FDA Issues Urgent Warning
I posted a few days ago about a recall of products due to botulism contamination. The FDA and the company involved have greatly expanded the recall. The FDA is calling this urgent and is pleading with consumers to find and destroy these potentially contaminated products.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A recall of canned meat products and dog food made at a Georgia plant due to botulism fears could involve tens of millions of cans that pose an urgent public health threat, U.S. officials said on Monday.
U.S. food regulators appealed to consumers and retailers to find and dispose of the cans.
Two people in Texas and two others in Indiana remain seriously ill and hospitalized with botulism poisoning associated with eating Castleberry's Hot Dog Chili Sauce, officials said.
"This is a very big recall," David Elder of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's office of regulatory affairs told reporters, deeming it an "urgent public health matter."
"These products can hurt people. And they have to be off the store shelves. And consumers have to discard any that they have at home," Elder added.
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.
Castleberry's Food Co. said on Saturday it had voluntarily expanded a recall of hot dog chili sauce and canned meat products originally announced on July 18 due to a risk of botulinum toxin, a bacterium that can cause botulism.
I can't recall seeing this kind of wording coming out of the FDA before. They are seriously worried about this. Here is the website with a list of all the products that have been identified for recall. There may be tens of millions of cans involved, folks. The recall is for all cans bearing these labels, regardless of production codes "or best by" dates.
By feeblemind, Tuesday, 24 July , 2007 @ 5:22 pm
What I can’t figure out is how the botulin toxin remained in the food. If my feeble memory serves, botulin toxin is destroyed by heat and I thought food had to be sterile when it went in the can? Otherwise, the can will swell from bacterial activity. So how can there be toxin in a perfectly normal looking can? Anybody know?
By Gaius, Tuesday, 24 July , 2007 @ 5:33 pm
As I recall, the botulism toxin is not destroyed by heat. The bacteria should have been - if the correct temperature was reached - but even a bit too low and you have problems.
And yes, a swelled can is a real danger sign.
By feeblemind, Tuesday, 24 July , 2007 @ 10:17 pm
I googled botulism, and the second listing is from the CDC. Scrolling down that page to “preventing botulism”, they say that the toxin IS destroyed by heat. They recommend boiling home canned veggies for 10 minutes if you suspect they may be contaminated. Clostridium is a wicked bug. It plays merry hell with baby calves too.
By Gaius, Tuesday, 24 July , 2007 @ 10:40 pm
I stand corrected. But 10 minutes? It isn’t easily broken down by heat, then. It is very nasty, indeed.