Bottled Water E. Coli Recall
Apparently, the problems with pathogens in the food supply have spread to processed water. The Niagara Bottling Company in Pennsylvania has issued a voluntary recall for water that was bottled at the company’s Allentown and Hamburg plants in that state because of a potential contamination with E. Coli.
The recall affects all spring water products produced at both plants between June 10, 2015 at 3 a.m. and June 18, 2015 at 8 p.m. The water was produced under 14 different brand names, including:
- 7-Eleven
- Acadia
- Acme
- Big Y
- Best Yet
- Morning Fresh
- Niagara
- Nature’s Place
- Pricerite
- Shaw’s
- Shoprite
- Superchill
- Western Beef Blue
- Wegman’s
The affected products are marked with codes that begin with either the letter F or A, with one digit indicating the production line number, followed by numbers indicating the day, then letters indicating the month, then the year and the time, based on a 24-hour time signature. In addition to the recall notice by Niagara Bottling, several supermarket chains carrying the products issued press releases to announce the recall.
Niagara Bottling claims it was notified that the spring source contamination occurred on June 10 and that they have since discontinued the use of the water source, since the owners of the source failed to notify the company in a timely manner. As of this date, there have been no reported illnesses. It is unknown at this time if other water bottling companies use the same source.
The fact that the water is contaminated with E. coli bacteria shows that, somehow the water came in contact with human or animal waste. The pathogen will just result in minor discomfort for many healthy people for anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks, but symptoms can be much worse for some, especially small children, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.
Some of the most common symptoms of E. coli infection, which will usually show up within 24 hours of infection, are severe abdominal pain, including cramping, serious watery diarrhea that can sometimes become bloody, nausea and vomiting. In some cases, symptoms can include headaches and fever. In some extreme cases, symptoms can result in hemolytic-uremia syndrome (HUS), which can lead to kidney disease or even kidney failure, or even death.
If you or a loved one have drunk this water or eaten any potentially contaminated food and become sick or died as a result, please contact the Foodborne Illness Safety Lawyer at Hill Law Firm, so that we can investigate the situation and protect your rights.