Not being defensive is the best offense. So far, nobody knows how E.coli got into a batch of apple juice. An inspection of Odwalla's processing plant in Dinuba came up clean. The current theory is that the company unknowingly bought apples that had fallen in manure. Clearly, many consumers are giving Odwalla the benefit of the doubt.
Many people believe natural necessarily means healthy.
They worry more about the risks of preservatives than the risk of eating spoiled food. There's also a growing skepticism about food scares. We've been through too many, and we're tired of being warned that everything we enjoy is bad for us. Parents panicked when an environmental group claimed traces of Alar, used on 5 to 15 percent of the apple crop, increased cancer risks for children. It seems to be there to stay.