Bottles of drinking water have been recalled as they may contain dangerous bacteria.
West Virginia-based Berkeley Club Beverages, Inc. has voluntarily recalled more than 150,000 bottles of water as they may contain coliform bacteria. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now given the products a Class III risk classification.
A Class III is awarded when “a situation in which use of, or exposure to, a violative product is not likely to cause adverse health consequences.” It is the least serious of the three risk levels awarded to recalled products.
In total, 151,397 bottles have been recalled, which bear the codes 090326, 090426, 090526, and 090626. They were distributed in West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia only.
Coliform bacteria are organisms present in the environment and in the feces of all warm-blooded animals, including humans. While some coliforms are unlikely to cause illness, if it is detected in drinking water it indicates that other pathogens which can cause illness are present.
E.coli is a type of coliform, and certain strains can cause illness in different parts of the body. According to the FDA, if any coliform organisms “are detected in source water, bottlers must conduct follow-up testing to determine whether any of the coliform organisms are E. coli.”
The FDA notice for this recall does not indicate whether E.coli specifically was detected in the impacted products. Newsweek has contacted Berkeley Club Beverages, Inc. for comment via email outside of regular working hours.
Symptoms of E.coli generally appear between three to five days after infection. Most commonly, E.coli will impact your digestive system and cause gastroenteritis, symptoms of which include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, loss of appetite, fever and fatigue. While unpleasant, it does not usually need to be treated by a doctor, and most of the time symptoms go away after a few days.
