By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

The Vegetarian Resource Group noticed on a Kosher blog from October 2022 the following claim about Ritz Crackers:

“The O/U confirms that all Ritz Crackers (O/UD) contain real dairy and should not be eaten after or with meat. This is true even though there may be no obvious dairy ingredients listed on the packaging.”

We checked the Orthodox Union website to confirm. A search on its Products page for Ritz Crackers, turned up 27 results. All of the Nabisco Ritz Cracker varieties, including the original cracker, indicated the presence of dairy. They are certified as OU-D.

Some of the Ritz Crackers, such as the varieties with cheese or butter in their names, are clearly not vegan. But we wondered about the first entry, titled simply Ritz Crackers, also listed as containing dairy.

According to the Ritz Crackers website, the Original Ritz Crackers ingredients are listed as:

Unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate {vitamin B1}, riboflavin {vitamin B2}, folic acid), canola oil, palm oil, sugar, salt, leavening (calcium phosphate, baking soda), high fructose corn syrup, soy lecithin, natural flavor.

The only allergens listed on the package are wheat and soy.

Considering the ingredient sources, the only possible source of dairy seems to be the natural flavor. Although if dairy were present in the natural flavor, it seems it should be listed as an allergen along with wheat and soy. See the 2004 Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA). In an example given here https://www.fda.gov/media/163454/download the FDA lists “natural flavor (peanut)” on a package. Though this appears just to apply to proteins and cow’s milk, not other animal milks.

To clear up our confusion, The VRG reached out to Nabisco, the makers of Ritz Crackers, through their website contact form. Our first question read:

“We see online: ‘The O/U confirms that all Ritz Crackers (O/UD) contain real dairy and should not be eaten after or with meat. This is true even though there may be no obvious dairy ingredients listed on the packaging.’ What is the dairy ingredient? Thank you.”

The next day, The VRG received the following response from a customer service representative at Mondelez International, the company which owns Nabisco:

“…The best source of information is the product packaging. Our ingredients are subject to change based on supplier availability and we are unable to keep an exact ingredient list on file for all of our products. If milk or dairy are included in our products, in any amount, it will be listed in the ingredient statement. We ask that our consumers take the time to check the ingredient statement prior to purchasing a product.

Terms in an ingredient statement that would indicate the presence of cow’s milk protein can include but are not limited to:

butter fat
butter flavor
butter solids
buttermilk
butterscotch
calcium lactate
casein
caseinate
cheese (all varieties)
cream
cream cheese
curds
dairy flavor
delactosed whey
demineralized whey
dry milk solids
enzyme modified cheese
half & half
lactalbumin
lactose
malted milk
milk chocolate
milk derivative
milk protein concentrate
milk solids
modified butter flavor
natural cheese flavor
nonfat dry milk
reduced lactose
rennet
skim milk
sodium calcium caseinate
sodium caseinate
sour cream
sour cream solids
sour milk solids
whey
whey protein
yogurt

Since this was not a direct response to our question about the Ritz Original Crackers, we tried again through the website contact form. This time, we simply asked:

“Are the sources of the natural flavor in the Ritz Original Crackers from animals or dairy?”

We didn’t hear back, so called. But the consumer person was unable to tell us the source of the natural flavors.

We noticed that some store brand crackers similar to Ritz had natural flavors and were O/U Pareve, meaning the product did not have dairy, and the natural flavors would not be from dairy.

We emailed the certifying agency Orthodox Union (O/U). They told us

“As a kashrus agency, it is our responsibility to verify every single flavor and every component within a flavor. The primary method that this is done is very simple – the company must get every ingredient from a verified source. If their choice is a blend that includes any dairy, the resulting formula will be dairy. If they choose a blend that does not contain dairy, it will be Pareve. If they choose to create their own flavor, they will submit a full list of every single component of the flavor – this can be dozens of ingredients, which is then reviewed by our ingredient research department. The company will then be given a choice of approved sources for these ingredients. Our Rabbinic Field Representatives are tasked with verifying that these ingredients are only coming from approved sources, by doing unannounced inspections. We are very aware of every single ingredient and non-ingredient that is used in every production. Different companies get different designations based on what ingredients they choose to use. The other brands do not use the same ingredients as Ritz, therefore they have a different designation.

If a product lists dairy ingredients on the ingredient panel, it is obviously dairy. Some common dairy ingredients are Milk, Yogurt, Cheese, Cream, Butter, Whey, Lactose, Casein, and Caseinate. However, a product may contain a dairy ingredient that is not listed on the ingredient panel such as those present in the product’s unspecified ingredient ‘flavors’. Due to these concerns it is not entirely possible to determine the dairy status of a product based solely on the listed ingredients.

Please see the below links of articles for more information as to the reason one may not rely on labeling alone:

https://farrp.unl.edu/resources/gi-fas/opinion-and-summaries/dairy-free-and-non-dairy
https://oukosher.org/halacha-yomis/sodium-caseinate-is-often-an-ingredient-in-non-dairy-coffee-creamers-i-know-that-sodium-caseinate-is-a-milk-derivative-how-can-a-product-be-labeled-non-dairy-if-it-contains-sodium

At times, consumers inquire about the source of a dairy ingredient. Unfortunately, the OU is unable to divulge this information, as a manufacturers source of supply is proprietary information. We are bound, both legally and morally, to maintain this confidentiality. We can assure consumers that the supervision and classification of the products is according to the OU standards.”

Though Ritz has not told us that the natural flavors or other ingredients are dairy, and the OU is unable to tell us the source of the dairy ingredient, for those who are concerned, you may want to depend on the OU/D designation. We have seen this on the Ritz package. Here is information about OU/D: https://oukosher.org/blog/industrial-kosher/all-ou-symbols-explained/. Note there is also an OU/DE

symbol for items made on dairy equipment. Here is a definition of pareve, which can also be helpful, but be aware it doesn’t mean the product is necessarily vegan, since it can contain egg or fish: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3694185/jewish/What-Is-Parve-Pareve.htm

Also, interestingly, on the Canadian website https://www.snackworks.ca/en/product/00066721002204

natural flavors is not listed as an ingredient in Ritz Crackers as of July 13, 2023. However, on an Amazon website, natural flavors were listed in a Ritz cracker imported from Canada. See: https://www.amazon.com/Ritz-Original-Gram-Pack-Canada/dp/B017TXGM8Y

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegan Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.