Castleberry’s Food Company says it plans to restart its Augusta, Georgia plant sometime this week, following a decision by federal regulators to suspend the plant’s operating license earlier this month.  The Augusta plant was the same one that had shut down for more than two months last year, after canned foods made there were found to be contaminated with botulism toxin.

In July, Castleberry’s initiated a food recall after four cases of botulism poisoning were tied to Castleberry’s hot dog chili sauces. Tests had confirmed that two Texas children and an Indiana couple were suffering from botulism. All four of those victims had eaten one of Castleberry’s hot dog sauces. The recall was later expanded to include 80 types of sauces, beans, stew, chili, hash and pet foods produced at the company’s plant. The Castleberry’s hot dog chili sauce botulism outbreak was the first related to commercially canned foods in more than forty years. (more…)

The New Era Canning Company is issuing yet another botulism recall, the fourth since late December. This time, New Era of New Era, Michigan is recalling all cans of vegetable products in #10 cans—large cans containing between six and seven pounds—which may have been processed under conditions which could have led to contamination by Clostridium botulinum, the bacterial that causes botulism, a possibly life-threatening illness.

Botulism is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin produced by that bacterium. The classic symptoms of food-borne botulism include double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and muscle weakness. Infants appear lethargic, feed poorly, are constipated, have a weak cry, and poor muscle tone. These symptoms are indicative of the muscle paralysis caused by the bacterial toxin; left untreated, symptoms may progress to cause paralysis of the arms, legs, trunk, and respiratory muscles. Symptoms generally begin 18 to 36 hours after eating contaminated food, but can occur as early as six hours or as late as 10 days. The respiratory failure and paralysis that occur with severe botulism may require a patient to be placed on a ventilator for weeks; however, if diagnosed early, botulism can be treated with an antitoxin. While this can prevent patients from worsening, recovery still takes weeks. Also, physicians may try to remove contaminated food still in the stomach by either inducing vomiting or administering enemas. (more…)

Botox and Myobloc have been linked to 16 botulism deaths and more hospitalizations due to botulinum toxin spreading inside the bodies of those patients. In response, Public Citizen, a U.S. consumer group, is calling for stronger warnings on the drugs following reports of the deaths. Public Citizen asked U.S. authorities to require the strongest possible warning—the black box—to be included on Allergan Inc.’s Botox and Solstice Neurosciences Inc.’s Myobloc.

Botox is best known for smoothing facial wrinkles but is medically approved for treating cervical dystonia, or rigid neck muscles; Myobloc is only approved for the neck condition. Both injections are made with forms of the botulinum toxin, which blocks nerve impulses to muscles, relaxing them. (more…)

New Era Canning is recalling canned beans for a third time amid botulism fears. More concern about potential food poisoning prompted Michigan’s New Era Canning Company to expand its two earlier product recalls to now include all canned green beans and garbanzo beans distributed nationwide in the last five years. This is the third botulism-related recall issued by New Era Canning Company since December 21st.

Earlier this month a records review identified that cans from lots of Mexican style chili beans, green beans, and dark red kidney beans shipped to food service and retail customers may not have been properly cooked. In late December, New Era voluntarily recalled 1,026 cans of green beans because of contamination concerns discovered through Food and Drug Administration (FDA) testing. Also, the FDA inspected New Era, along with other low-acid canned food (LACF) manufacturers, following four cases of botulism in consumers who ate canned hot dog chili sauce in the summer of 2007.

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New Era Canning Company has issued yet another canned bean recall over botulism fears.  According to a notice posted on the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Website, New Era Canning Company of New Era, Michigan is recalling several more varieties of canned beans, including Mexican style chili beans, green beans, and dark red kidney beans that were shipped to food service and retail customers.  A record review by New Era Canning revealed that some of the cans from each lot may not have been adequately cooked.  Undercooking canned foods can create an environment where botulism spores can grow.  In December, New Era Canning issued a recall for just over 1,000 cans of green beans because of botulism concerns.

Botulism is an extremely dangerous disease that can lead to paralysis and even death. The disease generally appears between 6 hours and 2 weeks after eating a contaminated food. Symptoms of botulism include blurred vision, drooping eyelids, muscle weakness, slurred speech and difficulty swallowing. Muscle weakness usually appears first in the shoulders, and travels progressively down the body. If not treated properly, botulism can paralyze breathing muscles. Victims can spend months on ventilators until the botulism toxin is out of their system. Anyone who ate a recalled New Era product who is now experiencing any of these symptoms needs to seek medical attention immediately.

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A canned green bean recall has been issued amid botulism fears. New Era Canning Company in Michigan said Friday that it was voluntarily recalling 1,026 cans of green beans because they may be contaminated with bacteria that cause botulism, a life-threatening illness.  New Era Canning Company said it was recalling 171 cases of GFS (Gordon Food Service) Fancy Blue Lake Cut Green Beans with the lot code 19-H-7FL and UPC 939-0111-873.  Each case contained six cans in six-pound, five-ounce sizes.  The canned green beans were distributed to food service customers in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia and were sold through GFS Marketplace stores in Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee.  The potential contamination was discovered through testing by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Clostridium botulinum can cause life-threatening illness or death; however, no illnesses have been reported to date.  Consumers should not eat the beans even if they do not look or smell spoiled.  “New Era Canning in conjunction with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Michigan Department of Agriculture is thoroughly evaluating all processes and procedures to determine the cause of the problem,” the company said.

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