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Color-enhanced scanning electron micrograph showing Salmonella typhimurium (red) invading cultured human cells

The news headlines read of salmonella outbreaks and recalls.  I’m always so sad to see this as it almost always ends in very ill people or worse.

HVP produced by Basic Food Flavors Inc was detected to have been contaminated seven weeks ago.   Now it’s been confirmed  at the factory and all products produced there since Sept. 17, 2009 maybe recalled.  Although in my opinion how much has already been consumed?  I’m surprised that it has take seven weeks to confirm a problem in the factory.  Surely if a problem was suspected they could have moved a little faster on this.

To see the latest products in the recalls you can visit the FDA in the USA and in Canada visit Health Canada.  The latter as of yet has not added the recall list to their site.

You might be wondering what is HVP?  HVP is short for Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein this might sound like a natural product but it’s not.  HVP is basically MSG, if you have an allergy to MSG you can not eat products containing HVP since they contain large amounts of MSG.

HVP is made by boiling cereal grains or legumes in hydrochloric acid.  Then sodium hydroxide is used to neutralize it.  The acid breaks down the protein into amino acid components.  The resulting liquid contains glutamic acid a form of MSG.  This is the used as a flavor enhancer for processed foods.

There is plenty of documentation showing the dangers of MSG and similar food additives.  So one might ask why do people continue to eat it.

Jack Fastag, president of the Society of Flavor Chemists, said that without added flavorings, it would be impossible to preserve the type of consistency in taste that consumers have come to expect from brand label foods.

“It goes hand-in-hand with industrialization,” he said. “Consumers expect that certain products will taste the same every time, but in reality, that’s quite difficult to accomplish. Things will change from crop to crop, year to year.”

With the development of flavor technology, this type of consistency is made possible, he said, and is now indispensable to food manufacturers.^*

What do you think?  Is it the consumer that demands consistency in food taste?  Do you expect your burger or hot dog to always taste exactly like the last?  Or is the the manufacture that just claims the consumer does?

*Quote from Salmonella Scare Leads to FDA Recall of Processed Foods

Related articles

• March 2010 Nationwide Food Recall Expected to Grow – HVP Food Flavors Salmonella (wholefoodandmore.net)
• FDA orders widespread food recall (msnbc.msn.com)
• Products Recalled Over Salmonella (online.wsj.com)
• Contamination scare leading to food recalls in Canada (ctv.ca)

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