One Gun Ranch's Jennifer Hozer said: "there are no incidents or indications that any of our food products are contaminated, whatsoever." She said the Health Department's public health warning and subsequent mandatory recall of the canned products was over licensing requirements by local health agencies required by state regulations.
"It was not a result of contaminated food or improper preparation of our jarred food products," Hozer said. She said One Gun products are prepared in commercial kitchens, which "adhere to the highest standards of operation and regulation required by CDHP."
In addition to Hozer calling the botulism scare "a paperwork issue," Organic Soup Kitchen's founder Anthony Carroccio told the LA Weekly his company has fed 50,000 homeless and low-income people in the last three years "without incident."
For its part, CDHP said no illnesses were associated with the soup recall. California is known for tough enforcement of cannery regulations snuffed out its past incidents of killer botulism, now a couple generations in its past.
CDHP has worked with both One Gun and Organic Soup to make sure all the suspected products were removed from sale.
Botulism is a potentially deadly paralytic illness that occurs when the Clostridium botulinum bacteria to attack the nervous system release toxins. Without adequate medical treatment, botulism can cause death in a fairly short time.
CDHP said the soups sold the two companies had the potential for the formulation of botulism if the processes were not sufficient to deactivate the toxin. The state wants the two companies to obtain cannery licenses.
Hozer says it is unfortunate "scare tactics" were used in the regulation of the products. John Edwards, who operates 20 farmers markets in Los Angles, said he understand erring on the side of caution, but just wishes CDHP would explain things better.
