Posted on 10/07/2006 12:38:26 AM PDT by Aussiebabe
Botulism case said tied to carrot juice
TAMPA, Fla. - Investigators believe botulism toxin from bottled carrot juice paralyzed a woman, the fourth person thought to be poisoned by bacteria in the drink.
The unidentified woman is unresponsive and has been hospitalized since mid-September, said Jylmarie Kintz, epidemiologist for the Hillsborough County Health Department.
Three people in Georgia experienced respiratory failure and remain hospitalized on ventilators since drinking the bottled carrot juice a month ago, according to federal officials.
The trio were from Washington County, Ga., and shared a meal Sept. 7 that included carrot juice made by Bolthouse Farms, the Atlanta-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control said Friday.
The Food and Drug Administration said the victims may have improperly handled the juice after purchase. Fresh carrot juice is low in acid, which means it must be kept refrigerated to prevent the growth of bacteria.
Both bottles were consumed by the victims within their "best used by" date and came from different lots, the CDC said.
The FDA is investigating other possible causes and has issued a warning to consumers not to drink Bolthouse Carrot Juice with a use-by date of Nov. 11 or earlier.
Bolthouse Farms of Bakersfield, Calif., issued a voluntary recall for the juice last week. The juice as distributed in every state and in Mexico, Canada and Hong Kong with the labels "Bolt House Farms 100% Carrot Juice," "Earthbound Farm Organic Carrot Juice," and "President's Choice Organics 100% Pure Carrot Juice."
Tim Warner, a Washington-based public relations representative for Bolthouse Farms, referred consumers to Bolthouse Farms' company Web site for additional information about the recall.
Warner said all of the company's other products remain available to consumers. He encouraged consumers to refrigerate all perishable products.
Botulism poisoning symptoms include double vision, droopy eyelids, trouble speaking or swallowing and paralysis on both sides of the body that progresses from the neck down.
ping
Are we looking at more organically grown
produce?
The media has been silent on the spinach case.
Perhaps they have not reached a conclusion.
Veggie terrorism?
If unsterilized juice comes in the same kind of bottle that is sold on unrefrigerated shelves in the juice aisle, someone could well forget to refrigerate it after it gets home.
Face it. If you're drinking canned carrot juice, you probably wanna die...
They can't disclose the fact that their precious criminant workers are out there crapping on the produce.
I there were not such a negative reaction among the public to irradiation, these stories would never happen.
Irradiation is a safe and economical way to kill bacteria on foods.
We drink the bolthouse carrot juice all the time but dumped our supply.
We called the company who refferred us to their website which only came up a picture no info was accessible.
I agree dump it if you have it.
We buy about 8 bottles a month.
It will be cranberry juice untill that all clears up.
Bolthouse coldpresses its carrot juice and it is supposed to be put in the fridge.
It has about a two week window on date to consume.
They make a great carrot juice, OJ, tomato.
I used to make my own but with time constraints Bolthouse was a great alternative.
Wouldn't pasteurization work as well?
Of course, then the raw food nazis would go ballistic....
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