If you doubt how interconnected the food industry is, just look at what happens when a tainted ingredient enters the supply chain.
In January a meat processor recalled a large quantity of Italian meats because of suspected Salmonella contamination. From the start, however, inspectors believed the source was not the meat itself, but an ingredient or seasoning.
Since then companies have recalled black pepper and hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or HVP, a common ingredient used most frequently as a flavor enhancer in many processed foods. HVP, it turns out, is used in a lot of food products, including soups, sauces, chilis, stews, hot dogs, gravies, seasoned snack foods, dips and dressings.
The manufacturer of the affected product is Basic Food Flavors, Inc. in Las Vegas, Nevada. Only HVP manufactured by Basic Food Flavors is involved in this recall. Even so, the recall is leaving a very large footprint on the US Food Supply.
More than 100 food products had been recalled by Friday and the Food and Drug Administration concedes the number could grow over the next few weeks. The FDA's recall page grows lengthier by the day.
Unfortunately, HVP is not the only tainted ingredient in the food system. While it has been associated with a strain of the germ called Salmonella Tennessee, some peppers have been named as the source of Salmonella Montevideo.
On Friday, the FDA said it has been actively investigating the supply chain of black and red pepper supplied to Daniele International Inc., of Pascoag, R.I.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 249 people have been infected with a matching strain of Salmonella Montevideo in at least 44 states and the District of Columbia. Analysis of an epidemiologic study comparing foods eaten by individuals who were sickened identified salami/salame as a possible source of illness.
Daniele International Inc. recalled a variety of ready-to-eat Italian-style meats after Salmonella was associated with its products. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service has posted a complete listing of the recalled products.
As a result of the investigation, the FDA said a number of spice products are now being recalled by Mincing Overseas Spice Company, Dayton, N.J.; and Wholesome Spice Company, Brooklyn, N.Y. Both supply pepper to Daniele International Inc. Based on recent test results, Mincing Overseas Spice Company and Wholesome Spice Company are conducting new recalls.
Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. When salmonella contaminated some jars of peanut butter in 2007, the results were extremely serious.
Salmonella-tainted peanuts sold by Peanut Corporation of America were used in the best-selling Peter Pan Peanut Butter and Wal-Mart's house brand, Great Value. Beyond jars of peanut butter, the germs spread to other products that used peanut butter as ingredients.
Before it was over, ConsumerAffairs.com had received several reports of death from the tainted products, though officially, the CDC did not attribute a single death to the outbreak. Thousands of people got sick and the financial toll on ConAgra, the maker of Peter Pan, was enormous.
Source: consumeraffairs.com
