Food and Drug Administration officials and state health authorities have been working with the trendy California juice company, Odwalla Inc to determine whether its unpasteurized apple juice may be the source, as suspected. Because the potentially-lethal bacterial disease can take up to 10 days to strike and symptoms can differ greatly, the full extent of the illnesses may not be know for days. Symptoms of the disease, which affects children most severely, include diarrhea, sometimes accompanied by bleeding, stomach cramps and a slight fever.
More severe cases can result in kidney failure, brain damage and death.
Odwalla has voluntarily recalled 16 of its 23 fruit-based products, offered customers refunds and said it would pay medical costs of any victims whose infections were a result of having ingested the company's products. Its distribution region covers seven Western states and British Columbia. Four of the states New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Nevada have not yet reported victims linked to the outbreak. Odwalla prides itself on the freshness of its juices, which contain no preservatives and are unpasteurized. The perishable juice are processed, distributed and sold within two weeks.