You’ve probably heard about this, but if not you should be following Home Ec 101 because Heather is updating her site regularly as more products are pinpointed in the latest salmonella food safety scare. If you haven’t heard, a slew of foods containing Hydrolized Vegetable Protein (HVP) have been tainted.
And as one of her commenters pointed out, foods containing Hydrolized Vegetable Protein (HVP) should be avoided, salmonella dangers or not, as it’s a sneaky way that food processors get MSG into foods without having to state MSG in the ingredients. But if you have any of the following brands in your pantry, you should check the PDF that Heather links to on her site for more specifics.
Reser’s
Herbox
Concord Foods
McCormick
Delicioso
De la Casa
Fresh Food Concepts
HK Anderson
CVS
Safeway
Sunflower Markets
National Pretzel Company
Castella
Follow Your Heart (frozen, prepared meals, many vegetarian)
Great Value (Walmart’s generic, Ranch Chip Dip)
Hawaiian
Homemade Gourmet
Johnny’s Fine Foods
Oak Lake Farms
T. Marzetti
Trader Joe’s (Organic Creamy Ranch Dressing & Dip)
Thank you so much for helping spread the word. I caught it as a teen and it’s not an experience that comes highly recommended.
REALLY? Ugh. Scary. I worry about our raw milk, and buying butter and lard and such from the farm. I know no one is immune to the dangers of salmonella, no matter how we choose to eat.
Jo-Lynne, this is completely off topic but I cursed you this morning as I ran 2 miles with my dog. It felt like 20 miles… but I kept thinking about your running post so I kept running. Please tell me that I’ve miraculously lost 10 pounds as a result of that torturous run!!
Oh I wish. I still struggle with that ding-dang 5 lbs I gained last winter. I was hoping the exercise would rid me of my nemesis, but it is alive and well. Oh well, keeps me striving, right?
Thanks for the head’s up! This is yet another reason to stop buying processed foods in my opinion. Now I’ll be on the look out for HVP when I shop. Thanks!
Wow! I had NO idea on this… gonna go check my pantry… I do know that I have the TJ’s Ranch in my fridge.. yikes!
well THANK YOU – I just cracked open our jar of TJs ranch dressing this MORNING, and we have a half box left of the choc chip granola bars….
FUSTRATING!!
Off to find a recipe for ranch dressing – anyone?!
Not to plug my own stuff… Ok, to do just that: http://www.home-ec101.com/ranch-mix-a-fearless-friday-feat/ we use this all the time, the only ingredients that Jo-Lynne would frown on are the crackers (they thicken the dressing and act as filler).
LOL. Thanks, checking it out. There are crackers at the whole food stores without too much junk in them. I do keep crackers on hand to eat with cheese.
I wonder if there is something comparable to saltines. I guess a table water cracker would work?
I think a water cracker would work well, it’s just a thickener, not so much a flavor.
This is so overwhelming. Uggh. So is it in McCormick spices too? I will read more, but I can see why you eat so healthy – no need to worry about any of this huh? xo col
Well… with this latest news I was glad I don’t have a lot of processed foods in my pantry, but anything can get contaminated by salmonella, so I definitely do not feel exempt. And I do buy spices, I didn’t notice the McCormick spices. I guess I should check the PDF and be sure nothing I have in the house may be contaminated.
I have something for you…
http://www.womenslifelink.com/a-beautiful-award/
The current food recalls make me so glad I quit eating processed foods nearly 4 years ago. I’m not as in danger of getting contaminated by processed foods…and I don’t have to worry about the sneaky ways food manufacturers hide the additions of corn, soy, and MSG or other food preservatives into foods.