A salmonella alert on Friday was stretching across the U.S. and causing recalls on hundreds of products, distributed to almost every grocer in central Ohio.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday first released an alert about a flavor-enhancing ingredient used in hundreds of foods, Consumer 10's Chuck Strickler reported.

Workers were pulling products from store shelves containing Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Strickler reported.

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The government said its inspectors caught the problem before anyone got ill or died, Strickler reported.
   
Inspectors found salmonella in HVP manufactured by Basic Food Flavors Inc., based in Las Vegas.

The HVP is used in many processed foods, including soups, sauces, stews, dips, seasoned snack foods and dressings.

Some of the first products mentioned were vegetable and chip dips from Columbus-based Marzetti Co. earlier this week, with stores given notice to remove them from their shelves.

"We had the Marzetti recall and had to deal with that," said Ohio Grocers Association spokesman Tom Jackson.

Jackson said the OGA alerted its 700 members around the state, Strickler reported.

The OGA and FDA are updating their lists of new recalled items daily on their Web sites and include all products made with the HVP ingredient from the Las Vegas company since Sept. 17.

"The key is that it's widespread and we have to deal with it, because I can tell you food safety is the No. 1 priority for grocers and anyone in the food manufacturing and distribution business," Jackson said.

It is still too soon to tell if the HVG-related recall will be as widespread as last year's peanut butter recall, Strickler reported.

Jackson said he expects more products to be added to the list over the coming weeks.

"It's a wait and see proposition for us," Jackson said.

Kroger said it has begun contacting customers who bought the affected products to return them to the store for a full refund.

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