FDA wants urgent action on food recall in botulism case; Castleberry's closes Georgia plant

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The government warned consumers and retailers Monday to take urgent action to rid their shelves of more than 90 different products, from chili sauce to corned beef hash to dog food, produced at a plant linked to a botulism outbreak.

Castleberry's Food Company closed the suspect plant.

"You're talking tens of millions of cans that may have been involved," said Robert Brackett, director of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

The company has hired an outside firm to visit more than 8,500 retailers around the country in an effort to quickly get recalled products off store shelves.

Read more: http://nwitimes.com/articles/2007/07/23/ap-state-in/d8qii6vg0.txt

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List of products from the FDA website:

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_033_2007_expanded/index.asp

The following products are subject to recall:
12-pack of 15-ounce cans of “Austex Beef Stew.”
15- and 19-ounce cans of “Austex Chili with Beans.”
12-pack of 15-ounce cans of “Austex Chili No Beans.”
12-pack of 19-ounce cans of “Austex Chili No Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Best Yet Chili with Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Best Yet Corned Beef Hash.”
15-ounce cans of “Big Y Chili with Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Big Y Chili no Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Big Y Corned Beef Hash.”
15-ounce cans of “Black Rock Chili with Beans.”
24-pack of 10-ounce cans of “Bryan Hot Dog Chili Sauce with Beef.”
24-pack of 15-ounce cans of “Bryan Corned Beef Hash.”
24-pack of 10-ounce cans of “Bryan Chili No Beans.”
24-pack of 15-ounce cans of “Bryan Chili No Beans.”
24-pack of 15-ounce cans of “Bryan Chili with Beans.”
10-ounce cans of “Bunker Hill Chili no Beans.”
10-ounce cans of “Bunker Hill Spicy Chunky Chili no Beans.”
10-ounce cans of “Castle Chili No Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Castleberry’s Beef Stew.”
15-ounce cans of “Castleberry’s Brunswick Beef Stew Chicken and Beef.”
10-ounce cans of “Castleberry’s BUNKER HILL, ORIGINAL Chili NO BEANS.”
15-ounce cans of “Castleberry’s CHILI WITH BEANS.”
12-pack of 15-ounce cans of “Castleberry’s Chili No Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Castleberry’s Corned Beef Hash.”
10-ounce cans of “Castleberry’s HICKORY SMOKED, OVEN ROASTED, WITH SKINS, BARBECUE PORK IN BARBECUE SAUCE.”
12-pack of 15-ounce cans of “Castleberry’s Hot Chili with Beans.”
10- and 14.5-ounce cans of “Castleberry’s BBQ Pork.”
10-ounce cans of “Castleberry’s Sausage Gravy.”
10-ounce cans of “Castleberry’s Creamed Chip Beef Gravy.”
15-ounce cans of “Cattle Drive Beef Stew.”
15-ounce cans of “Cattle Drive Chili with Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Cattle Drive Chili no Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Cattle Drive CHILI WITH BEANS.”
8-pack of 15-ounce cans of “Cattle Drive Chili with Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Cattle Drive Chicken Chili with Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Firefighter Chicken Chili with Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Firefighter Chili with Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Firefighter Chili no Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Food Club Chili with Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Food Club Chili no Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Food Club Corned Beef Hash.”
15-ounce cans of “Georgia Hash.”
10- and 15-ounce cans of “Goldstar Chili.”
15-ounce cans of “Goldstar Tex Mex Chili with Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Great Value Chili with Bean.” (Canada distribution only)
15-ounce cans of “Great Value Hot Chili with Beans.” (Canada distribution only)
15-ounce cans of “Kroger Beef Stew.”
15-ounce cans of “Kroger Chili with Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Kroger Chili no Bean.”
15-ounce cans of “Lowes Chili no Bean.”
15-ounce cans of “Lowes Chili with Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Lowes Corn Beef Hash.”
15-ounce cans of “Meijer Chili with Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Meijer Chili no Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Meijer CORNED BEEF HASH.”
12-pack of 15-ounce cans of “Morton House Chili with Beans Beef and Chicken.”
15-ounce cans of “Morton House Corned Beef Hash.”
10- and 15-ounce cans of “Paramount Hot Dog Chili Sauce.”
15-ounce cans of “Paramount Chili no Bean.”
15-ounce cans of “Paramount Chili with Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Piggly Wiggly Chili with Beans.”
10- and 15-ounce cans of “Piggly Wiggly Chili no Bean.”
15-ounce cans of “Piggly Wiggly Corned Beef Hash.”
12-pack of 15-ounce cans of “Prudence Corned Beef Hash.”
15-ounce cans of “Southern Home Chili with Beans.”
10- and 15-ounce cans of “Southern Home Chili no Bean.”
15-ounce cans of “Southern Home Corned Beef Hash.”
10-ounce cans of “Steak N Shake Chili with Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Thrifty Maid Chili with Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Thrifty Maid Corned Beef Hash.”
15-ounce cans of “Triple Bar Chili with Beans.”
12-pack of 15-ounce cans of “Triple Bar Chili with Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Triple Bar Chili no Beans.”
12-pack of 15-ounce cans of “Triple Bar Chili no Beans.”
15-ounce cans of “Value Time Beef & Chicken Chili with Beans.”

Each can label or can end bears the establishment number “EST. 195” inside the USDA seal of inspection. The canned meat products were distributed nationwide, with the exception the Great Value chili products which were exported only to Canada. The problem was discovered during an investigation into illnesses in Indiana and Texas. The investigation led to a recall by FDA of three types of meatless hotdog chili sauce. The FDA’s recall release can be found at www.fda.gov. That recall is also being expanded to include all meatless products produced at the plant that might still be in commerce.

On July 21, the FDA also issued an expanded recall for the following hot dog chili sauce products and Natural Balance Eatables dog food varieties:
10-ounce cans of “Austex Onion Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “30300-97101.”
10-ounce cans of “Austex Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “30300-99533.”
10-ounce cans of “Castleberry's Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “30300-00101.”
10-ounce cans of “Castleberry's Onion Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “30300-07101.”
10-ounce cans of “Bunker Hill Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “75266-04152.”
10-ounce cans of “Kroger Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “11110-83942.”
10-ounce cans of “Meijer Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “41250-85862.”
10-ounce cans of “Food Lion Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “35826-06911.”
10-ounce cans of “Bloom Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “35826-06911.”
10-ounce cans of “Thrifty Maid Hot Dog Chili Sauce” bearing the UPC code “21140-21367.”
15-ounce cans of “Irish Stew with Beef Dog Food” bearing the UPC code “23633-59860.”
15-ounce cans of “Chinese Take Out with Sauce with Vegetables and Chicken Dog Food” bearing the UPC code “23633-59861.”
15-ounce cans of “Southern Style Dumplings with Gravy with Chicken and Vegetables Dog Food” bearing the UPC code “23633-59862.”
15-ounce cans of “Hobo Chili with Chicken Pasta Dog Food” bearing the UPC code “23633-59863.”

[C_U_L8R]

1. no wonder they want an urgent recall

that stuff could take out every republican in the land


(and golly what a fine line between people food and dog food.. wait where's that line again?)

[Dr.Phool]

7. And at least a few Democrats.

I put some of that shit on a couple of hot dogs last week.

I have 2 cans of Thrifty Maid ready to go back to Winn-Dixie tomorrow. maybe I can exchange it for the " beans with no botulism" style. The other 2 cans were going to be served at my cook-out 10 days ago. In attendance were one candidate for State Rep, one for State Senate, a former and probable congressional candidate, and several consultants.

Good thing we had clams, mussels, and crab-legs instead.

[C_U_L8R]

8. Good thing it didn't get ya Doc

what's been happening with our food is pretty darn scary

[youngdem]

2. Question: So how do you tell when canned chili has poisoned you?

Isn't the NORMAL reaction to shit your lungs out, whilst it feels like they are on fire as it explodes forthwith from your ass?

I mean, how can you tell when you have had an ADVERSE explosive event? This must be some REALLY grim shit.

What really still stuns me is that people inject a version of this shit into a perfectly good face to paralyze it to improve their appearance!

[Berry Cool]

6. Botulism doesn't cause explosive shit, that's how.

It's not like salmonella. Its primary effect is not on your digestive system, but on your nervous system.

It paralyzes all the muscles in your body, and eventually you can't breathe, and you die. And that's just from eating a teeny tiny amount of poisoned food.

Just so's you know. If you eat something and start getting dizzy and blurry vision, and have trouble swallowing, get medical help right away. This is not the kind of poisoning that's going to send you to the bathroom first. If you don't act quickly, it's going to send you to the morgue.

[OnyxCollie]

3. “Chinese Take Out with Sauce with Vegetables and Chicken Dog Food”

WTF?

[Purveyor]

4. I'm hoping that is the description of the dog food but it sounds as

though dog food was processed on the same equipment used to produce 'human grade' food.

[Dr.Phool]

9. Have they recalled Michael Vicks Chinese Food yet?

[CreekDog]

5. Same factory equipment or same food?

Follow me for a minute:

The company recalled it's "Beef Stew" for example sold under store brand names.

But the company also recalled it's "Beef Stew" FOR DOGS. I'm not
going to test my hypothesis, but you probably know what I'm getting
at.

Natural Balance Eatables for Dogs Irish Stew With Beef, Potatoes & Carrots 15oz
(for dogs)

Cattle Drive Beef Stew 15oz (for humans)

But are they the same product?

http://www.castleberrys.com/news_productrecall.asp

[Donnachaidh]

11. Have you ever opened a can of Castleberry's *anything*?

I made the mistake of purchasing a can of what was labeled *beef stew* a few years back and when I looked at it, it resembled really nasty looking canned dog food. SERIOUSLY. And smelled worse. I cannot imagine anyone eating any of their products. I hope the plant closing is permanent. :puke:

[hatrack]

10. Ooh! The Bush FDA wants urgent action! They're sending both inspectors!

They're looking for one of those little bubble lights they can slap on top of the FDA's 1998 Ford Contour to convey an air of extra urgency!

[Paulie]

12. wonder what the cause will be

Retort not up to temp/pressure/time or fill equipment that wasn't cleaned properly for a year or so.

[mile18blister]

13. Great. So I'm tossing my Ralphs branded chili just to be safe.

Krogers is the parent company of Ralphs - out here Ralphs sells both Krogers and Ralphs branded food. I bought the chili just before the original recall began and have watched the list grow and grow. This was supposed to be part of the emergency food supply everyone says I need. I buy big bags of macaroni, mix it with chili, and get 2 or 3 large tasty meals out of one 15oz can of chili. It's easy to make, and the ingredients can be stored for a year or two. Now what?

Do I need to mention that I both really pissed and really scared?

[Hekate]

14. Kick. Thanks for the comprehensive list. Our food supply is getting scary.

:kick: