March 5, 2010

Salmonella concerns lead to US FDA recall of processed foods

Numerous food products are being recalled due to possible salmonella contamination in a widely used flavour enhancer, hydrolysed vegetable protein (HVP), the US Food and Drug Administration has announced.

HVP, a relative of MSG, enhances flavours in processed foods such as hot dogs, stews and other snack foods.

"We don't know precisely how large this recall will get, but we expect this to get larger over the next several days to several weeks," Jeff Farrar, FDA associate commissioner for food protection said at a Thursday (Mar 4) press conference.

The contamination was detected several weeks ago in HVP produced by Basic Food Flavours Inc. of Las Vegas, and made known to the FDA through the newly-instituted Reportable Food Registry.

Since then, the FDA has confirmed salmonella contamination at Basic Food Flavours' plant, and all HVP produced by the facility since September 17, 2009, is subject to recall.

Potentially contaminated food products that have a "kill step," however, in which heating or other preparation of the food would kill any salmonella bacteria, will not be subject to recall.

As of Thursday afternoon, nearly 30 products had been recalled.

"At this time, we believe the risk to consumers of this ingredient is very low," Farrar said.

Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in those with compromised immune systems, small children, and the elderly. No illnesses associated with this contamination have been reported to date.

Margaret Hamburg, the FDA commissioner, said at the press conference that this outbreak, caught before any reported illnesses, is a testament to the effectiveness of the new registry, but added that at the same time, "we are also working hard to put in place the kind of preventive control measures to prevent this from happening in the first place."

As the FDA requires that the flavouring be declared on the packaging, consumers will be able to tell which products contain HVP -- it will be noted on the ingredients list.

However, the FDA said in a press release Thursday that consumers will be unable to tell which HVP-containing foods might be dangerous just by reading food labels. The labels do not say which items have HVP manufactured by Basic Food Flavours, Inc.

To safely remove dangerous products from circulation, the FDA is currently working with food manufacturers, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the USDA and the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.