June 23, 2015
Niagara Bottling issues recall after source spring operator
fails to report E. coli evidence
The company tests its water and finds no contamination
It says the recall is out of an abundance of caution
(CNN) An E. coli scare has prompted a California-based bottled
water producer to recall some of its products.
Niagara Bottling LLC said the recall is out of an abundance
of caution. There have been no signs of its product being contaminated or
reports of consumers falling sick, it said.
The family-owned company said the operator of a spring that
supplies two of its plants failed to report evidence of E. coli at the source.
The bottler said it halted production, disinfected bottling lines and issued a
voluntary recall.
Niagara spokesman Stan Bratskeir said the plant was notified
by the Department of Environmental Control and the Department of Agriculture of
the positive test result for E. coli.
He added that the company had terminated its relationship
with Far Away Springs, the water source.
Far Away Springs released a statement conceding that while
there was a possibility that spring water samples at the source may not have
been bacteria free, every load was tested at the receiving plant, "where
all results have been perfect."
Stan Frompovicz, the owner of Far Away Springs, said that in
eight years at these two plants, his water has never had a positive test result
for E. coli, including at the two receiving plants.
He said that after the bad lab result on June 10, his
company rechecked the water and pulled an E. coli-negative sample. He said the
water was tested 27 times at the two plants on June 10, and 175 times during
the next week, all without a positive test result.
Frompovicz said his water goes through a strenuous
disinfection process, which "is working perfectly, because it's killing
every bacteria."
He said water from his source is not only drinkable, it's
sterile.
The recall affects water bottled from June 10 through 18 in
two Pennsylvania plants only. Bratskeir said those two facilities represent
less than 3% of Niagara's overall volume.
Niagara has issued
instructions to consumers on its website on how to read the date on bottle
labels to determine if water should be returned.
Consumers won't find mainstream brand names on Niagara's
recall list, which includes mostly store and generic labels: Acadia, Acme, Big
Y, Best Yet, 7-Eleven, Niagara, Nature's Place, Pricerite, Superchill, Morning
Fresh, Shaws, Shoprite, Western Beef Blue and Wegman's.
There are many types of E. coli bacteria, some of which are
not harmful to people and are commonly found in human intestines, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. But some strains cause diseases that can be
deadly if ingested by humans.
Bratskeir said he did not know which strain of E. coli had
prompted the positive test result.
The CDC recommends heeding Niagara's recall notice, saying
consumers should not not drink any recalled water. Consumers who suspect they
might have consumed contaminated water should contact their local or state
health department.
Public water works and water bottlers typically
filter and disinfect their water to rid it of debris and contaminants,
including bacteria.
Niagara said it routinely tests spring source water and its
finished product to ensure its safety. The company said it has detected no E.
coli contamination in either.
Recall issued for Niagara Bottling's bottled water due to
possible E. coli contamination: http://t.co/soLR03jfv0
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— 8News WRIC Richmond (@8NEWS) June 22, 2015