Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein Recall

In recent food-recall news, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, a flavoring agent used in foods ranging from soups to hot dogs, is being recalled after a batch produced by Basic Food Flavors of Las Vegas tested positive for Salmonella.

Though the risk of infection is considered low (cooking is supposedly affective enough to kill the contaminants in this case), Salmonella can still cause serious illness in children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems. Better safe than sorry. The recall includes products manufactured since September 17, 2009.

For some more info, here's an article that was in today's Times.

For a list of recalled foods, visit the FDA's website.

Not So Slim-Fast

Last week, the FDA issued a recall on ready-to-drink Slim-Fast diet shakes, regardless of flavor or best-by date, lot code, or UPC number. The recall is due to possible contamination with Bacillus cereus, a microorganism which can cause nausea and diarrhea, and vomiting.

I've never tried Slim-Fast, but I do know some people who drink it as a snack when they're on the go. If you know of anyone who would benefit from this information, pass it along.

Visit Slim-Fast online for more details .

Another Day, Another Beef Recall

While reading the paper this morning, I came across an article about another beef recall being put into action after two people died and more than a dozen people fell ill, possibly due to the same source of contamination: ground beef from a company called Fairbank Farms.

The voluntary recall, issued on Saturday by the company, includes 545,699 pounds of ground beef sold to retailers in 8 states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Some of the stores at which these products were sold include Price Chopper, Giant, Trader Joe's Wild Harvest, and Shaws.

While I know that cooking can kill a lot of the bacteria, I still get really nervous when I read stuff like this. It seems to be happening way too often. There is a lot that the consumer can do to lower their chances of falling ill, but if you're starting out with a contaminated product, there's not a whole lot you can do.

Since one of the few foods I don't like is ground beef, it's not a huge deal to me, but I know that my dad, for example, practically lives off of the stuff. I feel like when I read about these things, it's easy to feel like "oh, that's just something that happens to other people," but I'm sure that those people who get sick felt the same way.

While I'm not going to try to advocate a restrictive diet in which potentially dangerous foods are cut out (the list is way too long), I will say that events such as huge meat recalls should make people more concerned with knowing where their food comes from.