Officials believe only one fatal batch of nacho cheese made in Wisconsin

Officials see if more than one batch infected

Site staff by Site Contributor

California health officials are still awaiting lab-test results on some of the nacho-cheese sauce confiscated from a gas station but said Tuesday they believe botulism contamination that killed one person and sickened nine others was limited to a single, opened bag of the sauce.

The state Department of Public Health says tests on the opened bag have already confirmed the presence of the botulism toxin, which can cause paralysis, breathing difficulty and, in a small fraction of cases, death.

The Wisconsin company that distributed the nacho cheese dip said it’s working with federal, state and local health officials to determine what caused the contamination.

Tests confirmed the botulism toxin was present in nacho-cheese dip sold at a gas station in the Sacramento suburb of Walnut Grove that killed one man and left at least nine other people hospitalized. The cheese dip was distributed by Gehl Foods.

Results are pending on another bag of the dip that was seized while still sealed.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and state health officials are investigating the outbreak but officials say they have seen no evidence of any other contaminated containers of the dip.

The Germantown company says it retested samples from the lot of cheese linked to the outbreak and that it’s clear of contamination. It also sent samples to an independent lab which confirmed the findings.

Health officials say the dispensing container and cheese dip were removed May 5, and that authorities believe the contamination posed no further risk to the public.

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