Botulism found in green beans

Posted on December 27, 2007 by Food Poisoning Attorney

green beansThe discovery that 1,026 cans of green beens were possibly contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that causes botulism, resulted in a recall of the product last week.  The Food and Drug Administration issued a notice to consumers, which was subsequently distributed through the media.  According to MSNBC:

New Era Canning Company said it was recalling 171 cases of GFS Fancy Blue Lake Cut Green Beans with the lot code 19H7FL. Each case contained six cans in 6-pound, 5-ounce sizes.

The canned green beans were distributed to foodservice customers in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, a company statement said. They were sold through GFS Marketplace stores in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.

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Castleberry's plant reopens

Posted on September 17, 2007 by Food Poisoning Lawyer

Castleberry's, the company whose products were recalled this summer after confirmed botulism cases were linked to consumption of its products, will resume processing tomorrow after a two-month period when the company was shut down.  According to Examiner.com:

The company was green-lighted to reopen the plant last week by both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Dave Melbourne, a senior vice president at the company, in a prepared statement.

However, the production line that made the hot dog chili sauce will not placed into operation yet, company officials said.

"The investigation conducted by Castleberry's and by the regulatory agencies determined that mechanical issues with one processing system were the cause of any contamination," Melbourne said.

Melbourne did not give additional detail about the mechanical issues.

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