FDA Tests Link Odwalla Juice to Bacteria

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration found the first sign of biological evidence linking Odwalla Inc. juice drinks to the recent outbreak of E. coli food poisoning. FDA officials identified a type of E. coli bacteria in one sample of Odwalla apple juice that also has been found in victims of food poisoning, FDA spokesman Arthur Whitmore said. Further testing will be done to see whether the strain from the Odwalla apple juice bottle precisely matches the E. coli samples from the food poisoning victims, Whitmore said. Meanwhile, 10 more cases of bacterial poisoning linked to apple juice from California have been found in the Western United States and British Columbia, bringing the total to 39.