The bacteria Escherichia coli is frequently found in the intestines of people and animals. Most strains of E. coli are harmless and can even be beneficial by, for example, producing vitamins to aid in digestion and overall health. When the E. coli microbe is consumed through contaminated food or water, however, some variants can cause severe sickness or even death.

E. coli 0157:H7 is one of the most potentially harmful strains of the bacteria, often causing severe nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, and frequent and bloody diarrhea. There is no cure, but those infected generally recover; in some cases, however, it can cause sepsis and damage to the brain and kidneys resulting in Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) in which produced cytotoxins kill other cells by pouring poisons into the bloodstream. When this occurs, the bacteria can be deadly.

Between October 7 and November 5, 1996, upwards of seventy people primarily across the Pacific Northwest became infected with E. coli 0157:H7. Many recovered within five to ten days after showing symptoms, but twenty-five people, including thirteen young children, became gravely ill.

Pediatric Gastroenterologist Dr. Phillip Tarr says when E. coli 0157:H7 is spread into the public with its source unidentified, it is “a serial murderer potentially loose in the population.” Diligent work from medical professionals limited the lives claimed during the four-week outbreak to one.

Many of the infected children resided in or near Seattle, the city that been ground zero for a similar outbreak just over three-and-a-half years earlier.

From December 1992 through February 1993, one-hundred-seventy-one people had been hospitalized and four children between one and six-years-old had died from E. coli 0157:H7 after eating undercooked hamburgers at area Jack in the Box restaurants.

Medical investigators suspected the 1996 outbreak was also meat-related until learning that the family of one of the infected children was vegetarian.

 

Not The Culprit This Time

The incubation period of E.coli 0157:H7 is five-to-seven days, longer than most contaminated-food illnesses. Through extended interviews and questionnaires of those who had taken ill and of the families of the stricken children, it was found that all of the infected had consumed apple juice in such a time period before developing the symptoms.

Hundreds of brands of apple juice were on the local market. Additional interviews and questionnaires determined the most likely source of the outbreak was Odwalla Inc., a California-based company that produced beverages distributed in seven western states and British Columbia, Canada.

On October 16, nine days after the outbreak began, Odwalla Inc. voluntarily began removing thirteen products containing apple juice from roughly 4,600 stores. The recall cost the company $6.5 million and took two days to complete.

Thousands of bottles were tested; on November 4, one at the Odwalla Distribution Center was found to contain E. coli 0157:H7. DNA testing of the bacteria was matched to the thirteen hospitalized children and other victims, confirming Odwalla Inc. was the source of the outbreak. The company’s distribution center and processing plants were found not to be contaminated with the bacteria.

The contaminated bottle had been filled on October 7. Company records identified the California orchard of the apples used to make the juice that day. At the site, Epidemic Intelligence Officers found several droppings in the sand near deer prints. The feces was a potential source of E. coli 0157, but DNA testing did not match the strain of the infected victims. Officials say that one or multiple deer may have been shedding one or more strains.

Investigators believe some of the apples had come into contact with the deer droppings upon falling to the ground and were then picked up and sent to the juice processing plant, not having been properly cleaned. Although Odwalla Inc. officials said it was against their policy to purchase apples found on the ground and produced signed documents from their suppliers stating they did not use such apples, Department of Health officials say it is virtually impossible to verify or enforce the claim and believe it likely that the apples that had fallen on the ground had been sent to the distribution center after being picked up the workers who were paid by the bin.

Shortly before the outbreak began, the United States Army considered serving Odwalla products to military personnel. After inspecting the company’s processing plant, however, officials concluded the bacteria levels in the juices were too high and stated the company did not have sufficient sanitation standards.

The Army Had Rejected And Reprimanded Odwalla

Odwalla Inc. products, in contrast to most fruit juices, were not pasteurized, i.e. heated to temperatures high enough to kill any bacteria and other harmful microorganisms and then quickly cooled to preserve flavor. Officials believed the process hindered the taste and destroyed many of the juice’s nutrients and enzymes.

In place of pasteurization, Odwalla washed its fruit with sanitized chemicals before pressing, a mechanical process of extracting liquids such as juice.

No Pasteurization Of Products  

Following the outbreak, Odwalla Inc. instituted the practice of pasteurization in preparing its products and adorned them with warning labels. Improved food and sanitation procedures were also implemented in its manufacturing processes.

A Post-Outbreak Label

Odwalla reformulated many of its products which were gradually re-released beginning in late November 1996 and returned en masse to area shelves on December 5, two months after the outbreak began.

Odwalla Returns To The Stores

The changes and improvements did not stop the United States Attorney General’s Office from walloping Odwalla with sixteen criminal counts of misconduct in relation to distributing adulterated food products for interstate commerce. The company pled guilty in July 1998, and was fined $1.5 million, the largest penalty at the time ever imposed in a food poisoning case. At the company’s request, $250,000 of the fine was donated to fund research in preventing foodborne illnesses.

Twenty civil lawsuits were filed against Odwalla Inc. most of which were settled by early 2000. The terms were not disclosed; some sources state the company paid between $12-$15 million to five of the families, but I could not find anything about the amount rendered in any other settlements.

The sole casualty of the 1996 E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak was seventeen-month old Anna Gimmestad, of Greeley, Colorado. She had died of kidney failure on November 8, less than two weeks after consuming Odwalla Apple Juice while she and her family had been in Seattle.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/163535259/anna_grace-gimmestad

Anna Gimmestad

Anna’s parents, Chad and Christy, were not among the families who sued Odwalla Inc. In appreciation, the company paid for the development of the Anna Gimmestad Memorial Park in Greeley.

 

Anna Remembered

The 1996 E.coli 0157:H7 outbreak caused Odwalla Inc.’s stock to fall by forty percent and sales dropped by ninety percent, forcing the layoff of sixty workers. By the end of the fiscal year, the business had incurred an $11.3 million loss.

Odwalla Hit Hard

In 2001, Odwalla Inc. became a wholly owned subsidiary after being acquired by the Coca-Cola Company for $181 million in August 2020. Coca-Cola sold the brand to Full Sail IP Partners in 2021.

Company Sold

Nearly thirty years after the Odwalla Inc. E.coli 0157:H7 outbreak, the effects are still felt by the survivors. Many of the then children who were infected have developed diabetes and kidney damage, some of whom have needed kidney transplants. They will require lifelong monitoring.

 Has Eternal Effects

SOURCES:

• Forensic Files
• Greeley (Colorado) Tribune
• Seattle Times