8 US Cracker Brands You Must Avoid

Presenter / Channel

• The Hidden Menu

Quick overview

The video examines eight widely sold cracker brands or categories that registered dietitians and consumer reports flag for problematic ingredients, high sodium/fat, recalls, contamination incidents, and misleading marketing. It does not provide recipes or cooking methods. The only procedural content is practical steps for safer cracker selection.

Brand-by-brand ingredient and safety notes

(Notes reflect subtitles in the video.)

Club crackers (Keebler Club — Kellogg’s snack division / Kelanova → acquired by Mars)

• Key ingredients called out: enriched white flour, soybean oil, palm oil, sugar, artificial flavors and colors (e.g., Yellow 6), TBHQ (tertiary butylhydroquinone) preservative.
• Nutrition note: one small serving reportedly delivers ~13% of daily limits for saturated fat and sodium.
• Criticism: highly processed, low fiber and protein.

Chicken and a Biscuit crackers (Nabisco / parent mentioned as Manderlays / Mandles International)

• Key criticisms: refined carbohydrates, high sodium and fat.
• Context: parent company named in a 2024 lawsuit alleging engineered ultraprocessed foods.

Wheat Thins (Nabisco / Manderlays)

• Ingredients called out: whole grain wheat flour present, but also canola oil and multiple added sugars (sugar, malt syrup, refiner syrup).
• Nutrition: ~200 mg sodium per serving (~9% of a 2,300 mg daily limit).
• Criticism: hidden sugars raise blood sugar; implicated in a 2018 whey-powder recall.

Cheez-It (Kelanova / Mars)

• Ingredients called out: enriched flour, cheese made with skim milk, vegetable oil (including palm oil), TBHQ.
• Nutrition: ~230 mg sodium per serving (~10% of recommended daily limit).
• Criticism: refined carbs, saturated fat (cheese + palm oil), TBHQ preservative; minimal fiber.

Goldfish (Pepperidge Farm / Campbell)

• Ingredients: enriched wheat flour, cheddar cheese, oils, salt.
• Nutrition: ~250 mg sodium per serving.
• Safety history: July 2018 voluntary recall (~3.3 million units) for Salmonella linked to contaminated whey powder; later class-action over alleged false “no artificial flavors/preservatives” labeling (citric acid cited).

Ritz

• Ingredients called out: enriched white flour, canola and palm oils, high-fructose corn syrup, sugar, soy lecithin, “natural flavor” (unspecified), sodium phosphate in some Ritz Bits fillings.
• Criticisms: refined carbs, processed oils, additives.
• Recalls/lawsuits: July 2025 recall of 76,000+ cases for allergen mislabeling (peanut butter sleeves mislabeled as cheese — serious allergy risk); lawsuits alleging misrepresentation of ingredient content in some products.

Premium saltine crackers (Nabisco / Manderlays)

• Ingredients beyond simple flour/water/salt: enriched flour, vegetable oils including soybean and palm oil, leavening agents, malted barley flour.
• Nutrition: higher-than-expected sodium per serving; common to eat multiple servings so sodium adds up.
• Reports: consumer complaints of strong chemical/insecticide-like smell/taste with associated symptoms (nausea, headaches, vomiting) — no formal FDA recall reported in the subtitles.

Store-brand / private-label crackers (multiple contract manufacturers)

• Safety incidents cited:
  • February 2025 Sheerer Foods recall of ~15,800 cases of oyster crackers due to stainless-steel wire fragments (affected multiple store brands).
  • TreeHouse Foods / Trader Joe’s incident with metal fragments.
  • FDA January 2026 report of rodent waste contamination at a distribution facility affecting crackers (and other packaged foods), with risks including Salmonella and leptospirosis.
• Concern: lack of transparency about actual manufacturers, thin margins, and potential quality-control lapses that can produce cross-retailer contamination events.

Red-flag ingredients and additives (repeatedly mentioned)

• Preservatives: TBHQ (tertiary butylhydroquinone), citric acid (controversially described in one lawsuit as an artificial preservative)
• Sweeteners: high-fructose corn syrup, sugar, malt syrup, refiner syrup
• Oils/fats: soybean oil, palm oil, canola oil, vegetable oil blends (palm oil and processed seed oils singled out as inflammatory/processed)
• Flours: enriched white/refined flour, malted barley flour
• Dairy-related: whey powder (implicated in contamination recalls)
• Other additives: soy lecithin, sodium phosphate, “natural flavors” (unspecified)
• Artificial colors: Yellow 6

Selection — How to protect yourself (step-by-step shopping method presented)

1. Read the full ingredient list (not front-of-box claims). If you see TBHQ, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, or multiple added sugars, consider skipping it.
2. Prefer crackers with whole grain listed as the first ingredient.
3. Watch sodium per serving — target under 200 mg per serving (advice cited from nutrition experts).
4. Be cautious with store-brand/private-label crackers due to opaque manufacturing and higher risk of broad recalls/contamination.
5. Pay attention to serving sizes (some packages list as few as five crackers per serving). Multiply nutrition values if you typically eat multiple servings.

Practical tips, cautions, and serving notes

• Many popular crackers are largely refined carbs with processed oils and additives; they provide little fiber or protein and can contribute to rapid blood-sugar spikes and excess sodium/saturated fat.
• Sodium accumulates quickly if you eat more than the labeled serving (easy to do).
• For children: products marketed to kids (e.g., Goldfish) may still have high sodium and few whole grains — parents should be wary.
• Store-brand recalls show that one manufacturing facility problem can affect multiple retailer brands across many states.

Suggested healthier brand examples (mentioned)

• Triscuit
• Mary’s Gone Crackers
• Wasa Crispbread (These were named as consistently healthier options by Consumer Reports / registered dietitians in the video.)

Safety and recall details (as stated)

• FDA recall classifications cited (e.g., class 2 recalls for metal fragments/contamination — indicating potential for temporary or medically reversible health consequences).
• Salmonella recalls and consumer hospitalizations were cited in relation to whey powder contamination (Goldfish, 2018).
• Metal fragment recalls (Sheerer Foods; TreeHouse Foods incidents) and rodent contamination at a distribution facility (FDA report) were specifically noted.

Referenced sources (as cited in the subtitles)

• Eat This, Not That (registered dietitians Mary Sabat, Lauren Maniker/Manuker)
• Center for Science in the Public Interest
• National Institutes of Health (animal-studies review mentioned)
• Food Processing Magazine
• Mashed
• Food Business News
• Courthouse News Service
• Top Class Actions
• FDA (recall and facility reports)
• CBS News
• Consumer Reports
• Fox Business
• The Takeout
• Newsweek
• Companies referenced: Kellogg’s / Kelanova, Mars Incorporated, Nabisco, Manderlays / Mandles International, Pepperidge Farm / Campbell, TreeHouse Foods, Sheerer Foods

Note

The video describes ingredients, recalls, lawsuits, and selection advice but provides no cooking or preparation methods, equipment lists, or exact recipe measurements beyond per-serving nutrition figures quoted. No additional food-safety guidance beyond the incidents and FDA classifications mentioned in the subtitles was included.