Tom Salemi Re- Posted from the The Boston Business Journal via the Food Safety net research program. Information on subscribing to FSNet listserv can be found at the end of this article. A story about Cider Hill Farms, an Amesbury, Mass. orchard that has long reigned as the state's champion cider maker, winning an annual state-sponsored apple cider contest three of the past four years. Six people were hospitalized, including four children. They think it's a natural product.
Kids love it.
But if you really want to reduce your risk, it may not be wise to drink unpasteurized apple juice. Now the U.S. federal government is proposing mandatory pasteurization for all juice makers that ship over state lines. The story says the order wouldn't apply to the state's 60 cider sellers but the state Department of Public Health, which followed the FDA's lead on the labeling request, is expected to mimic the move in time for the next pressing season. Lee added that rather than risking a lawsuit by selling the cider, he stopped his cider making for the entire year. Frank Carlson, one of Carlson's owners and chairman of the Massachusetts Cider Guild, added that the orchard sells cider wholesale to supermarkets, and two of the biggest chains decided in August to sell only pasteurized cider, giving the farm little choice.