Health Law

Updates on sprouts salmonella outbreak and HVP salmonella recall

By Drew Falkenstein

Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Sprouts:

The CDC has issued its final update in the Salmonella outbreak linked to raw alfalfa sprouts, which caused 44 confirmed cases of salmonellosis in 11 states.  No deaths were reported, but 7 of 34 patients with available information were hospitalized, the CDC said. Illness onset dates ranged from Mar 1 to Jun 1.

The sprouts outbreak led J. H. Caldwell and Sons Inc. of Maywood, Calif., to recall several brands of alfalfa sprouts on May 21. The previous CDC update, on Jun 3, listed 35 cases in 11 states. California has had the most cases with 19; no other state has had more than 6.

Not including this outbreak, since 1990, raw or slightly cooked sprouts have caused an estimated 2,273 illnesses, through 37 outbreaks. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates that sprout-link outbreaks account for 40 per cent of all food-borne illness associated with produce.

Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein Recall

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked a Las Vegas, Nev., company called Basic Flavors Foods to report on corrective actions it has taken since Salmonella Tennessee was found earlier this year in hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) made by the firm. After the contamination was found in February, Basic Food Flavors Inc. recalled all the HVP it had produced since September 2009.

The FDA inspected the firm's processing facility in February and March, after a customer found Salmonella Tennessee in HVP from the company. The FDA's Jun 23 warning letter to the firm says inspectors found Salmonella in nine environmental samples, six of which contained Salmonella Tennessee that matched the strain in the HVP. In a March12 letter to the FDA, the company pledged to take a number of corrective steps. The FDA is asking the firm to report within 15 days the actions it has taken since then. The HVP contamination prompted the recall of 177 products containing the ingredient, according to a Food Safety News report, but no illnesses were traced to the contamination.

Full post as published by Food Poison Blog on July 01, 2010 (boomark / email).