More Food Tied to StarLink Recalled

A U.S. food recall connected to StarLink genetically altered corn has broadened to include 1.45 million pounds of baking ingredients made by the nation’s second-largest food manufacturer, the Food and Drug Administration said.

ConAgra Foods Inc. recalled 25- and 100-pound bags of corn flour, grits, polenta, cornmeal and binders used by restaurants and institutions.

The company quietly began the recall in October, but it was not made public until the FDA published a weekly notice Wednesday of all U.S. food recalls underway.

ConAgra said it did not consider the action a recall because none of the institutional-sized bags of flour ever reached stores where consumers could buy it.

“We’re saying it was a voluntary market withdrawal,” a ConAgra spokeswoman said. “All the food was retrieved.”

The products were recalled because they may contain traces of StarLink corn, a variety not allowed in human food because of concerns it might cause allergic reactions in people. In 1998, the Environmental Protection Agency approved StarLink for use only in animal feed.

The items were milled at ConAgra’s facility in Atchison, Kan. “Everything listed on the notice comes to less than one day’s production at the mill,” the spokeswoman said.

The discovery of StarLink in taco shells in late September triggered a recall of more than 300 kinds of U.S.-made chips, tostadas and other snack foods made with corn flour. Food processors have been forced to begin testing raw ingredients to determine if any StarLink is present in supplies.

The ConAgra plant in Kansas that made the recalled items was closed for more than a week in October for thorough cleaning and tests after StarLink was detected.