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At least eight more companies, including McCormick's, have recalled their products since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration acknowledged on Friday that an obscure ingredient, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, could be tainted with Salmonella -- creating a chain-reaction of recalls of foods using the flavor-enhancer.

HVP is similar to Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) and can lead to similar issues for those sensitive to MSG, including headaches. Salmonella was discovered in the Las Vegas plant of Basic Food Flavors, a major HVP supplier.

A recent string of food recalls over the potential for Salmonella poisoning that started with little detail or connection has grown into a massive series of recalls affecting potentially thousands of products using an obscure ingredient that is tainted: Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP).

HVP, a flavor enhancer that typically contains MSG and is found in a wide variety of foods including chips and dips, salad dressings, soups and even burritos. Because the ingredient can be used in almost anything, the scope is potentially staggering.

Over the past week, at least a half-dozen companies have announced related recalls and given the enormity of the list of the lot numbers being recalled by the manufacturer -- Basic Food Flavors of Las Vegas -- it's apparent it's going to keep growing.

Among the product recalls announced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration so far:

• Reser's potato salads and dips
• Marzetti refrigerated dips
• Castella chicken soup base
• Hawaiian brand potato chips and onion rings
• A wide range of Follow Your Heart brand prepared food products

The recalls include products made over several months and, due to the shelf life of many of the products, many are likely to still be in people's homes. HVP tested positive for Salmonella at the Basic Food plant, according to some of the companies announcing recalls.

A database of products known to have used this ingredient is now available on the FDA site.

Because the FDA does not have the authority to issue recalls itself, the agency urges companies it knows have a product with health concerns to issue recall notices (the FDA then posts those notices). Because the releases are done by the individual companies they lack uniformity and don't always identify the source of potential contamination or identify it in the same way, creating some confusion about links between different recalls.

UPDATE: The FDA later in the day issued a statement acknowledging the scope of the potential contamination.

"Our investigators were able to identify this problem before any illnesses occurred," FDA commissioner Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg said in the statement. "While the investigation is continuing, the agency is supporting reasonable steps to continue to protect the public health."

The FDA said that it investigated the Basic Food Flavors plant after one of its customers reported finding Salmonella Tennessee in one of the lots of HVP.

The agency took samples and found that strain of Salmonella in the company's equipment. All HVP made their since Sept. 17, 2009 is being recalled.

Salmonella poisoning can cause a wide range of gastrointestinal problems and can be particularly dangerous to the young, old and those with compromised immune systems.

After years of virtual silence about the labeling tricks food companies play on consumers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration came out with a loud and clear statement that it will start cracking down on misleading, or flat out wrong, labels.

FDA officials sent warning letters to 17 food manufacturers, telling them that 22 different products are in violation of federal law. On top of that, FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg, published an open letter to the food industry highlighting the importance of being honest with consumers.

"Today, ready access to reliable information about the calorie and nutrient content of food is even more important, given the prevalence of obesity and diet-related diseases in the United States," Hamburg wrote. "The use of front-of-pack nutrition symbols and other claims has grown tremendously in recent years, and it is clear to me as a working mother that such information can be helpful to busy shoppers who are often pressed for time in making their food selections."

Fears that its granola bars may cause salmonella poisoning have caused Trader Joe's to expand its recall of Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars from specific lots to every box that was made, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced.

Other brands, which were also produced in the same California plant of Ralcorp's Bloomfield Bakers, are also being recalled. They include Health Valley Organic Peanut Crunch, Dutch Apple and Wildberry Chewy granola bars and Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars.

An already massive recall of salami and Italian sausage linked to a 44-state salmonella outbreak is expanding again.

Well over 1 million pounds of meat made at the Rhode Island facilities of Daniele International has been recalled since late January, with another 116,000 pounds added this week.

In addition to meat sold under the Daniele label, its products also were sold under the popular deli brands Boar's Head and Dietz & Watson.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent a warning letter to the Kellogg Co. after government testing showed the company's Georgia facility that manufactures Eggo waffles was contaminated with the listeria bacteria and had numerous sanitation violations.

The letter, just made public, is a potential public relations nightmare as the company refills freezer cases short on Eggo products after the discovery of listeria in buttermilk waffles at the plant last summer and subsequent flooding. The contamination and flooding forced the company to pull products from the market and then halted production.

Trader Joe's Chocolate Chip Chewy Coated Granola Bars are being recalled because they could be contaminated with salmonella, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced.

The granola bars are made for Trader Joe's by Bloomfield Bakery. The boxes and each of the wrapped bars have the date/lot codes 16JUL10H2 and 17JUL10H1.

Trader Joe's store nationwide carried the 7.4 ounce boxes of granola bars.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers to beware that a counterfeit version of the over-the-counter diet drug alli is being sold on the Internet.

GlaxoSmithKline, which makes alli, told the FDA that its lab tests showed the counterfeit version does not contain orlistat -- the active ingredient in alli. Fake alli contains sibutramine, the main ingredient used in the prescription appetite suppressant Meridia.

In its warning the FDA said part of the danger of the fake alli is how the medication would interact with other drugs the user is taking. Sibutramine also should not be used by people with certain medical conditions and is supposed to be administered under the watch of a physician.

Some of the most popular over-the-counter drugs are being recalled due to a foul smell and reports of vomiting, diarrhea and other stomach upset, the McNeil Consumer Healthcare announced.

The drugs have what is described as a moldy, musty or mildewy smell that has been attributed to the breakdown of a chemical used on the pallets cases used to store packing materials for the medicine. More than 6 million bottles in specific lots of Tylenol Arthritis Pain Formula were recalled last month for the same reason.

Certain lots of the following drugs are being recalled:

• Tylenol
• Motrin
• Benadryl
• Rolaids
• St. Joseph's aspirin
• Simply Sleep

Consumers are urged to stop using the medicine and either return or dispose of it.

To identify whether you have one of the lots affected by the recall, go to McNeil's recall page and click on the particular medicine that you are checking or call the company at 888-222-6036 between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. Eastern weekdays and between 9 a.m.and 5 p.m. on weekends.

"In addition to the product recall, McNeil Consumer Healthcare is continuing their investigation into this issue and is taking further actions that include ceasing shipment of products produced using materials shipped on these wood pallets and requiring suppliers who ship materials to our plants to discontinue the use of these pallets," the company, a division of Johnson & Johnson, said in a written statement. "We will continue to closely monitor and evaluate the situation and consult with the FDA."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants to shut down a cheese company the agency accused of operating under unsanitary conditions and producing cheese contaminated with Listeria.

The FDA filed for a permanent injunction in U.S. District Court against New Jersey-based Quesos Mi Pueblito, one of the owners, Felix Sanchez, and the plant supervisor, Jesus Galvez.

The plant, which makes a variety of Mexican cheeses sold in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Florida, Virginia and the District of Columbia has been subject to recalls due to the contamination. Inspections by state and federal officials revealed the unsanitary conditions, the FDA said. In August, cheese made over a six month period was recalled.

If you purchased drugs online or at a so-called telepharmacy, you could be a target for extortionists, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns.

The FDA issued a warning that people posing as FDA agents -- as well as law enforcement officers from other agencies -- are contacting people who bought drugs through those channels in an attempt to scare their prospective victims into paying "fines."

McNeil Consumer Healthcare is recalling all 100-count bottles of its Arthritis Pain caplets after reports of a foul smell that has led to nausea, stomach pain and diarrhea.

The company describes the smell as moldy, musty or mildewy and said consumers have complained it about it leading to a variety of gastrointestinal issues. McNeil, a division of Johnson and Johnson, said in a written statement that it believes the odor is due to the breakdown of a chemical used to treat wooden pallets that transport and store packaging materials.

McNeil told the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that effects of the chemical "were temporary and non-serious."

A limited number of bottles were recalled in November, but the company expanded it to all 100-count "EZ-Open" bottles. The company said it expects to come out with a replacement line of the over-the-counter pills in January.

If you have one of the recalled bottles, you should stop using it and contact McNeil to find out how to get a refund or replacement bottle. A list of the lot numbers being recalled can be found here.

For more information, call 888-222-6036 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern Time weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern on weekends. You may also go to the company web site or use their email contact form

Patients in hospices and nursing homes are suffering needlessly because they cannot get pain medicines, medical care professionals say. The issue: A combination of regulatory changes, manufacturing snags and physicians' reluctance to prescribe the drugs in light of a growing number of abuses of opioid painkillers, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone.

Shane Craycraft, administrator at a Middleton, Ohio, nursing home, says residents there sometimes wait two or three days before receiving much needed pain-relief medication. "There's too long of a delay,'' he says. "It's significantly affecting pain management.''

Greensboro, N.C., hospice nurse Leslie Millikin also sees an access problem. This year, she says, the supply of liquid morphine, a crucial pain medicine, has been extremely limited."If [patients] can't swallow, they need this [medication]," says Millikin.

Every can of the diet aid Slim-Fast sold in the United States is being recalled after dangerous bacteria was discovered by the manufacturer during a routine inspection, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced. A recall of the diet drinks is also being instituted in Canada.

Consumer products giant Unilever United States, Inc., which owns the Slim-Fast brand, said an unknown portion of an estimated 10 million ready-to-drink cans are tainted with Bacillus cereus, a micro-organism that can cause diarrhea, nausea and/or vomiting. The company said it's recalling every can of Slim-Fast drinks, spanning some 50 varieties, as a precaution and urges consumers to discard them. Other Slim-Fast products -- such as meal replacement bars and powdered drink mixes -- are not included in the recall.

For people with peanut allergies, beware these innocent-looking jelly beans. Jelly Belly is recalling 7.5-ounce cylinders of 49 Flavors Jelly Belly jelly beans, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

The label does not mention that the ingredients include peanut butter and peanut flour.

"People who have an allergy to peanuts or a severe sensitivity to peanuts run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these ingredients," the FDA said in its recall announcement.