Did Odwalla, Inc. produce apple juice containing the E. Coli Bacterium? .
The actual problem for Odwalla occurred in October of 1996 when the E. Coli scare started. The families told health officials that they had drunk Odwalla apple juice, so that is why Odwalla has the problem now. What we do know is that Washington Health Officials have not yet made a public announcement, not have they even ordered Odwalla to issue a recall. The real cause of the problem here is that the information regarding E. Coli isn't even accurate. Researchers stated that the E. Coli has mutated so that it could survive more acidic conditions at a temperature in which the apple juice is stored at. Another issue is that only as few as 500 bacteria is required to cause illness, not a major breakdown in the system to spread it. Odwalla, believes that pasteurization affects the quality of their product so they do not use this to make sure all the bacteria is eliminated. The fact is that Odwalla has followed all guidelines set forth by the FDA, and the FDA did not issue any new regulations or advisories requiring pasteurization of fresh juice. So who is at fault? We believe the FDA should be mostly at fault for not having enough information regarding E. Coli in Juice.
The Desired State of Nature:.
In this case, the desired state of nature is for Odwalla to continue to produce juice like they want to, and that there is no E. Coli Bacterium in the juice. This is currently not attainable because they do not want to pasteurized their juices, and the E. Coli is already out there for consumption. The realistic desired state of nature would be that Odwalla do a recall and implemented pasteurization into their production methods and has eliminated any chance of contamination. They believe that they are following all the necessary precautions anyway.
The Alternatives That Will Lead to the Desired State:.
ALTERNATIVE ONE: TO DO NOTHING.