On March 4, the US Food and Drug Administration announced the recall of a commonly used flavor enhancer known as Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein or HVP – after samples of the product were found to contain a bacterium identified as Salmonella Tennessee.  The bacteria were found in HVP manufactured by Basic Food Flavors Inc. of Las Vegas, Nevada. 

HVP is a flavor enhancer used in thousands of processed food products such as soups, sauces, dips, dressings, chilis, stews, hot dogs, gravies, seasoned snack foods, and numerous other products.  Fortunately, many products that contain HVP involve cooking prior to eating, which would kill any bacteria present.  However, items that contain HVP but do not require cooking prior to ingestion are currently in the process of being recalled.  Here is the link to the list of products that have been recalled, or are currently in the process of being recalled:  Searchable Database of Recalled HVP-Containing Products.

Concerns over our nation’s food safety have been brought to the forefront in the past year owing to recalls associated with contaminated meat, cookie dough, peanut butter, and contaminated spinach/packed salads.  Now, this latest recall of an item that is present in literally thousands of foods has numerous food safety advocacy groups deeply concerned.  There is no doubt that preventive measures that would eliminate the possibility of mass contamination of foods are essential and pressing.  The multiple food recalls of the last year have significantly undermined public confidence in the overall safety of our nation’s food supply chain.

Notwithstanding the above, here is a thought I would like to leave you with:  HVP and similar other “flavor enhancers” are industrial products that are used on a mass scale in processed foods.  Is it really that radical a thought to consider that we CAN make foods delicious without such industrial agents?   As a research scientist who happens to have a professional culinary background, I have studied both traditional and contemporary food preparation methods utilized in  cultures around the world.  Of note is the fact that for centuries, food has been prepared across the globe and in disparate cultures – with only the purest, most natural flavoring agents  (such as locally grown herbs, spices, etc.) – a technique which, incidentally, has been historically demonstrated to have a “built-in” safety factor.   However, it seems to me that only now, in our present times in which the reliance on artificial, chemical, and largely “industrial” flavoring agents has skyrocketed, our worries about food safety have skyrocketed also.

I believe that the solutions to what often seem like mass, insoluble problems are actually quite simple, and inevitably lie in falling back on the fundamentals.  We can live without processed foods, or at the very least , we can minimize their use.   The evidence of history shows that those who do are the better for  it.

On June 24, Colorado firm, JBS Swift Beef Company recalled approximately 41, 280 pounds of beef products that may have been contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.   It now appears that the recall has been expanded to 380,000 pounds of beef products following illness outbreaks linked to beef consumption in multiple states.  These beef products were shipped to distributors and retail establishments in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.  For a full list of recalled beef products, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Due to the fact that contamination caused by E. coli O157:H7 can be potentially deadly, the recall has been listed as Class I, or one that translates to high health risk.  Even if you do not live in one of the states mentioned above, you may want to review guidelines for safe beef consumption (link  below).

Anyway you look at it — whether its dinner (beef) or dessert (cookies) — its quite obvious that our current times require us to be much more alert than usual with respect to keeping on top of the news of the day.  Our health and our lives depend on it – literally.

Resources:

Beef Recall June 24 News Release, Recall List, and Beef Safe Consumption Guidelines:

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_034_2009_Release/index.asp

In recent times, we have had food scares with infected spinach, peanut butter, even pistachio nuts.  But, no one expected a serious problem with good old all- American cookie dough!

Some of you may have been following the multi-state outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections that have recently been linked to the eating of Nestles’ raw refrigerated pre-packaged cookie dough.  Here is the tally thus far:  As of Monday, June 22, 2009, 70 persons have been confirmed to be infected with a strain of E. coli O157:H7.  (See map below for states where infected cases have been confirmed).  Of these, 30 persons have been hospitalized, and 7 have been confirmed to have developed Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS).  Although most people usually recover from an E. coli O157:H7 infection, about 5-10% go on to develop HUS, which is a severe, life-threatening complication of an E. coli O157:H7 bacterial infection.

For now, it remains a somewhat bewildering mystery as to how a deadly E.coli strain found its way into cookie dough (This strain is usually transmitted through the faeces of certain animals).  Given the size of the outbreak, it seems unlikely that the bacteria were transmitted to the product by the unclean hands of an ill plant worker or two.  It appears more likely that the transmission may have occurred via infected flour, milk, eggs, or other ingredient(s) in the dough.  However, contaminated milk or eggs are usually associated with Salmonella, not E. coli poisoning; thus, a lot of questions remain unanswered with respect to this issue.

Here are some cautions for those of you who may have eaten some raw cookie dough this past week, or had plans to make some Nestle’s cookies this week:

1.  Do not eat any varieties of prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough due to the risk of contamination with E. coli O157:H7.  If you have any prepackaged, refrigerated Nestle Toll House cookie dough products in your home, throw them away.

2.  Do not eat cookie dough of any kind, raw!  This product is meant to be consumed only after baking.  However, at present, it is advisable not to handle the pre-packaged dough even for baking purposes, as handling the infected dough is likely to spread contamination.

3.  If you have recently eaten pre-packaged, refrigerated Toll House cookie dough and experienced any symptoms such as vomiting, cramping or diarrhea, contact your doctor immediately.

4.  To the best of our knowledge, Nestle’s Toll House Morsels are presently being considered safe for consumption, and the recall does not apply to them.

For more details for those of you who may be dealing with an unfortunate infection, and for those who would like to have more information on this topic, click on the resources provided at the bottom of this post.

As an aside, whatever happened to making cookies the old-fashioned way?  It does not take more than a few minutes to mix flour, butter, sugar and eggs — and I don’t believe there is any quality control in the world more rigorous than the one you can exercise yourself!   This is another example of how the more removed we get  from making and producing food ourselves, the more likely we are to recede from good health as well.  The choice is always ours to make.

Resources:

NESTLE’S USA

http://www.nestleusa.com/PubNews/PressReleaseLibraryDetails.aspx?id=133CC131-A79F-4E84-9C43-C9F99FE5BC99

FULL LIST OF NESTLE’S RECALLED PRODUCTS

http://www.verybestbaking.com/products/tollhouse/product-recall.aspx

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL, Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report

http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2009/0622.html