Campbell Soup Revives Hundred Year Old Soup Recipe

A cool article in Fortune magazine about the Campbell Soup Company resurrecting one of its earliest soup recipes - a Beefsteak Tomato Soup recipe from 1915.  In sticking with the original recipe, the Company had to find a local tomato supply.  One change that was made was reducing the amount of salt.

Back in the day, there were no large supermarkets, but rather small grocery stores dotted the neighborhoods. Here, commercially processed foods such as canned soups and sliced bread were first sold, becoming staples in the diets of those hard working Americans.  These commercially made foods made lives easier for those people who worked long hours in the coal mines, steel mills, and clothing factories.

Fortune 

http://fortune.com/2016/12/19/campbell-soup-old-soup-recipe/
What Campbell Learned From a 101-Year-Old Tomato Soup Recipe

Almost all Americans have a few old family recipes on file to make beloved, home-made meals. At Campbell Soup, these recipes can go back a little further than a generation or two.

Internet Soups Recalled Due to Improper Process

A New York firm is recalling soup packed in jars after FDA found that the company was not using validated processes.  The product were marketed and sold via the internet.

By regulation, companies processing canned soups, which are generally low acid canned foods, must have a validated (or tested) process and that process must be filed with the FDA.  With more companies using non-traditional channels to sell products, such as the internet or farmers' markets,  it is easier for companies to get products into commerce and avoid oversight.  Then we end up with cases like this.

A process must be validated to show it can achieve a 12 log reduction of Clostridium botulinum spores.  If a process has not been validated to accomplish this, then is impossible to know whether the product will be safe.  Validation includes determining where the cold point is on the jar and then determining the processing time needed in order to achieve sufficient amount of heat at that cold spot.

Looking at the Island Soup website and the Team page, there seems to be a lot of chiefs, but no technical person listed as part of the team.  This too is occurring more often.  Entrepreneurs come up with new products, but fail to research them properly.

FDA Website
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm519531.htm
Island Soups Company, Inc. Recalls Six Varieties of Island Soups Brand Products Because of Possible Contamination With Clostridium Botulinum
For Immediate Release
September 7, 2016

Botulism and Potato Soup - CDC Report 7/8/11

In two separate cases this year as reported by CDC,  individuals became ill with botulism following consumption of improperly stored potato soup.  In each case, refrigerated RTE potato soup was purchased from retail and then tasted by the consumer after prolonged storage at room temperature (even though the label stated Store in Refrigerator). 

A few interesting notes:

1)    It is becoming more common for retailers as well as manufacturers to make refrigerated RTE products with no secondary hurdles (preservatives) to prevent Clostridium botulinum growth. So thus refrigeration is the only control factor. This creates a huge risk with regard to temperature abuse….spores of Clostridium, surviving the heat treatment used in making soup, will grow if the product is stored at temperatures greater than 50ºF to 54ºF. (for Proteolytic strains such as Type A.  Non-proteolytic strains can grow as low as 38F, but have less heat resistance so would not survive the initial boil when making soup).

2)    Both persons suffered severe illness for weeks even though they just tasted the soup, a testament of the toxicity.  Botulinum toxin is regarded as one of the most potent toxins known to man. (If they had hard boiled the soup for ~10 min before consuming, it would have inactivated the toxin, and although it would have tasted bad, it would probably not have caused botulism)

3)    Consumers do crazy things – First, refrigerated product was stored at room temperature for a long time, and two, even though it smelled bad and was swollen, they still tried it.  Reminds me of an old Cheech and Chong skit.

Notes from the Field: Botulism Caused by Consumption of Commercially Produced Potato Soups Stored Improperly --- Ohio and Georgia, 2011

Weekly

July 8, 2011 / 60(26);890

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6026a5.htm?s_cid=mm6026a5_w

In January and April 2011, CDC provided antitoxin for treatment of two persons with toxin type A botulism associated with consumption of potato soup produced by two companies. On January 28, 2011, an Ohio resident, aged 29 years, was hospitalized after 5 days of progressive dizziness, blurred vision, dysphagia, and difficulty breathing. The patient required mechanical ventilation and botulism antitoxin. On January 18, he had tasted potato soup from a bulging plastic container, noted a bad taste, and discarded the remainder. The soup had been purchased on December 7, 2010, from the refrigerated section of a local grocer, but it had been kept unrefrigerated for 42 days. He was hospitalized for 57 days and then was transferred with residual weakness to a rehabilitation facility.
On April 8, 2011, a Georgia resident, aged 41 years, was hospitalized after 4 days of progressive dizziness and dysphagia. The patient developed respiratory distress, required mechanical ventilation, and was treated with botulism antitoxin. On April 3, she had tasted potato soup purchased from a local grocer, noted a sour taste, and discarded the remainder. The soup, stored in a plastic container labeled "keep refrigerated" in letters 1/8 inch tall, had been purchased on March 16, but had been left unrefrigerated for 18 days. She was hospitalized for 16 days and then was transferred with residual weakness to a rehabilitation facility.
Botulism is caused by a paralyzing toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. C. botulinum spores are present in soil and can be found on raw produce, especially potatoes and other root vegetables (1). If a low-acid food such as potato soup is stored unrefrigerated in an anaerobic environment (e.g., a sealed container), without a barrier to bacterial growth, spores can germinate, resulting in bacterial growth and botulinum toxin production (2). Because heating food to a temperature of 185°F (85°C) for 5 minutes inactivates the toxin, proper preparation also is an important safeguard (3).
Improper storage has been documented in previous botulism outbreaks associated with commercially produced, chilled foods. Since 1975, 19 U.S. botulism cases were linked to six such products. Demand for prepared, chilled foods is increasing (4). Labels advising refrigeration might be ignored or not noticed, and do not warn about the danger of consuming unrefrigerated food. The Food and Drug Administration is reexamining labeling requirements. Storage at an improper temperature also can occur before products reach consumers (5). To inhibit the growth of C. botulinum and other microbes, an acidifying agent or other microbial inhibitor, such as citric or phosphoric acid, can be added to prepared, chilled foods before they are sealed in a package. This procedure was used successfully to reduce the danger of botulism from commercial garlic-in-oil products after two outbreaks (6).

Reported by

Mandy P. Seaman, Alana C. Sulka, Gwinnett County, Georgia Board of Health. Melissa Tobin D'Angelo, Georgia Dept of Community Health. Mitchell A. Blass, St. Joseph's Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia. Randy L. Mills, Ohio State Univ Hospitals East, Columbus; Jane Carmean, Ohio Dept of Health. Carolina Lúquez, Susan Maslanka, Kelly A. Jackson, Barbara E. Mahon, Patricia M. Griffin, Div of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; Katherine A. O'Connor, Ethel V. Taylor, EIS officers, CDC. Corresponding contributor: Katherine A. O'Connor, kaoconnor@cdc.gov, 404-639-0195.

References

1. Angulo FJ, Getz J, Taylor JP, et al. A large outbreak of botulism: the hazardous baked potato. J Infect Dis 1998;178:172--7.
2. Sheth AN, Wiersma P, Atrubin D, et al. International outbreak of severe botulism with prolonged toxemia caused by commercial carrot juice. Clin Infect Dis 2008;47:1245--51.
3. Sobel J. Botulism. Clin Infect Dis 2005;41:1167--73.
4. Peck MW. Clostridium botulinum and the safety of minimally heated, chilled foods: an emerging issue? J Appl Microbiol 2006;101:556--70.
5. Kalluri P, Crowe C, Reller M, et al. An outbreak of foodborne botulism associated with food sold at a salvage store in Texas. Clin Infect Dis 2003;37:1490--5.
6. Morse DL, Pickard LK, Guzewich JJ, Devine BD, Shayegani M. Garlic-in-oil associated botulism: episode leads to product modification. Am J Public Health 1990;80:1372--3.