Health

FDA Recalls 101 Brands w/ Basic Food Flavours' Vegetable Protein

by Liz McKibbon | March 5, 2010 at 08:34 am

1066 views | 10 Recommendations | 2 comments

Officials have released an FDA list of 101 recalled products tainted by salmonella Tennessee found in hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) added as a flavor enhancement. HVP is used in many processed foods such as creamy dressings, sauces, soups, snacks, stuffing, gravies and prepared or pre-packaged meals.

The initial discovery was found in HVP manufactured by Basic Food Flavours and only HPV made by since September of 2009 is affected.

Jeffrey Farrar, associate commissioner for food protection, said the risk to consumers of getting sick is "very low." HVP generally represents just 1% of the total ingredients in a product. Some products that received HVP from the Las Vegas company, Basic Food Flavors Inc., won't need to be recalled. These include most foods that are cooked. Cooking generally kills salmonella.

Brands Containing Basic Food Flavours' HVP

A number of Follow Your Heart brand products, including dressings and pre-packaged meals
Trader Joe's brand creamy dressing
Great Value brand ranch chip dip
Hawaiian brand potato chips and onion rings

Because the FDA does not have the authority to issue recalls itself, the agency urges companies it knows have a product with health concerns to issue recall notices (the FDA then posts those notices).

Signs of Salmonella Poisoning

The FDA is doing what it can to advise companies on next steps to take. Because the outbreak was discovered early, there has been no serious illness reported at this time.

Salmonella can have serious and even fatal effects on those with a low immune system, such as children and the elderly. Symptoms usually last 4-7 days, and may include vomiting, diarrhea and fever. You can learn more about the causes and symptoms of Salmonella at FoodSafety.gov.

UPDATE: The CDC is now using customer loyalty cards to find out which customers purchased tainted products in both this incident and in the future.

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Amy Judd

at 12:11 on March 5th, 2010

Scary

MarkSt (not verified)

at 05:48 on April 21st, 2010

Salmonella in soups and snacks?? And symptoms usually last 4-7 days, and may include vomiting, diarrhea and fever? That is not very helpful, symptoms are the same with a common cold Mark @<a href="www.schoolgrantsmoney.com">school grants</a>