Georgia Plant had Production Problems, Company Says

ATLANTA — A Georgia plant that makes the canned chili sauce suspected in a botulism outbreak had a production problem about two months ago, though a check of the cans had found no problems, a company official said Thursday.

About two months ago, cans were coming out of a heating and sterilizing process too hot before going into a cooling canal, said Dr. Ezra Barzilay, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Company officials stopped production because they wanted to make sure cans had not expanded and possibly allowed contamination, he said.

The Augusta plant made the sauce that is suspected of seriously sickening an Indiana couple and two children in Texas.

Cans of chili sauce found in the victims' homes were produced around the time of the Castleberry's Food Co. production problem, company spokesman Dave Melbourne said.

A check of can contents by independent evaluators also found no problems, Melbourne said.

Read the full Associated Press story here.