Food recall could be largest in North America: FDA

OTTAWA — About 50 Canadian food companies manufactured snacks and other processed foods made with an ingredient that has been recalled due to possible salmonella contamination, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tuesday.

In the past six days, a batch of the flavour enhancer hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) that was found last month to be contaminated with salmonella has resulted in the recall of more than 100 items in the U.S. and 11 in Canada, including five imports and six products that were made here. They include No Name and Compliments soup mixes, Family's Best potato chips, two dips from Sabatini's Gourmet Foods, and Mom's Pantry popcorn seasoning.

Catherine Airth, associate vice-president of operations, said the agency is continuing to work with the dozens of Canadian manufacturers to determine if there were a kill step for their products during production, such as a cooking or boiling process that kills the bacteria prior to consumption. That work began on Feb. 26, a day after Nevada-based Basic Food Flavors, Inc., informed its clients of the HVP recall.

"I think we're in a good spot in the sense we know where it's gone, we just have to continue that work all the way through," said Airth.

Uncooked products, such as flavoured chips, snacks and dips put consumers at higher risk and will be subject to recalls.

Separately, the United States Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday released an inspection report into its ongoing investigation, which it says could balloon into the largest food recall in North American history because the additive is used in thousands of processed foods.

The FDA probe began over a month ago when a client of Nevada-based Basic Food Flavors, Inc., found salmonella in HVP shipped from the company. The FDA then inspected its Las Vegas processing plant and identified salmonella in the company's processing equipment.

The newly released inspection report shows Basic Food Flavors received the first of three reports of positive environmental samples from its private testing laboratory on Jan. 21, but did not stop distribution until Feb. 15.

The FDA report notes, "after receiving the first private laboratory analytical results (dated Jan. 21) indicating the presence of salmonella in your facility, you continued to distribute HVP paste and powder products until Feb. 15, 2010."

All HVP manufactured since last September is caught up in the recall. This means millions of kilograms of a potentially contaminated additives were distributed in bulk over a five-month period, including an undisclosed amount shipped to Chemroy Canada Inc., a specialty chemical and food ingredient distributor to Canadian food manufacturers.

Ed Dempsey, Chemroy Canada's food industry manager, said Tuesday the company doesn't conduct any spot product tests, but requires such suppliers as Basic Food Flavors to provide certificates of analysis "so that when we're bringing that product in, we have a high confidence that the product meets the specifications that the supplier has stated."

In this instance, the paperwork showed no product contamination, said Dempsey, who handed over Chemroy's client contact list and other relevant paperwork to CFIA within 24 hours of the Feb. 25 recall.

To date, there have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of the recalled products, U.S. and Canadian authorities said.

Food contaminated with salmonella may not look or smell spoiled, but consuming food contaminated with these bacteria may cause salmonellosis, a food-borne illness.

In young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems, salmonellosis may cause serious and sometimes deadly infections. In otherwise healthy people, salmonellosis may cause short-term symptoms, such as high fever, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea.