A bacterium that produces a life-threatening toxin may have contaminated canned cut green beans packed by New Era Canning Company.
The voluntary recall of 171 cases — six large institutional-sized cans of green beans per case — was the first recall in the 97-year history of the company, a company official said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers about a potential Clostridium botulinum contamination of the large cans of beans distributed to retailers, restaurants and food service institutions by Gordon Food Service, based in Grand Rapids, Mich. None of the canned green beans were distributed in Michigan.
The bacterium-produced toxin can cause illness or death. As of today, no illnesses had been reported in connection with the incident.
Linda Miller, sales representative for New Era Canning, said the potential contamination was discovered Thursday in results from an earlier FDA inspection. The test sample showed a presumptive positive result for Clostridium botulinum.
"We immediately issued the recall," Miller said. "Our first priority is the safety of our customers."
The problem was traced to a mechanical failure of one of the company's cookers. Miller said some cans of the green beans were not being cooked enough.
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