Canada recalls I.M. Healthy products; no E. coli cases there yet

(Before It's News)

Following confirmation by Oregon officials that they found E. coli in I.M. Healthy brand soy nut butter Canadian officials issued a recall of the peanut butter substitute and granola containing it.

No illnesses in Canada have been linked to the I.M. Healthy brand products from the SoyNut Butter Co., according to the Thursday recall notice from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

In the United States, 16 people across nine states have been confirmed with the outbreak strain that Oregon officials detected in a jar of the soy nut butter collected from the home of two children sickened by E. coli O157:H7 infections.

Fourteen of the victims are children. Eight of the victims have required hospitalization and five have developed the potentially deadly hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which attacks the kidneys.

Anyone who has eaten I.M. Healthy brand SoyNut Butter products or anything containing the products and developed symptoms of E. coli infection should immediately seek medical attention and tell their doctors about the possible exposure to the bacteria.

“The symptoms of STEC infections vary but often include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea — often bloody — and vomiting,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Most people get better within 5 to 7 days, but some infections are severe or even life-threatening. Very young children and the elderly are more likely to develop severe illness and HUS than others, but even healthy older children and young adults can become seriously ill.”

The CDC advises people to watch for diarrhea that lasts for more than three days, or is accompanied by high fever, blood in the stool, or so much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down and you pass very little urine.

In Canada as in the U.S., the recall includes all lots and flavors of I.M. Healthy brand soy nut butters and granola from the SoyNut Butter Co. in Glenville, IL. The products are sold in retail stores and on via the SoyNut Butter website. All sizes, from single servings to 45-pound tubs are included in the recall in the U.S.

Label information for the recalled I.M. Healthy products in Canada is as follows:

As of Thursday the manufacturer of the contaminated soy nut butter remained a secret. Officials with the SoyNut Butter Co. have not responded to requests for comment.

There is concern that the contract manufacturer used by SoyNut Butter Co. may have sold contaminated soy butter to other companies for use in products sold under brands other than I.M. Healthy.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is gagged by federal law from releasing  “confidential corporate information” such as the identity of the contract manufacturer.

For additional details on the outbreak and recall, please see:

• “Oregon confirms E. coli in SoyNut Butter from victims’ home”
• “UPDATE: SoyNut Butter Co. expands recall to all soy butters, granola”
• “Parents of 8-year-old E. coli victim sue SoyNut Butter Co.”
• “I.M. Healthy SoyNut Butter recall; E.coli hits kids”
• “UPDATE: Patients on both coasts ate ‘SoyNut Butter’ before becoming ill”
• “I.M. Healthy soy nut butter linked to E. coli outbreak”
• “CDC, states investigating foodborne sources in E. coli outbreak”

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