Basic Food Flavors knew about salmonella contamination

The Food and Drug Administration says Basic Food Flavors knew of salmonella contamination at its Las Vegas, Nevada plant back in January but kept shipping product anyway. To date, more than 100 products have been recalled but thousands of products could be affected by the contamination of a popular flavor enhancer HVP (hydrolyzed vegetable protein). HVP is often blended with spices to make seasonings used in a variety of food products including hot dogs, soups, salad dressings, chili, sauces, stews, gravies, chips and dips.

According to the FDA, Best Food Flavors had learned that samples from the plant tested positive for salmonella on January 21st. The company tested for and found salmonella twice in January and once in February but never issued a recall or took steps to minimize the risk of contamination. They kept manufacturing and shipping HVP through February 15th.

FDA was notified by a Best Food customer of possible contamination and began investigation of the plant on February 12th. FDA does not have the authority to order a recall so they began negotiating with Best Food Flavors to initiate a voluntary recall of the products which the company did on February 26th.

So far, no illnesses have been linked to the HVP and FDA says the risk is low because most of the products it is used in are cooked at some stage at temperatures high enough to kill the salmonella. The main concern is with ready-to-eat snacks.