A French company, La Ruche, has recalled all Les Délices de Marie Claire preserves and has suspended operations after a production batch of its Tapenade verte aux amandes was linked to eight cases of botulism.

L’Institute Pasteur reported finding botulinum toxin type A in a sample of the implicated batch of olive-almond tapenade. 

Consumers in France, Belgium and Denmark are being advised to not eat Les Délices de Marie Claire brand Tapenade aux amandes, Lot no. 112005, with a best-before date of 16-12-2012.

Botulism is a rare but potentially life-threatening bacterial illness that is caused by the ingestion of a toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. Botulism poisoning is extremely rare, but is so dangerous that each diagnosed case is considered a public health emergency.

Symptoms of botulism generally appear 12 to 72 hours after eating contaminated food.  Those symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dizziness, double vision, drooping eyelids, difficulty swallowing, slurred speech, muscle weakness, and paralysis. With treatment, illness lasts from 1 to 10 days.  Full recovery from botulism poisoning can take weeks to months.  However, some people never fully recover.

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Photo of Claire Mitchell Claire Mitchell

Claire received her J.D. degree from Hofstra University School of Law with a concentration in Energy and the Environment in May 2010. She received her B.A., majoring in English, from Villanova University, magna cum laude. During law school, Claire served as Articles Editor…

Claire received her J.D. degree from Hofstra University School of Law with a concentration in Energy and the Environment in May 2010. She received her B.A., majoring in English, from Villanova University, magna cum laude. During law school, Claire served as Articles Editor for the Hofstra Labor & Employment Law Journal, was elected President of the Legal Emergency Aid Project and elected Treasurer of Hofstra Law Women. She is currently pursuing an LL.M. degree in Food and Agricultural Law at the University of Arkansas School of Law. In August 2010, Claire was selected as the recipient of the Marler Clark Graduate Assistantship, part of a new public/private partnership that will allow the University of Arkansas School of Law to partner with leaders in the food and agricultural legal communities. Although she began the LL.M. Program in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Claire is now living in Seattle in order to devote more time to her work at Marler Clark and is completing her LL.M. degree through distance learning. In addition to her academic and professional commitments, Claire blogs on Food Poison Journal and has been published in the Food and Drug Law Institute’s Update and the American Agricultural Law Association’s Update.