Experts stated that information is there that products having a commonly used food flavoring ingredient might be contaminated with salmonella will have an impact on the entire food industry.

Jeffrey Farrar, Food and Drug Administration associate commissioner for food protection, said, “The risk to consumers probably is low, but the recall could encompass a large number of products. We do suspect the amount of products is going to increase over the next several days or weeks."

According to FDA, products that might face the heat include dips and dressings, soups, chilies, stews, sauces, hot dogs, gravies, seasoned snack foods. The list of recalled food is available at foodsafety. gov.

No unsafe slaughterhouse practices were reported, USDA said.

Flavoring ingredient due to which the products are recalled is hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or HVP. It is made by a small number of companies. Basic Food Flavors of North Las Vegas, Nev. Had produced the HVP involved in the recall.

Don Schaffner, a professor of microbiology and food safety expert at Rutgers University said, "It's widely used. It's a fairly inexpensive flavor enhancer."

The FDA said that the companies making the products will have to give a kill step that is valid else their products will be recalled.

Farrar says, “Though Basic Food's HVP was probably used in 10,000 products, many will be covered by the kill step, so it is not known what percentage will be involved in the recall.”

It was reported that Tests show that salmonella tennessee bacteria had contaminated the HVP.