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FOOD SAFETY FACTS FOR CONSUMERS Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration November 1, 2001 |
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Juices provide many essential nutrients, but consuming untreated juices may not be so healthful. When fruits and vegetables are fresh-squeezed, harmful bacteria from the outside of the produce can become a part of the finished product. If these bacteria are ingested, children risk serious illness or even death. In fact, recent serious outbreaks of foodborne illness involving young children have been traced to the drinking of untreated juices.
Warning information about the health risks of drinking untreated juice or cider is now on product containers. However, only two percent of all fruit and vegetable juices sold in supermarkets is not treated in any way to kill harmful bacteria. These products carry the following label:
"Warning: This product has not been pasteurized and therefore may contain harmful bacteria that can cause serious illness in children, the elderly, and persons with weakened immune systems."
While consuming dangerous foodborne bacteria will usually cause illness in one to three days after eating the contaminated food, sickness can occur within 20 minutes or up to six weeks later. In addition, sometimes foodborne illness is confused with other types of illness. Symptoms of foodborne illness usually include:
-- vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain; or
-- flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache and body ache
If foodborne illness symptoms occur, it's best to see a doctor, who can properly diagnose foodborne illness, identify the specific bacteria involved, and prescribe the best treatment.
While most people's immune systems can usually fight off the effects of foodborne illness, children, whose immune systems are not fully developed, risk serious illness or even death if they drink juice or cider contaminated with harmful bacteria.
EDUCATED CONSUMERS KNOW BEST
To make the public more aware of the risks of consuming untreated juice, the FDA advises consumers to:
-- Read the Label: Make sure the juice is pasteurized or otherwise treated. Look for pasteurized or otherwise treated products in the grocers' refrigerated sections, frozen food cases or in non-refrigerated shelf-stable containers such as juice boxes, bottles or cans. Juice that is pasteurized or treated in another way to kill harmful bacteria may not say so on the label, so look for the warning label to avoid the purchase of untreated juice.
-- When in doubt, ask: Don't be hesitant to ask if a juice product is treated, especially for juices sold in refrigerated cases of grocery or health food stores, or at cider mills or farm markets.
For additional information, contact the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at 888-SAFEFOOD, or visit http://www.cfsan.fda.gov.
The FDA reminds everyone to practice safe food handling by following these four simple steps:
-- CLEAN: Wash hands and surfaces often
-- SEPARATE: Separate, don't cross contaminate
-- COOK: Cook to proper temper
-- CHILL: Refrigerate promptly
Hypertext updated by cjm 2001-NOV-15