Subscribe to this blog's feed« Essay: "On Fear and Going Vegan" |Main| Review/Recipe: "American Vegan Kitchen" »2010.05.21"Follow Your Heart" Products & Corporate Spin
Surprised I missed this recall of 21,000+ lbs. of "Follow Your Heart" Products in March 2010
"Chatsworth, CA – March 3, 2010 - Earth Island is conducting a voluntary recall on its distribution of the following Follow Your Heart brand products as a precautionary measure due to possible Salmonella contamination of a natural flavor from one of our suppliers.The recalled products contain natural flavor supplied by Basic Food Flavors of Las Vegas, Nevada. Follow Your Heart deli products are sold at grocery and health food stores and served in commissaries in the Southern California region. Follow Your Heart dressings are sold in grocery and health food stores nationwide."Yup, and according to their website:
"Each Follow Your Heart® Product is made with care for ingredient selection, freshness, and flavor."I wonder what the "natural flavor" was that could be contaminated by "salmonella" and why they were not doing periodic testings of same if there was a possibility of said contamination in the first place. Mindless trust in another vendor?
How does a food product get infected with salmonella?
"Salmonella lives in the intestinal track of humans and other animals, including birds. Salmonella is usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with animal feces. Salmonella present on raw meat and poultry could survive if the product is not cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature, as measured with a food thermometer.Salmonella can also cause foodborne illness (salmonellosis) through cross-contamination, e.g., when juices from raw meat or poultry come in contact with ready-to-eat foods, such as salads.
Food may also become contaminated by the unwashed hands of an infected food handler. Salmonella can also be found in the feces of some pets, especially those with diarrhea. People can become infected if they do not wash their hands after contact with these feces. Reptiles are particularly likely to harbor Salmonella. People should always wash their hands immediately after handling a reptile, even if the reptile is healthy" [source]
Well, that's encouraging. Also worth noting is that, over two months later (as of this post), they do not directly address WHAT the ingredient was in question, but allude to it indirectly in a post (that has a "recall" tag) saying they won't use HVP (hydrolyzed vegetable protein) in their products any more.
I think if they really cared, they'd own up to what the source of the contamination was, and (b) what steps they will take to prevent such from happening again (including regular testing of their products). That they won't directly address the (a) is quite disappointing. Even their press release doesn't give a direct link to the FDA's recall and mention that they are recalling some 21,498 lbs. of product.
Remember, just because a product is vegan, it doesn't mean that the company making the product isn't looking out for itself less than it is for it's customers (and the company making POM is an even more extreme example). It's easy to succumb to the perspective that because a company puts out a so-called "healthy" or "organic" product that they are not subject to the same cost-cutting, greed, shoddy practices, carelessness, and PR exaggeration as their non-organic competitors. A wise consumer, be he/she vegan or not, must be vigilant, not trust everything you read, and be an inquisitive consumer.
With the pervasiveness of the Internet, there's few excuses for not finding out what's in a product, who makes it, their corporate interests/integrity, and whether or not you're being taken for a ride.
Finally, if you minimize what you purchase of processed foods that come out of a can, box, bottle, or plastic bag, you can also minimize your risk of being affected by corporate carelessness and accidents. A sound strategy on many fronts, and an easy way to ignore, let alone be disaffected, by "corporate spin."
2010.05.21 at 10:07 in Food and Drink | PermalinkTechnorati Tags:follow your heart, food borne disease, hvp, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, recall, salmonellaTrackBackTrackBack URL for this entry:
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Comments
Horrible. This is why I always wash my hands after handling pretty much ANYTHING. I am also very fond of Purell!!
Posted by:Chaz |2010.05.22 at 16:43 Verify your Comment Previewing your CommentPosted by: |This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.
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