New Juice Regulations Underway

E ach year Americans experience 16,000 to 48,000 cases of foodborne illness from fruit and vegetable juices, according to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates. Increasing public concern and recent outbreaks from bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7 have led to new regulations designed to reduce the risk of juice contamination. In October 1996, at least 66 people in the Western United States and Canada became ill and a 16-monthold girl died after drinking unpasteurized apple juice contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The company that produced the juice pleaded guilty to violating Federal food safety laws and will pay a record $1.5 million fine. The outbreaks from contaminated juice, particularly this 1996 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, led regulators to examine the safety of juice. In April 1998, FDA proposed two regulations to increase the safety of fresh and processed juices. The first would require all domestic and foreign fruit and vegetable juice processors to use Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) procedures to prevent, reduce, or eliminate haz-ards in juice. The second rule, requiring warning labels on all juice that has not been pasteurized or otherwise treated to control illnesscausing pathogens, was finalized by FDA in July 1998. Its purpose is to provide consumers with information to lessen their risk until the HACCP rule is enacted.