Salmonella Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark : Salmonella Blog

A wide range of processed foods - including soups, snack foods, dips and dressings - are being recalled after salmonella was discovered in a flavor-enhancing ingredient.

Food and Drug Administration officials said Thursday that the ingredient, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, is used in thousands of food products, though it was unclear how many of them will be recalled. The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said no illnesses or deaths have been reported.

The officials said the recall, which dates to products manufactured since Sept. 17, is expected to expand in the coming days and weeks. It only involves hydrolyzed vegetable protein manufactured by Las Vegas-based Basic Food Flavors Inc.

The agency said Thursday it collected and analyzed samples at the Las Vegas facility after one of the company's customers discovered the salmonella. The FDA then confirmed the presence of a strain of salmonella in the company's processing equipment.

Jeffrey Farrar, associate commissioner for food protection at the FDA, said Thursday that many of the products that contain the product are not dangerous because the risk of salmonella is eliminated after the food has been cooked. Many of the foods involved in the recall are ready-to-eat items that are not cooked by the consumer.  "At this time we believe the risk to consumers is very low," Farrar said.

A list of more than 50 recalled foods on the FDA Web site include several dips manufactured by T. Marzetti, Sweet Maui Onion potato chips manufactured by Tim's Cascade Snacks, Tortilla Soup mix made by Homemade Gourmet and several prepackaged "Follow Your Heart" tofu meals manufactured by Earth Island.  The FDA said the contamination was discovered by a new tracking system implemented to improve tracing of foodborne illnesses.

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After the Plainview Milk Products Cooperative, located in Plainview, MN, discovered salmonella contamination on its equipment, it asked on June 29th that the ingredients its sold over the past two years to others-- instant nonfat dried milk, whey protein, fruit stabilizers and gums (thickening agents)--be recalled.

The third ingredient recall of 2009 is now growing rapidly.   The Milk Coop did not sell anything to the general public.  "The company sells these products to other industry customers, including distributors and manufacturers, who may have incorporated them into their own products, says the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), which is maintaining a database of all products being recalled by customers of the Milk Coop.

That database is showing 202 products recalled as of today.  The FDA database is the best place to go for specific product information, including code and lot numbers that you will be to make sure you do not have any potentially contaminated product in your pantry.

Here's a quick run-down on all the Milk Coop related recalls that have come in during the first nine days of July.

• Landover, MD-based Giant Foods recalled Giant Nonfat Dried Milk in 9.6-ounce size.
• The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company recalled its Non Fat Dried Milk products in 16 and 32-ounce sizes.
• Robert St.John recalled its Rich, Rich Hot Chocolate Mix in 13-ounce plastic bags packaged inside metal tin cans.
• Meijer Brand Instant Nonfat Dry Milk sold in Meijer Stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky was recalled.
• McClancy Seasoning recalled Alba Instant Non-Fat Dry Milk (25.6 oz), Alba Instant Non-Fat Dry Milk (9.6 oz), Alba Creamy Milk Chocolate Snack Shake Mix (6 oz), Alba Double Fudge Royale Snack Shake Mix (6 oz), Alba Smooth Vanilla Bean Snack Shake Mix (6 oz) and Alba Strawberry Banana Snack Shake Mix (6 oz).
• Precision Foods Inc., of St. Louis, Missouri, recalled certain Madagascar Vanilla cocoa. It is labeled as Land O Lakes International Drinking Cocoa “Madagascar Vanilla”.
• NOW Foods recalled a dozen of its NOW Foods products containing whey protein concentrate.
• CPI Foods, Inc Dallas, TX recalled approximately 15,000 packets of non-fat dry milk
• Max Muscle Sports Nutrition recalled Max Muscle products containing whey protein concentrate due to potential Salmonella contamination.
• Malt-O-Meal Company recalled “Maple & Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal” and “Maple & Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal” packets sold in “Variety” cartons.
• Trans-Packers Services Corp. of Brooklyn, NY, is recalled approximately 6,300 packets of Dairy Shake blends
• Traditions Meal Solutions recalled approximately 104,500 packets of 25-gram non-fat dry milk packets.
• Vital Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Davie, Fl recalled 17 lots of the powdered dietary supplement, Stealth Chocolate and Stealth Vanilla,
• C. F. Sauer Company, of Richmond, VA recalled brown gravy, brown gravy with mushrooms, brown gravy with onions, turkey gravy, pork gravy, country sausage gravy, country style gravy, Alfredo sauce mix, Cajun gumbo mix, and Hollandaise sauce mix produced under the Sauer’s, Gold Medal, and Piggly Wiggly labels because they contain instant non-fat dry that was milk manufactured by the Plainview Milk Products Cooperative.
• Westport, CT-baded Lewis Laboratories International, Ltd. is recalled Weigh Down Chocolate Flavor Nutrition Drink Mix

Meanwhile, back in Plainview, MN, the Milk Coop says: it "is presently in the process of disassembling all equipment in question for cleaning and is taking other precautionary measures such as the use of anti-microbial surface coatings in order to ensure environmental safety."

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 Here are the highlights of an update just posted from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the sprout-caused Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak that has impacted at least 14 states:

•  A preliminary report of the investigation is available from CDC's, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, MMWR  [PDF - 114 KB].
• Since February 2009, 235 persons from 14 states have been infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Saintpaul. Patients range in age from < 1 to 85 years old with reports of 3% persons hospitalized and no deaths.
• Collaborative investigative efforts of many local, state, and federal public health, agriculture and regulatory agencies led to the implication of alfalfa sprouts.
• The alfalfa sprouts were produced at several sprout growers and appear to involve only seeds sold by one seed company that originated from one grower which strongly suggests that the seeds were contaminated.
• This outbreak may indicate a need to determine how well existing FDA guidance is being implemented (since it is voluntary), as well as to explore additional studies of measures that can be taken to prevent, detect, and eliminate contamination of seeds and sprouts.
• FDA and CDC continue to recommend that consumers not eat raw alfalfa sprouts, including sprout blends containing alfalfa sprouts, until further notice because the product has been linked to Salmonella serotype Saintpaul contamination. Other types of sprouts have not been implicated.

 Cases Infected with the Outbreak Strain of Salmonella Saintpaul Via Alfalfa Sprouts

Among the 234 persons with known illness onset dates, illnesses began between February 1 and April 15, 2009. Patients range in age from < 1 to 85 years; 68% are female. Among persons with available information, 3% reported being hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

The outbreak can be visually described with a chart (see below) showing the number of persons who became ill each day. This chart is called an epidemic curve or epi curve. It shows that illnesses began in early February, peaked in early March and have been tapering off in April. Illnesses that occurred after April 17, 2009 may not yet be reported due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported. This takes an average of 2 to 3 weeks. Please see the Salmonella Outbreak Investigations: Timeline for Reporting Cases for more details.

For more from the current update, go here 

Infections with the Outbreak Strain of Salmonella Saintpaul

 By Date of Illness Onset by State (n=234*)

 

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Salmonella found in the ConAgra Plant

As a follow-up to the recent Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is conducting an extensive inspection of ConAgra's Sylvester, Georgia processing plant. Samples collected by the FDA revealed the presence of Salmonella. The fact that FDA found Salmonella in the plant environment further suggests that the contamination likely took place prior to the product reaching consumers. Last week, tests by several states identified Salmonella in many open jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter recovered from consumers. In these instances, the Salmonella found in the plant and in the open jars matched the outbreak strain recovered from consumers who became ill.

Peanut Butter Toppings Part of Recall

FDA has learned that the ConAgra plant in Sylvester, GA, sent bulk Peter Pan peanut butter to its plant in Humboldt, TN. The three brands described below are part of the original Peter Pan recall. These brands have been recalled and are no longer being sold. However, some consumers may still have these products in their home.

Consumers who have any of the products listed below should discard them. Individuals who are not sure if the purchased product contains the recalled peanut butter topping should contact the store where the product was purchased.

Keep reading here

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