Seasoning on snacks found tainted with salmonella

A seasoning made with imported Chinese ingredients used on recalled snack foods was contaminated with salmonella, a company executive said Tuesday. The snack foods sickened dozens of people.

The seasoning, used on Super Veggie Tings Crunchy Corn Sticks and Veggie Booty snack foods, tested positive for the bacteria, said Robert Ehrlich, chief executive of Robert’s American Gourmet Food Inc. The “veggie” seasoning’s ingredients came primarily from China, the company said.

Also Tuesday, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture said it found a strain of the bacteria called salmonella Wandsworth in a Veggie Booty sample. The rare strain matched the genetic fingerprint of the type that made consumers ill in multiple states, Minnesota officials said in a release.

The Sea Cliff, N.Y., company recalled its Veggie Booty last week after it was associated with 54 cases of salmonella poisoning in 17 states. Many of those infected reported eating Veggie Booty.

The company expanded the recall Monday to include Super Veggie Tings Crunchy Corn Sticks because it used the same seasoning.

The recall is only the latest in a growing list to involve Chinese-made products found to be tainted, defective or otherwise dangerous. In recent weeks, there have been recalls of Chinese tires, toy trains and toothpaste.