Contaminated Frozen Taquitos Bought in San Juan Made 4 Sick

State health authorities warned consumers Friday not to eat frozen beef taquitos purchased between Feb. 1 and April 1 from a south Orange County store.

Four persons became ill in March after consuming Delimex brand frozen fried taquitos bought at the Price Club store in San Juan Capistrano, state Department of Health Services Director Kenneth Kizer said in a statement issued Friday.

Officials at the Price Club store could not be reached for comment late Friday.

Some of the taquitos were found to be contaminated with Endrin, an extremely toxic pesticide that has been banned for more than a decade in the United States for all food uses, Kizer said. The chemical can cause seizures and death.

However, the two incidents in which the four people became ill appear to be “isolated tampering events” involving some taquitos in two bags, he said.

An investigation revealed that in one incident, some family members of the victims consumed taquitos from the same bag without becoming sick. Some of the remaining taquitos in the bag were found to contain Endrin.

No tests could be made on the second bag because it was discarded when one family member became ill after eating several of the taquitos, Kizer said.

The taquitos are sold frozen in 46-ounce plastic bags of 48 pieces each by the San Diego-based Delimex Corp. and are produced exclusively for Price Club stores. The two bags in question were bought in mid-March, state health officials said.

Health officials investigated the company’s plant but found no evidence that other bags were contaminated. They also found no explanation of how Endrin contaminated the few taquitos that caused illnesses, Kizer said.

Consumers who purchased Delimex taquitos during the dates in question should notify Orange County or state health authorities, Kizer said.