Consumers warned to trash suspect food

WASHINGTON -- People should immediately throw away more than 90 different products, from chili sauce to corned beef hash to dog food, produced at a plant linked to a botulism outbreak, the government warned Monday.

Castleberry's Food temporarily closed the 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 (FDA) 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.

So far, four cases of botulism have been reported: two in Indiana and two in Texas. All four people consumed Hot Dog Chili Sauce Original, a product made by Castleberry's.

Botulism is a rare but sometimes fatal illness caused by consuming foods containing botulinum toxin, which can cause paralysis of the arms, breathing muscles and legs. Symptoms, such as blurred vision and slurred speech, generally begin 18 to 36 hours after eating contaminated food.

The recommended method of removal dramatized health officials' concern: Consumers were asked to place the products in sealed double plastic bags before putting them in trash bins.

On Saturday, Castleberry's expanded its voluntary recall of canned meat products after 16 cans of chili sauce tested positive for the toxin. FDA officials said the cans showed signs of swelling, a telltale indicator of botulism contamination. The company specified more than 80 types of canned chili, beef stew, corned beef hash and other meat products in addition to the 10 products it had recalled Thursday. The products were sold under a multitude of brand names, including Kroger.

Bellevue-based grocery chain QFC said Monday that it had pulled recalled products from its shelves but couldn't say how much or what specific products had been pulled.

"We received updated information on this recall early on Sunday, so we sent out information to all our stores," QFC spokeswoman Kristin Maas said Monday. "It's a big list. We don't necessarily carry all of the items on the recall. Every store has a little bit different product."

It shouldn't be possible to find any of the recalled products at a QFC as of Sunday, Maas said. The stores also have blocked UPC codes in their systems so they can't be sold.

The company hasn't received any reports of people getting sick, she said.

Castleberry's officials said they were working with the FDA and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to determine just how widespread the problem is.

Although Castleberry is recalling everything made at the plant in Augusta, Ga., the only products linked to illness thus far are the chili sauces.

"So that we can devote all available resources to this investigation, we agreed to shut down our entire facility in Augusta. We will not process any more food there until the FDA and the USDA agrees it is appropriate to reopen," said Dave Melbourne, senior vice president for Castleberry's. "And, we have stopped all further product distribution from our centers."

The plant is expected to be closed for about a week, he said.

The FDA sees about 25 cases of botulism a year, mostly involving home-canned products. Typically, commercially canned foods are heated long enough and to high enough temperatures to kill the botulism spores. Melbourne confirmed the botulism occurred in the chili sauce because the product was undercooked.

"The current tests only indicate botulism toxin for the chili products, but because other products were also canned using the same equipment, we expanded the recall to include all brands that were canned on the same line," Melbourne said.

Several types of pet food, which Castleberry's packages for Natural Balance, are also being recalled.

Consumers can get full refunds by calling the company.

The number of people who have so far become ill from the botulism toxin pales compared with some recent food recalls. Last year's outbreak of E. coli from baby spinach resulted in 205 confirmed illnesses and three deaths.

Compiled from reports by The Associated Press, McClatchy Newspapers and Seattle Times staff reporter Brian Alexander