Shrink in the Kitchen

The New York Times reported another product recall today.  Not Toyota. www.nytimes.com/2010/03/05/health/05food.html?ref=us

Salmonella.

Discovered?  By a customer who then alerted the F.D.A. as required by new legislation (2007).

This time it’s “hydrolyzed vegetable protein,” sold by Basic Foods Flavors, a Las Vegas based company.  The company sold the ingredient to companies all across America.  According to the NYT article, food manufacturers have recalled “more than three dozen products,” on the market since 9/17/09.  The F.D.A. said that more products are likely to be recalled.

For now, the products include:  Castella Imports’ Castella Chicken Soup Base, Marzetti’s Southwest Ranch Veggie Dip and Follow Your Heart’s Curried Tofu.

Not curried tofu!  Yes, curried tofu.  I’m sorry.

In addition to the specificity of this current recall, here is what is really fascinating:  According to the NYT article, “The F.D.A. learned of the Las Vegas contamination because of legislation passed by Congress in 2007 that required food manufacturers to alert the government when they find salmonella or other contaminants in ingredients from suppliers.  But the mandate took years to go into effect because the F.D.A. could not get its database off the ground. The delay may have contributed to more than 500 illnesses and at least eight deaths last year that were linked to contaminated peanut butter from the Peanut Corporation of America. At least one company that interacted with Peanut Corporation was aware of sanitation problems at the company’s plants but never alerted federal officials.  In September, the agency activated its contamination database. As a result, when one of Basic Food Flavors’ customers found salmonella in a batch of hydrolyzed vegetable protein, it was required to alert the F.D.A.”

So a company knew about the sanitation problems, but didn’t report it?  Makes me think of Harry Lyme in, “The Third Man,” profiting from diluted antibiotics.

It also drives home the point that just as regulation is needed for banks mucking with derivatives and credit default swaps, so it’s needed in the world of food.  Unlikely, though, since both parties benefit from lobby money that funds their stays in office.

Better learn to go homegrown, folks.

I still can’t get over the curried tofu.  Man!

Curried tofu salad with or without salmonella?  Who the heck knows?