1996 Odwalla E. coli outbreak

Disease outbreak in the United States February 2025 1996 Odwalla E. coli outbreak Escherichia coli O157:H7 United States Washington state October 30, 1996 October 7 – November 5, 1996 Contaminated apple juice sold by Odwalla Inc. 70 1 The 1996 Odwalla E. coli outbreak began on October 7, 1996, when American food company Odwalla produced a batch of unpasteurized apple juice using blemished fruit contaminated with the E. coli bacterium, which ultimately killed a 16-month-old girl and sickened 70 people in California, Colorado, Washington state, and British Columbia, of whom 25 were hospitalized and 14 developed hemolytic uremic syndrome.Cody SH, Glynn MK, Farrar JA, Cairns KL, Griffin PM, Kobayashi J, Fyfe M, Hoffman R, King AS, Lewis JH, Swaminathan B, Bryant RG, Vugia DJ An outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection from unpasteurized commercial apple juice Ann Intern Med February 2, 1999 130 3 202–209 10.7326/0003-4819-130-3-199902020-00005 10049198 27811829 https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/0003-4819-130-3-199902020-00005 8 March 2022 subscription Odwalla made and marketed unpasteurized fruit juices for the health segment of the juice market.https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/04/us/deadly-bacteria-a-new-threat-to-fruit-and-produce-in-us.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm Deadly Bacteria a New Threat To Fruit and Produce in U.S. April 13, 2015 Christopher Drew (reporter) Christopher Drew Pam Belluck Pam Belluck January 4, 1998 The New York Times New York History Background The Odwalla plant had several food safety issues, many of which arose because Odwalla did not pasteurize its juice. Tests discovered low levels of Listeria monocytogenes, a pathogen that can harm pregnant women, at the Odwalla factory in 1995.Newspaper: Odwalla relaxed standards Moscow-Pullman Daily News Moscow, Idaho 5 January 5, 1998 In response, the company spent several million dollars on upgrading the plant's safety features, and bacteria were reduced to "relatively low levels". The next year, Dave Stevenson, Odwalla's technical services director who oversaw quality assurance, suggested to Odwalla executives that the company should add a chlorine rinse to guard against bacteria on the skin of processed fruit, supplementing its existing phosphoric acid wash process. However, this plan was dropped by Chip Bettle, Odwalla's senior vice president, who feared that the chemicals would harm the fruit and alter the flavor of the juice. https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/04/us/questions-of-pasteurization-raised-after-e-coli-is-traced-to-juice.html?pagewanted=1 Questions of Pasteurization Raised After E. coli Is Traced to Juice April 13, 2015 November 4, 1996 The New York Times New York In a letter to The New York Times written on January 5, 1998, Odwalla's director of communications, Christopher C. Gallagher, wrote that "Odwalla continuously upgraded its manufacturing process in the period leading up to the recall. Moreover, our primary indicator of overall quality was daily bacteria-level readings, which were relatively low and decreasing in apple juice". https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/09/opinion/l-what-can-consumers-do-to-insure-food-safety-company-took-steps-996653.html What Can Consumers Do to Insure Food Safety?; Company Took Steps April 13, 2005 Gallagher Christopher C. January 9, 1998 The New York Times New York Outbreak On October 30, 1996, health officials from the state of Washington informed Odwalla that they had found a link between an outbreak of the E. coli O157:H7 bacterium and a batch of Odwalla's fresh apple juice produced on October 7. This was confirmed on November 5 and may have resulted from using rotten fruit; one account tells of fruit being used that was highly decayed. Another possible source of contamination was fallen apples ("grounders") that had come into contact with animal feces and had not been properly cleaned. http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9807/24/odwalla.plea/index.html $1.5 M fine in tainted juice case April 13, 2015 Knapp Don CNN Atlanta https://web.archive.org/web/20060830020905/http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9807/24/odwalla.plea/index.html August 30, 2006 https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/20/garden/opting-for-an-early-warning-when-e-coli-is-suspected.html Opting for an Early Warning When E. coli Is Suspected April 13, 2015 Burros Marian November 20, 1996 The New York Times New York Confirmation that the bacteria came from outside the factory was provided when an inspection on November 15 found no evidence of E. coli contamination in the facility. http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/2156661/odwalla https://web.archive.org/web/20160202185324/http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/2156661/odwalla dead 2016-02-02 Odwalla April 13, 2015 Evan Thomas J. June 1999 Public Relations Quarterly 44 2 15 Routledge The outbreak came as a surprise as the plant had been inspected by the FDA three months earlier, and Odwalla supervisors were not aware that the E. coli bacteria could grow in acidic, chilled apple juice. Based on a recommendation from the FDA, on October 30, Odwalla's Chief Executive Officer Stephen Williamson voluntarily recalled 13 products which contained apple juice from about 4,600 stores.Whitmore Arthur Lawrence Bachorik E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak associated with Odwalla brand apple juice products U.S. Department of Health and Human Services October 31, 1996 https://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/NEW00546.html April 13, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20080916164627/https://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/NEW00546.html September 16, 2008 dead Carrot and vegetable juices were also recalled the following day as a precautionary measure since they were processed on the same line.Odwalla Inc. 10-K405: Recent events SEC Info August 31, 1996 http://www.secinfo.com/dr6nd.92V1.htm April 13, 2015 August 31, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200831192246/http://www.secinfo.com/dr6nd.92V1.htm dead The recall cost the company $6.5 million and took around 48 hours to complete, with almost 200 trucks being dispatched to collect the recalled products. http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2001/03/odwalla.html How to Make Your Company More Resilient Layne Anni https://web.archive.org/web/20030419041000/http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2001/03/odwalla.html April 19, 2003 December 19, 2007 April 13, 2015 Fast Company Odwalla opened a website and a call center to handle consumer questions about the recall. As a result of the outbreak, 16-month-old Anna Gimmestad of Greeley, Colorado died from kidney failure, and more than 60 people became sick.https://money.cnn.com/1998/07/23/companies/odwalla/ https://web.archive.org/web/20020203085408/http://money.cnn.com/1998/07/23/companies/odwalla/ dead February 3, 2002 Odwalla pleads guilty April 13, 2015 July 23, 1998 CNNMoney Atlanta Fourteen children were hospitalized with hemolytic-uremic syndrome, a severe kidney and blood disorder, and were, according to doctors, "likely to have permanent kidney damage and other lasting problems". In consequence, Odwalla stock fell by forty percent, and sales of its products dropped by ninety percent.http://premium.hoovers.com/subscribe/co/history.xhtml?ID=ffffcjfcjrftkjttyc History 2008 Hoovers.com 2008-09-06April 2015 http://www.inc.com/articles/1998/04/13056.html When Buzz Goes Bad Inc. Boston April 13, 2015 Austin Nancy K. April 28, 1998 The company laid off 60 workers, and, at the end of the fiscal year, posted a loss of $11.3 million.https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/10941097.html?dids=10941097:10941097&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+5%2C+1996&author=Groves%2C+Martha&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=D1&desc=Odwalla+will+pasteurize+its+apple+juice Odwalla will pasteurize its apple juice Groves Martha December 5, 1996 Los Angeles Times Los Angeles D1 April 13, 2015 October 15, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20121015185337/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/10941097.html?dids=10941097:10941097&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+5,+1996&author=Groves,+Martha&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=D1&desc=Odwalla+will+pasteurize+its+apple+juice dead Aftermath The outbreak occurred because Odwalla sold unpasteurized fruit juices, though pasteurization had long been standard in the juice industry, claiming that pasteurization alters the flavor and destroys at least 30% of nutrients and enzymes in fruit juice. http://www.allbusiness.com/food-beverage/food-industry-food-mfg-canned/7295043-1.html Tropicana welcomes use of flash pasteurization April 13, 2015 Gutsche Mark Flynn Meghan December 10, 1996 Business Wire San Francisco https://web.archive.org/web/20100106164917/http://www.allbusiness.com/food-beverage/food-industry-food-mfg-canned/7295043-1.html January 6, 2010 Instead, Odwalla relied on washing usable fruit with sanitizing chemicals before pressing. Because of the lack of pasteurization and numerous other flaws in its safety practices (one contractor warned that Odwalla's citrus processing equipment was poorly maintained and was breeding bacteria in "black rotten crud"), the company was charged with 16 criminal counts of distributing adulterated juice. Odwalla pleaded guilty, and was fined $1.5 million: at the time, the most significant penalty in a food poisoning case in the United States.Henkel John Juice maker fined record amount for E. coli-tainted product FDA Consumer 33 1 34–5 1999 10030145 https://www.fda.gov/fdac/departs/1999/199_irs.html https://web.archive.org/web/20080126220542/https://www.fda.gov/fdac/departs/1999/199_irs.html January 26, 2008 With the judge's permission, Odwalla donated $250,000 of the $1.5 million to fund research in preventing food-borne illnesses. Agreement Reached Between Odwalla, Inc. and U.S. Attorney in Fresno, CA. SEC Info July 23, 1998 http://www.secinfo.com/dsVSa.71A5.d.htm April 13, 2015 August 31, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200831184101/http://www.secinfo.com/dsVSa.71A5.d.htm dead William "Bill" Marler represented several children who developed hemolytic-uremic syndrome and suffered severe kidney damage as a result of the outbreak.Michael Beverly - The 1996 Odwalla E. coli Outbreak https://billmarler.com/key_case/odwalla-e-coli-outbreak 2022-11-17 billmarler.com Most of the claims were resolved in early 2000, and in addition to the fines, the company spent roughly another $12 million settling the lawsuits from the families whose children were infected.Belluck Pam July 24, 1998 Juice-Poisoning Case Brings Guilty Plea and a Huge Fine The New York Times New York https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/24/us/juice-poisoning-case-brings-guilty-plea-and-a-huge-fine.html?pagewanted=1 April 13, 2015 To boost sales following the recall, Odwalla reformulated five products to remove their apple juice content and re-released them in November 1996. Flash pasteurization, as well as several other safety precautions, were introduced to the manufacturing process, and the juices reappeared on store shelves on December 5, 1996.http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/1317834/purifying-tainted-corporate-image-odwallas-response-e-coli-poisoning https://web.archive.org/web/20160202185324/http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/1317834/purifying-tainted-corporate-image-odwallas-response-e-coli-poisoning dead 2016-02-02 Purifying a tainted corporate image: Odwalla's response to an E. coli poisoning Thomsen Steven R Rawson Bret September 1998 Public Relations Quarterly Routledge April 13, 2015 43 3 35 Depictions in media The outbreak was profiled in the fourth-season episode of Forensic Files titled "Core Evidence."January 2021 The outbreak is discussed in a book on Food Safety Detwiler Darin Food Safety: Past, Present, and Predictions 2020 Elsevier Academic Press Cambridge, MA 9780128182192 1st https://www.elsevier.com/books/food-safety/detwiler/978-0-12-818219-2 References 2 Category:1996 disease outbreaks Category:1996 in Colorado Category:1996 disasters in the United States Category:October 1996 in the United States Category:November 1996 in the United States 1996 Category:Disease outbreaks in California Category:Health in Colorado Category:Apple drinks Category:History of juice