Botulism Outbreak (Carrot Juice)
2006 | September 8, 2006
A commercial brand of carrot juice caused two events of foodborne botulism in 2006. Three residents of Georgia consumed commercially produced carrot juice from the same bottle.
All sought medical care on September 8, 2006, and clinical specimens from all three case-patients yielded botulinum toxin type A.
High levels of botulinum toxin type A were identified in remnant carrot juice in the bottle from which they drank.
On September 16, 2006, clinical samples yielded high concentrations of botulinum toxin type A in a patient hospitalized in Tampa, Florida. Officials of Hillsborough County Health Department and state authorities retrieved the bottle that contained carrot juice consumed by the patient before illness onset. The National Botulism Reference Laboratory at CDC reported high levels of botulinum toxin in the remnant carrot juice. The beverage consumed by all patients were from Bolthouse Farms.