October, 1997

E. coli found in Michigan cider keeps spotlight on industry

Schlubatis Orchards in Coldwater, Mich. is living every unpasteurized cider maker's worst nightmare - E. coli contamination of its product. "I've read about it for years, but it was one of those things that I thought would never happen," said Willard Schlubatis, who owns the 150-acre fruit orchard and farm market with his son, Sam in southern Michigan. "We've been working 50 years to build up our business and without cider we might as well quit." E. coli O157:H7 was found in the operation's unpasteurized cider after a Michigan Department of Agriculture inspector took a gallon on September 30 and had it tested. This is the same strain of E. coli that has killed one and injured hundreds in the U.S. over the last few years. (See accompanying graphic of outbreak history.) It is also the same strain that is changing the face of the unpasteurized cider industry forever.

Food-borne illness linked to cider --1890s - E. coli first found, but wasn't harmful to humans and couldn't survive in acidity of cider. --1940s - First strain appeared that could cause illness in humans. --1982 - E. coli O157:H7 was first found. Is very toxic to humans and also acid tolerant. --1991 - Massachusetts cider containing O157:H7 causes 23 illnesses. Four progress to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a more serious kidney disease. --1996 - Two outbreaks of O157:H7 in cider occur. Connecticut cider causes eight illnesses, with two progressing to HUS. Tainted cider from California-based Odwalla kills one and injures 66 with 14 progressing to HUS. --1997 - Michigan Department of Agriculture sampling program catches tainted cider. A recall is announced. No illnesses reported. Source: U.S. Apple Association

These recent outbreaks have caused states and the FDA to come up with new regulations to increase the safety of cider. In August the FDA announced its "notice of intent" that it was aiming to have its recommended regulations completed by the end of 1997. A period of public comment and governmental review will follow, which may allow the law to be on the books before the 1998 season.
The FDA document calls for a mandatory Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan to be put in place by producers of non-pasteurized juice. Many insiders say cider makers will have to pasteurize cider to meet the new federal regulations.
Until such a plan is in place, FDA is recommending, not requiring, warning labels to be placed on juice containers.
While these new regulations are being worked on many states have come up with their own regulations to try to eliminate the chances of an E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak occurring. Michigan is the only state actively testing cider for E. coli. The FDA is also inspecting mills and testing cider across the country to get baseline information on the industry.

Testing program worked

The testing program implemented by the Michigan Department of Agriculture caught the E. coli contaminated-cider at Schlubatis Orchard.
The system worked because contaminated cider was found, recalled and no one got sick, said Jerry Wojtala, an MDA food scientist.
The MDA contacted Schlubatis Orchards on Thursday, October 9 with the results. Several hours later MDA inspectors were at the orchard to find out what caused the contamination.
A recall of the cider was issued and the mill was voluntarily shut down. Area hospitals were notified of the problem and to date there have been no reported illnesses from the cider.
Wojtala said inspectors took many samples from cider, the cider-making equipment and the orchard to see if they could find out where the E. coli came from. The operation was also assessed to see if it was in compliance with the Good Management Practices guidelines enacted this year by the MDA to help increase cider safety.
The FDA also joined the investigation and took over 40 samples. Neither the MDA or FDA could find E. coli anywhere on the equipment or orchard.
"We are trying to find a clue of how it got into the cider," Wojtala said. "It's very possible we may never get to the bottom of this."
Schlubatis Orchards had been pressing cider twice a week, making batches of 180 gallons each time. The contaminated cider was one of its first batches made and they did use drops. The operation doesn't use manure as a fertilizer. The line has a washer/brusher and cider is made by a press purchased new a few years ago. No preservatives are added to the operation's cider.
The cider operation was inspected last year under the old regulations and had passed, Willard said. MDA had not inspected it yet this year to see if it complied with the new GMPs.
Willard said he hadn't heard about the new regulations and assumed that since the mill passed inspection last year that it was all right to open this year.
"They (MDA) never came out to inspect and bought the cider without us knowing it," Willard said. "I think they let us down. We should have been told and we would have made any changes they thought necessary."
Wojtala said not all of Michigan's 180 cider mills have been inspected to see if they are following the new guidelines and over 100 samples of cider have been collected and tested. No other cider has been found to contain E. coli 0157. Last year 114 samples were taken from Michigan cider mills and all were negative.
The Schlubatises said as soon as they found out about the GMPs and that E. coli was a serious threat they began making changes to their cider mill immediately after the MDA called.
The three biggest things they've learned from the incident is that a cider mill must be totally enclosed from outside factors, equipment must be thoroughly sanitized and drops shouldn't be used.
The Schlubatises will be able to press cider again once the MDA is satisfied the operation meets all of its standards.
"We are very sorry for any damage we caused to the cider industry," Willard said. "When we start up again we will be the most sanitary operation in the world."

Media frenzy

Two hours after Schlubatis Orchards found out about the test results, its phone was ringing with media people wanting their reaction from an MDA press release reporting the findings.
Over the next 48 hours television, newspapers and radio reporters from across the U.S. called to find out about the contaminated cider. An Associated Press reporter called at 4 a.m. to ask if the cider was pasteurized or unpasteurized.
"I'll give them credit for one thing," Willard said. "They did call to get my side of it. But none have called to follow up on it."
The media has been reporting heavily on the E. coli problem in cider for the past year. A television station in Detroit purchased cider from about 10 area mills and had it tested. None came up positive.
"This media hype is like a feeding frenzy," said Bob Tritten, Michigan State University Extension agent in southeast Michigan. "Consumers keep hearing it and they start to question the safety of cider."
This uncertainty has had a negative impact on sales of cider in Michigan, Tritten said. Many farm marketers have told him that customers are leaving the market without a jug of cider this year.
"I would say sales are off 20-30% in both the wholesale and retail end," he said. "Early in the season cider makers thought sales were down because of the lateness of the year and the warm fall, but now it appears to be bigger than these two things."
In the eastern U.S. unpasteurized cider sales are also a little soft, said Joe Nicholson, owner of Red Jacket Orchards, in Geneva, N.Y.
"The media has raised a question mark about the safety of the product and people selling unpasteurized cider are seeing their sales go down," he said. "People are now asking for pasteurized cider for safety reasons."
Nicholson presses over 200,000 gallons each year and decided to put in a pasteurizer this year because he says the market is moving toward the product. He's pressing more cider than ever because many small unpasteurized operations aren't making cider this year and having him do it.
As for the taste issue, Nicholson said in a blind taste test no one can tell the difference and that shouldn't be an issue for cider makers.
The continued E. coli problem in unpasteurized cider should be a wake-up call for the industry, especially in Michigan, said Patrick O'Connor with the Michigan Apple Committee.
"A lot of mill operators say we've never had a reported case of outbreak in this state. Of course that's not to say it's never happened," O'Connor said. "If we want to be in it for the long term we've got to respect the danger - that this is a real problem, not just something that's happened to someone else."