Basic Food Defends Salmonella Issue

Basic Food Flavors did not knowingly ship any product it believed had the potential to contain salmonella, the company said.

The maker of hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), a flavour enhancer used in processed foods, said repeated positive tests for salmonella at the plant were due to the company deliberately testing areas most likely to be contaminated.

The company was first notified of a possible contamination through the FDA’s Reportable Food Registry, when a customer found salmonella in HVP by routine testing.

Two weeks ago Basic Food issued a recall of all HVP, in powder and paste form, it had produced since 17 September 2009, according to foodnavigatorusa.

In Sacramento, California, the FDA is expanding its recall of about 10,000 possibly salmonella-infected food products containing HVP in local stores.