Salmonella case linked to recalled juice

Tuesday, April 25, 2000 | 10:50 a.m.

The case, one of six reported in the county this month, was linked to the Naked and Ferraro brands of unpasteurized orange juice, state Health Department spokeswoman Cindy Parmenter said Monday.

County health officials have not determined if the juice is linked to the other five cases.

Salmonella outbreaks have been reported in Nevada and Southern California, where the Naked brand juices also were sold.

Nevada health officials tipped off the Colorado Department of Health after linking an outbreak there to the unpasteurized juice and learning that the juice also was sold in Colorado, said Richard Hoffman, Colorado's chief medical officer and epidemiologist.

On Thursday, California Day-Fresh Foods began voluntarily removing its unpasteurized orange, grapefruit, tangerine, lemonade and strawberry lemonade from Colorado grocery stores, vendors and restaurants after 43 cases of salmonella enteritidis were reported to the state health department this month.

Those cases rose to 53 by Monday. Of 22 people interviewed by health department workers, 17 gave a history of drinking Naked Brand orange juice, establishing a link to the illness. No cases have been linked with any other California Day-Fresh product, and company officials have said that the company has not discovered salmonella in any of its juices.

County health inspectors on Monday confirmed that the juices have been removed from local store shelves.

No deaths have been reported from these outbreaks, Hoffman said.

"This is not a mild disease," Hoffman said. "It may take three, seven, 10 days to fully recover, and in certain groups - the elderly, small children, people with compromised immune systems - it can be much different."

Salmonella enteritidis is a bacteria that can cause food poisoning. The symptoms appear within 24 to 72 hours after consumption and include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.

Hoffman said that in a typical April, there are 5 cases of salmonella reported in Colorado.