State health officials have found E. coli O111 in a sample of apple juice from High Hill Ranch establishing a link to an outbreak that has sickened 13 people with the same strain. El Dorado health officials have compiled a time line that should clear up some of the confusion surrounding the outbreak. After the illnesses were reported, owners of the ranch issued a statement suggesting that visitors to ranch contaminated the sample jug with a virus that was the source of the illnesses. But E. coli isn't a virus, it's bacteria that lives in the intestines of animals and is shed in their feces. It causes illness when food or beverages contaminated with microscopic amounts of fecal matter containing the bacteria are ingested. That's what happened at High Hill Ranch in October. Here is the … [Read more...]
E. coli in High Hill Ranch Unpasteurized Apple Juice Sickens 7
E. coli in unpasteurized apple juice from High Hill Ranch in Camino, California has sickened seven people, hospitalizing one of them, according to the County of El Dorado. Consumers should not drink any unpasteurized apple juice purchased from the ranch on or after October 6, 2015. Consumers who have this juice at home should discard it in a sealed container. Health officials are trying to determine how the juice became contaminated. High Hill Ranch has suspended sales of the juice while it awaits results of tests. E. coli bacteria live in the intestines of animals and are shed in their feces. They are transmitted via the fecal-oral route, meaning people ingest food or drinks that are contaminated with microscopic amounts of fecal matter. Symptoms of E. coli food poisoning include … [Read more...]
