FDA says food recall is urgent health threat--millions of cans involved

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FDA says food recall is urgent health threat Mon Jul 23, 2007 7:49PM EDT Email | Print | Digg | Reprints | Single Page [-] Text [+] 1 of 1Full Size Featured Broker sponsored link Power. Price. Service. No Compromises. By Will Dunham 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. Castleberry's is a unit of Connors Bros. Income Fund's Bumble Bee Foods division. 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. "You're talking about tens of millions of cans that may have been

involved. That doesn't mean that's how many are still out on shelves. But that's sort of the scale," added Robert Bracket, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. TRACING SHIPMENTS U.S. regulators are trying to track down distribution records from the company, Bracket said, adding that officials view this as a nationwide recall. Botulism is a potentially fatal illness. Symptoms include dizziness, double vision, difficulty in breathing and abdominal problems. The cans that sickened the four people were produced at the plant on May 7 and May 8, officials said. Connors Bros. said it will keep the plant in Augusta, Georgia, closed until given the all-clear by health officials. "Production will not resume until FDA is satisfied that all conditions that resulted in this recall and these dangerous products have been corrected," Elder said, adding that the FDA last inspected the plant in February. Officials said 16 out of 17 cans that have been tested have turned up positive for the bacterium that causes botulism. "The decision was made to add an additional layer of protection and to assure the highest margin of safety by recalling all products produced on this line, regardless of the best-by date on the can," said Dave Melbourne, Castleberry's senior vice president. 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. (Additional reporting by Shallima Maharaj and Scott

Anderson in Toronto) © Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Again---products on recall list: Products both in US and Canada http://www.castleberrys.com/news_productrecall.asp Expanded Voluntary Product Recall Information - 7/21/07 Castleberry’s Food Company is expanding our voluntary recall to additional products. If you had previously determined your Castleberry’s products were not included in the recall announced on July 18, you should check them again using the updated information below.Castleberry’s is working closely with health officials to investigate possible contamination of these products. During this investigation, we are taking every step necessary to ensure the safety of the families that use our products every day.The expanded recall includes the products listed below with ALL “best by” and code dates. (The recall originally announced on July 18 affected only 10 products with “best by” dates from APR30 2009 through MAY22 2009)The Great Value Chili products included in this recall are distributed and sold in Canada ONLY. The Great Value brand in the United States is not associated with Castleberry’s or this recall. We greatly apologize for any confusion.You can also review our frequently asked questions page and the news release for additional information. Frequently Asked Questions News Release Complete List of Recalled Items Brand Product Can Size UPC Barcode Austex Beef Stew 15oz 30300 90815 Austex Chili with Beans 15oz 30300 91015 Austex Chili with Beans 19oz 30300 92519 Austex Chili no Beans 15oz 30300 97715 Austex Chili no Beans 19oz 30300 97719 Austex Onion Hot Dog Chili Sauce 10oz 30300 97101 Austex Hot Dog Chili Sauce 10oz 30300 99533 Best Yet Chili with Beans 15oz 4218740842 Best Yet Corned Beef Hash 15oz 4217841082 Big Y Chili with Beans 15oz 18894 80425 Big

Y Chili no Beans 15oz 18894 80424 Big Y Corned Beef Hash 15oz 18894 80225 Black Rock Chili with Beans 15oz 30300 01715 Bloom Hot Dog Chili Sauce 10oz 25439 92448 Bryan Chili no Beans 10oz 53400 35264 Bryan Chili no Beans 15oz 53401 30200 Bryan Chili with Beans 15oz 53400 30205 Bryan Corned Beef Hash 15oz 53400 30110 Bryan Hot Dog Chili Sauce with Beef 10oz 53400 30010 Bunker Hill Chili no Beans 10oz 75266 04112 Bunker Hill Spicier Chili no Beans 10oz 75266 04224 Bunker Hill Hot Dog Chili Sauce 10oz 75266 04152 Castleberry's Barbecue Pork in Barbecue Sauce 10oz 30300 00402 Castleberry's Barbecue Pork in Barbecue Sauce 14.5oz 30300 00415 Castleberry's Barbecue Beef 10oz 30300 00602 Castleberry's Beef Stew 15oz 30300 00815 Castleberry's Brunswick Beef Stew Chicken & Beef 15oz 30300 00315 Castleberry's Chili with Beans 15oz 30300 01015 Castleberry's Chili no Beans 10oz 30300 07701 Castleberry's Chili no Beans 15oz 30300 07715 Castleberry's Corned Beef Hash 15oz 30300 00915 Castleberry's Creamed Chip Beef Gravy 10oz 30300 05150 Castleberry's Georgia Hash 15oz 30300 00215 Castleberry's Hot Chili with Beans 15oz 3030007217 Castleberry's Hot Dog Chili Sauce 10oz 3030000101 Castleberry's Onion Hot Dog Chili Sauce 10oz 30300 07101 Castleberry's Sausage Gravy 10oz 30300 05130 Cattle Drive Beef Stew 15oz 30300 01530 Cattle Drive Chicken Chili with Beans 15oz 30300

01525 Cattle Drive Chili no Beans 15oz 30300 01520 Cattle Drive Chili with Beans 15oz 30300 01515 Firefighters Chicken Chili with Beans 15oz 73725 00413 Firefighters Chili with Beans 15oz 73725 00411 Firefighters Chili no Beans 15oz 73725 00412 Food Club Corned Beef Hash 15oz 36800 80204 Food Club Chili with Beans 15oz 36800 80504 Food Club Chili no Beans 15oz 36800 80404 Food Lion Hot Dog Chili Sauce 10oz 35826 06911 Goldstar Original Chili 10oz 24575 00001 Goldstar Chili 15oz 24575 00005 Goldstar Tex-Mex Chili with Beans 15oz 24575 00008 Great Value (Canada Only) Hot Chili with Beans 15oz 81131 79995 Great Value (Canada Only) Chili with Beans 15oz 81131 79994 Kroger Chili with Beans 15oz 11110 83930 Kroger Chili no Beans 15oz 11110 83908 Kroger Beef Stew 15oz 11110 83928 Kroger Hot

Dog Chili Sauce 10oz 11110 83942 Lowes Foods Chili with Beans 15oz 41643 01097 Lowes Foods Chili no Beans 15oz 41643 01092 Lowes Foods Corned Beef Hash 15oz 41643 01094 Meijer Chili with Beans 15oz 41250 95221 Meijer Chili no Beans 15oz 41250 95220 Meijer Corned Beef Hash 15oz 41250 95229 Meijer Hot Dog Chili Sauce 10oz 41250 85862 Morton House Chili With Beans Beef & Chicken 15oz 75266 65829 Morton House Chili With Beans Beef & Chicken 15oz 75266 65993 Morton House Corned Beef Hash 15oz 75266 65830 Paramount Chili with Beans 15oz 75266 00732 Paramount Chili no Beans 15oz 75266 00731 Paramount Hot Dog Chili Sauce 10oz 75266 00510 Paramount Chili Hot Dog Chili 15oz 75266 00526 Piggly Wiggly Chili no Beans 10oz 41290 37355 Piggly Wiggly Chili no Beans 15oz 41290 37354 Piggly Wiggly Chili with Beans 15oz 41290 37252 Piggly Wiggly Corned Beef Hash 15oz 41290 37357 Prudence Corned Beef Hash 15oz 41141 00015 Southern Home Chili no

Beans 10oz 38259 48713 Southern Home Chili no Beans 15oz 07880 15340 Southern Home Chili with Beans 15oz 07880 15341 Southern Home Corned Beef Hash 15oz 07880 15359 Steak 'n Shake Chili with Beans 10oz 51844 00120 Thrifty Maid Chili with Beans 15oz 21140 21370 Thrifty Maid Corned Beef Hash 15oz 21140 21375 Thrifty Maid Hot Dog Chili Sauce 10oz 21140 21367 Triple Bar Chili no Beans 15oz 30300 05805 Triple Bar Chili with Beans 15oz 30300 05804 Triple Bar Chili with Beans

Slow Cooked 15oz 30300 05801 Value Time Beef and Chicken Chili with Beans 15oz 11225 42159 Canned Pet Food Products Brand Product Can Size UPC Barcode Natural Balance Eatables for Dogs Irish Stew With Beef,Potatoes & Carrots

15oz 23633 59860 Natural Balance Eatables for Dogs Chinese Take Out WithSauce With Vegetables and Chicken 15oz 23633 59861 Natural Balance Eatables for Dogs HOBO Chili withChicken & Pasta 15oz 23633 59863 Natural Balance Eatables for Dogs Southern Style DumplingsWith Chicken & Vegetables 15oz 23634 59862

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