FDA food recall urgent health threat castleberry hash chili soup even dog food botulism 10 million cans
Snippets from an article via Reuters
tens of millions of cans that may have been involved.
The recall by Castleberry’s originally affected 10 products. The expanded move involves more than 80 types of stew, chili, hash and other products as well as pet food sold under a variety of brand names.
Botulism is a potentially fatal illness. Symptoms include dizziness, double vision, difficulty in breathing and abdominal problems.
Officials said 16 out of 17 cans that have been tested have turned up positive for the bacterium that causes botulism.
Consumers with any questions are urged to view Castleberry’s Web site www.castleberrys.com. A toll-free hotline is also available at 1-800-203-4412 or 1-888-203-8446.
U.S. officials said an outbreak of botulism due to a commercially canned food is extremely rare and has not occurred in the United States in more than three decades.
update - days later people are still getting this form of food poisoning as many stores have the products still on the shelves. Several checks around the country have found the products still on the shelves in many smaller food stores.
August 5th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
more botulism in the US food supply news -
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumers should not eat certain brands of French-cut green beans because of concerns they could be tainted with the toxin that causes botulism, U.S. health officials warned on Friday.
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The green beans were manufactured by Lakeside Foods Inc. of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and packaged in 14.5-ounce cans, the Food and Drug Administration said.
The FDA said the beans may not have been processed adequately to eliminate the potential for botulinum toxin, which can cause a life-threatening illness.
“The canned green beans may cause botulism if consumed. FDA is providing this warning to make consumers aware of the possible risk of serious illness from eating these products,” an FDA statement said.
Lakeside Foods said on Wednesday it was voluntarily recalling 15,000 cases of green beans because of the botulism concern. No botulinum toxin has been found in any cans that were tested, David Aggen, Lakeside’s vice president of quality assurance and product safety, said in an interview on Friday.
The FDA said no illnesses had been reported due to consumption of the green beans as of August 1.
The green bean warning is unrelated to a recall last month of chili sauce, canned meat products and dog food made by Castleberry’s Food Co., a unit of Connors Bros. Income Fund’s Bumble Bee Foods division. Four people became seriously ill with botulism poisoning associated with eating Castleberry’s Hot Dog Chili Sauce, officials have said.
The FDA said the affected Lakeside French-cut green beans are sold nationwide under the brands Albertson’s, Happy Harvest, Best Choice, Food Club, Bogopa, Valu Time, Hill Country Fare, HEB, Laura Lynn, Kroger, No Name, North Pride, Shop N Save, Shoppers Valu, Schnucks, Cub Foods, Dierbergs, Flavorite, IGA, Best Choice and Thrifty Maid.
The warning applies to cans with the following codes:
EAA5247, EAA5257, EAA5267, EAA5277, EAB5247, EAB5257, ECA5207,
ECA5217, ECA5227, ECA5297, ECB5207, ECB5217, ECB5227, ECB5307.
Consumers who have the products should dispose of them immediately, the FDA said.
Botulism symptoms include dizziness, double vision, difficulty in breathing and abdominal problems. People with those symptoms who may have eaten the recalled green beans should seek immediate medical attention, the FDA said.