The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to eat
10 ounce cans of Castleberrys Hot Dog Chili Sauce, Austex Hot Dog
Chili Sauce, and Kroger Hot Dog Chili Sauce with “best by” dates from
April 30, 2009 through May 22, 2009 due to possible botulism
contamination. The “best by dates” can be found on the can lids. The
FDA called Outdoor Business because several camping
stores and camp-site convenience stores are still selling the recalled Chili.
Botulism can be fatal and all products fitting these descriptions
should be removed from shelves and disposed of properly.
Consumers
who have any of these products or any foods made with these products
should throw them away immediately. If the “best by” date is missing or
unreadable consumers should throw the product out.
Two children in Texas and an Indiana couple who ate these products became seriously ill and have been hospitalized.
Symptoms
of botulism poisoning can begin from 6 hours to 2 weeks after eating
food that contains the toxin. Symptoms may include double vision,
blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty
swallowing, dry mouth, and muscle weakness that moves progressively
down the body, affecting the shoulders first then descending to the
upper arms, lower arms, thighs, calves, etc. Botulism poisoning can
also cause paralysis of the breathing muscles which can result in death
unless assistance with breathing (mechanical ventilation) is provided.
Individuals
who show these symptoms and who may have recently eaten Castleberrys
Hot Dog Chili Sauce, Austex Hot Dog Chili Sauce, or Kroger Hot Dog
Chili Sauce should seek immediate medical attention.
All of the above products are manufactured by the Castleberry Food Company in Augusta, Georgia.
Castleberry
has informed FDA that it is voluntarily recalling all of the
potentially contaminated products and is cooperating with FDA, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the states
active investigations into the cause of this contamination and scope of
the products distribution.
