Berkeley Club Beverages Inc., a company located in the state of West Virginia, has taken the precautionary step of recalling for a variety of reasons over one hundred and fifty thousand bottles of water, some of which may potentially contain the microbe ‘Coliform bacteria’. The aforementioned bottles have all been purchased. However, they cannot be sold after the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified them as Class III risk products, which means the product does not comply with regulations though it is unlikely to cause any negative health outcome. Such an assignment is the least serious when dealing with the three types of classifications concerning the American federal agency’s.
The recall involves a total of 151397 noted they were bearing blade codes 090326, 090426, 090526, and 090626. These bottles were delivered to, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia states respectively. ‘Coliform’ bacteria which is the contaminating agent in water is an environmentally occurring organism and is found in warm-blooded animal excreta, even that of man. Even though not all coliform bacteria are pathogenic, their presence in drinking water indicates a likely intrusion of other disease-causing organisms.
One type of coliform bacteria is E. coli, which includes certain strains that can lead to gastrointestinal illness. According to FDA guidelines, when any coliform bacteria are detected in source water, additional testing is required to confirm whether E. coli is present. However, the FDA has not confirmed if E. coli specifically was detected in these recalled products from Berkeley Club Beverages.
In reasoning connected to individuals who have been within the reach of E. coli bacteria, it can be argued that the symptoms of the infection are most likely to develop within a period of three to five days. They may present with several other digestive tract related complaints including diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, stomach bloating and even fever. These too are very discomforting diseases, yet thankfully they do not last long and most people are able to cope with them in a few days without seeking medical help. On some rare occasions however, the infection by these bacteria may also affect other parts of the body; for instance where chance, the bacteria find their way to the urinary tract, the symptoms may include lower abdomen and/or pelvis pain, painful urination, and urgency but the patient passes small volume of urine.
The reason for this reconsideration is the fact that it is not the only recall of bottled water products this year. Previously in March, persons were notified about the voluntary recall of approximately 70,000 cases of Fiji Natural Artesian Water due to the high levels of Manganese present in the product. This particular recall, just like the present one, was classified as class III risk. In another case, 1 liter Bottles of “Waiakea Hawaiian Volcanic Water Naturally Alkaline Electrolytes Deep Well Water” were even pulled out of shelves in the month of April after concerns that there were some particles floating inside the water were raised by the public.
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This trend of recalling bottled water products of late raises the concern of whether there is a need for more effort in monitoring the quality of bottled water. Most of these recalls may be covering products within the category of low risk and rarely danger levels, but they are fundamental in reminding the bottle manufacturing companies and the authorities on the need to observe the appropriate safety measures. Whereas the recall by Berkeley Club Beverages is rated low risk, there are regions within West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia that have been advised alerting the consumers and users not to consume the recalled bottles but rather check the codes in the products.
