Food Safety Outbreak: Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
Basic Food Flavors, Inc. discovered in January 2010 that its plant was contaminated with salmonella, but plant managers continued to ship its flavor enhancer product, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), to food manufacturers. HVP is an ingredient in thousands of processed foods from chips to dressing.
Tests by Basic Food Flavors in January and February 2010 revealed salmonella in its Las Vegas-based HVP plant, according to FDA records, but the company continued shipping its product.
The FDA only learned of the problem when a customer who detected salmonella in HVP it had purchased from Basic Food Flavors alerted the agency. Following up on the customer’s complaint, FDA inspectors visiting the plant found brown residue on equipment, standing dirty water, odors, and other conditions that could promote the growth of bacteria.
The FDA issued a recall recommendation in March 2010 that affected thousands of products.
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Sources
For Consumers: The HVP Recall. FDA website. March 4, 2010, updated March 24, 2010
