Food Recalls from Tainted HVP May Increase to 10,000 Products

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March 23, 2010

Experts estimate that salmonella contamination at Basic Food Flavors Inc.’s plant in Las Vegas may result in the recall of as many as 10,000 products, according to several media reports.

Retailer store brands affected by the recall of hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or HVP, manufactured by Basic Food Flavors include Walmart, Publix, Supervalu, Trader Joe’s and Safeway to name a few. CPG companies affected include PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble Co., Nestle SA and McCormick & Co. with more expected to follow, according to reports.

Assorted soups, sauces, chili, hot dogs, snack foods, dips, dressing, spices and spice mixes are among the foods that often contain HVP flavoring, according to the Food & Drug Administration.

“It’s a wake-up call for the food industry as a whole to be more thorough in evaluating the safety of ingredients,” Michael Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia told Bloomberg. “Big companies are putting their trust in suppliers, which is their Achilles heel.”

This recall could be the largest ever as counted by the number of products pulled from store shelves, although the total isn’t fully know yet, FDA spokeswoman Rita Chappelle, told Bloomberg.

To date, no known illnesses associated with the HVP contamination have been reported. According to the FDA, the overall risk to consumers is low because most products containing HVP are cooked during processing or are cooked by consumers, which would eliminate any salmonella. In uncooked, such as ready-to-eat foods and snacks such as chips and dips, the risk is significantly higher.

FDA investigators said they found salmonella on “non-food contact surfaces” near some food processing equipment at the Basic Food Flavors plant. Contaminations were found where the HVP powder is mixed with other ingredients where it is packaged for final shipping, according to the report.

Basic Food Flavors continued to make and distribute HVP for several weeks after it knew the plant was contaminated, the FDA said in the report quoted by Bloomberg.

Read These Related Articles:

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• Store Brand Ground Beef Recalled in Eight Eastern States
• Wal-Mart and Kroger Recall Select Store Brand Dairy Products
• Second Culinary Circle Product Recalled in Two Weeks

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