Plainview recalls products on Salmonella scare

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Plainview Milk Products Cooperative is voluntarily recalling a number of dairy products due to possible Salmonella contamination, but said on Monday there had been no reports of illness related to its product.

Plainview supplies various dairy products to distributors and manufacturers, but does not sell directly to the public.

The recall follows a U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation that found some Plainview processing equipment contaminated with Salmonella. The investigation was sparked by a U.S. Department of Agriculture test that found a contaminated dairy shake powder produced by one of the firm's customers, the FDA said in a press release on Sunday.

Plainview was identified as a supplier of one of the main ingredients in the dairy shake powder, the FDA said.

The Plainview, Minnesota-based company is voluntarily recalling instant nonfat dried milk, whey protein, fruit stabilizers, and gums used as thickening agents that it produced over the past two years, although it said on Monday that none of its direct products had tested positive for Salmonella.

"Product safety is our first priority and none of the Plainview products that were tested by government agencies and our independent labs found any signs of product contamination. After the product cleared quality testing and left our facility it was blended with other ingredients and that's when contamination was found, but in situations like this it's in the public's best interest to be overly cautious," Plainview General Manager Dallas Moe said in a statement on Monday.

"This recall is an appropriate precaution to protect public health," FDA Associate Commissioner David Acheson said in a statement on Sunday.

Salmonella is a bacteria found in poultry, eggs, and dairy products that can cause fever, diarrhea, and vomiting. It can be deadly, but most people recover without treatment, according to the FDA.

Every year, about 40,000 people are reported ill with Salmonella in the United States, but many more cases are never reported, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(Reporting by Clare Baldwin in San Francisco; Editing by Edwin Chan, Carol Bishopric and Richard Chang)