Botulism in Green Beans?
Posted by
Dan FrithDecember 30, 2007 3:39 PMThe Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers about a possible contamination with Clostridium botulinum of canned cut green beans manufactured by New Era Canning Company, New Era, Michigan and labeled as "GFS Fancy Blue Lake Cut Green Beans." The products were distributed in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
Clostridium botulinum is the bacterium that causes botulism. Botulism is a potentially fatal form of food poisoning. People contaminated with the bacteria can have symptoms suc as doubled or blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty in swallowing, muscle weakness that moves progressively down the body, difficulty in breathing, abdominal distension and constipation. Botulism can even result in death due to respiratory failure although there have been a very small number of deaths in the U.S. in the last 50 years.
Health officials said that no one had presented symptoms of botulism so far. However, people experiencing any symptoms of the disease should immediately seek medical attention, especially that the period of incubation can be from two hours to two weeks.
Is there no end to the problems with our food production and distribution system? These serious problems should be caught way before the products make it to the local grocery store shelf! I expect more from the FDA!
For more information on this subject, please see our section on Defective and Dangerous Products.