A Refund
If you have the recalled product, do not eat it. Throw it away in a way that prevents children or pets from accessing it, sealed in a bag before placing in the trash.
For questions or for assistance with a refund, contact Sugar Foods LLC directly at 332-240-6676. The phone line is available seven days a week, 24 hours a day according to the company’s recall announcement.
For a full listing of all affected lot numbers and best by dates, visit the FDA’s official recall database at fda.gov and search for Sugar Foods or Kroger Homestyle Cheese Garlic Croutons.
The recall covers 5-ounce pouches with UPC 0 11110 81353 4 distributed to Kroger stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and West Virginia between March 7 and April 7, 2026.
The best by dates range from February 17, 2027 through April 7, 2027. If your bag matches, stop eating it and call Sugar Foods.
