FAQs on Food-borne Illness and Mishandling of Food

Check your cabinets, fridge, and freezer for products that have been recalled because they contain a flavor enhancer known as HVP (hydrolyzed vegetable protein).  The recall affects only products containing HVP paste or powder distributed by Basic Food Flavors, Inc.  The problem is that some lots of this common flavor enhancer were contaminated with salmonella (http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/HVPCP/).  The recall was announced by the Food and Drug Administration on March 4.  The list of products that may be tainted has been growing rapidly—to 177 as of April 1.  

The kinds of products affected include gravy mixes, dips, pre-packaged meal products, snack mixes, soup mixes, stuffing, and more.  Some of these food items are not cooked before they’re consumed, so there is a risk of  becoming ill from the pathogens.  Here’s  a partial list of the brands on the FDA's recall list: Concord Foods, Follow Your Heart, Hawaiian, Homemade Gourmet, Great Value, Johnny’s Fine Foods, Kroger, McCormick, Oak Lake Farms, Pringles, Quaker, Reser’s, T.Marzetti,Trader Joe’s, and Ventura.

The statistics are staggering. A new study, just released on March 2, estimates that the total economic impact of food-borne illness in the U.S. is $152 billion annually.  (The average cost per medical case is $1,850.)  Does this mean that the cost of food-borne illness is increasing?  We can’t conclude that because the economic costs of these illnesses have not been examined comprehensively in the same way ever before.