How to Check If Your Bottled Water Has Been Recalled Due to Possible E. Coli
— -- Here's how to check if bottled water in your house is part of a voluntary recall of 14 brands due to a possible E. coli contamination.
Niagara Bottling said that one of its spring sources has a "positive indication" of E. coli, which the company said indicates that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. The company said it has not received any reports of illness or injury. E. coli microbes can cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms, the company said, and may pose a greater risk for infants, young children, some of the elderly and people with severely compromised immune systems.
Here's how you can check if your bottled water has been recalled:
1. Is your bottle one of these 14 brands?
The products were sold under the following 14 brands:
Acadia, Acme, Big Y, Best Yet, 7-11, Niagara, Nature’s Place, Pricerite, Superchill, Morning Fresh, Shaw's, Shoprite, Western Beef Blue and Wegmans.
If your water was bottled by Niagara but not sold under these brands, such as Kirkland, it is not a part of this recall. The recall does not affect water sold at Star Markets, which is owned by Shaw's, the company said. Shaw's and Wegmans are offering full refunds to customers.
2. Check the date, location of production.
The company said it is only recalling its water products produced at its facilities in Hamburg and Allentown, Pennsylvania, from June 10, 3 a.m., to June 18, 8 p.m., 2015.
The only affected products have codes that begin with the letter F (for Hamburg) or A (for Allentown). The first digit after the letter indicates the number of the production line. The next two numbers indicate the day, then the month in letters, the year, and then the time, based on a 24-hour clock.
For example, the following code could be recalled: A610JUN15 2000
3. Make sure it's spring water, not purified water.
The recall doesn't affect purified water products, according to Niagara.
4. Check the expiration codes.
Wegmans Food Markets, based in Rochester, New York, said it is voluntarily recalling certain Niagara 16.9-ounce packs of Wegmans "Food You Feel Good About" spring water with “Best By” dates of June 10 through 18, 2016.
Shaw's supermarket, headquartered in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, said specific bottled water products sold at its locations in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont have been recalled. The recalled products have "Best By" dates of "08DEC2016" through "16DEC2016," or Dec. 8, 2016, through Dec. 16, 2016. The company said customers should discard these products or return them for a full refund.
Niagara published this list of these case codes.
5. Or, check the UPC number.
The following are the UPC codes for bottles sold at Wegmans:
A) Wegmans FYFGA Spring Water, 16.9-ounce: UPC 7789018860
B) Wegmans FYFGA Spring Water, 16.9-ounce, 12-pack: UPC 7789010085
C) Wegmans FYFGA Spring Water, 16.9-ounce, 24-pack: UPC 7789028768
D) Wegmans FYFGA Spring Water, 16.9-ounce, 35-pack: UPC 7789029365
Wegmans said its stores in New York State, Massachusetts, and Erie, Pennsylvania, only received the 12-pack of this water.
Shaw's supermarket said you can also check these UPC codes for the three variations of sizes and quantities of their recalled Niagara products:
A) Shaw's Natural Spring Water 16.9-ounce bottles, 24-pack
UPC Number of Packaging: 4567421415
UPC Number on Individual Bottles: 4567452952
B) Shaw's Natural Spring Water 16.9-ounce bottles, 35-pack
UPC Number of Packaging: 4567453026
UPC Number on Individual Bottles: 4567452952
C) Shaw's Natural Spring Water 8-ounce bottles, 12-pack
UPC Number of Packaging: 4567452217
UPC Number on Individual Bottles: 4567452217
ShopRite and Price Rite said in a statement, "No complaints of illness or injury have been associated with this recall at this time. The recall was issued out of an abundance of caution." The companies said they have "multiple suppliers of bottled spring water but only spring water bottled by Niagara Bottling" is impacted. The companies said spring water from other sources or bottlers are not affected by this recall.
ShopRite and Price Rite removed the following items from their stores:
A) ShopRite Water 405.6-ounce, 24-pack: UPC 04119003872
B) ShopRite Water 96-ounce, 12-pack: UPC 04119004667
C) ShopRite Water 202.8-ounce, 12-pack: UPC 04119004689
D) Price Rite Water 405.6-ounce, 24-pack: UPC 04119075868
If you're still in doubt, you can call Niagara Bottling consumer service: (888) 943-4894.
Wegmans consumer affairs phone number is: (855) 934-3663, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
