The side yard of
Basic Food Flavors in North Las Vegas isn't pretty and neither is the FDA's description of the facilities after they inspected it with
standing water and residues throughout the facility. Most alarming is the
FDA's announcement that the
company knew its product was contaminated with salmonella. It's illegal to produce and distribute contaminated food. On March 5,
the same day this picture was taken, the company had a
section of its website dedicated to the recall of approximately 250 of its products. The list however doesn't include the final processed food
products that include its hydrolyzed vegetable protein. I tried to get an interview to understand what the product is and
went into the lobby. There I spoke to an employee who declined an on-camera interview, but I asked what I was smelling in
the lobby and what they were producing. The employee said it was basically soy sauce. Knowing that soy sauce is pretty salty,
I said "basically salt?" and the employee said yes. In additional research I found that the product is used similar
to MSG. The product is used in many health foods as well as snack foods like some flavors of Pringles. While no one has been
sickened apparently, this story raises the question of what is Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein and how widely is it used. Also,
why are "flavor enhancers" such as this necessary in todays food?
