Castleberry's Food Company is an Augusta, Georgia-based canned food company founded in the 1920s by Clement Stewart Castleberry with the help of his father Clement Lamar Castleberry and closed in March 2008 by the United States

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

until Hanover Foods bought the rights to Castleberry's food and name. The company grew from a payroll of two to over 400 workers at its peak. Castleberry's was sold by the Castleberry family in 1991 to Robert Kirby. Kirby later sold the company to Connors Brothers Limited, parent company of

Bumble Bee Foods Bumble Bee Foods, LLC, is a company that produces canned tuna, salmon, other seafoods, and chicken under the brand names "Bumble Bee," "Wild Selections," "Beach Cliff," "Brunswick," and "Snow's." The brand is marketed as " Clover Leaf" in Can ...

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Due to problems with

quality control Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements". This approach places ...

, the

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

experienced problems when it shipped products that were underprocessed, resulting in several cases of

botulism Botulism is a rare and potentially fatal illness caused by a toxin produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum''. The disease begins with weakness, blurred vision, feeling tired, and trouble speaking. This may then be followed by weaknes ...

and subsequent widespread

recall Recall may refer to: * Recall (bugle call), a signal to stop * Recall (information retrieval), a statistical measure * ''ReCALL'' (journal), an academic journal about computer-assisted language learning * Recall (memory) * ''Recall'' (Overwatch ...

, and the cessation of production at their food processing plant.

Canned chili sauce

Beginning in June 2007, eight people contracted

due to the consumption of "Hot Dog Chili Sauce" and other products manufactured by the Castleberry's Food Company plant in

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

, which were under-processed, resulting in the production of

botulinum toxin Botulinum toxin, or botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum'' and related species. It prevents the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from axon endings at the neuromusc ...

within the cans. At that time, the Castleberry's plant was owned and operated by

Bumble Bee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only Extant taxon, extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct r ...

. While regular cooking will destroy botulinum toxin, the botulinum spores can only be killed by cooking at 121 °C for 3 minutes; hence, canned food must be prepared at the higher temperature to prevent the spores from producing more toxin after the canning process. The United States'

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

attributed the food poisoning to Castleberry's Food Company's use of a defective canning process which did not reach the required temperature and duration. An FDA investigation later revealed that the problem arose from the use of canners which "had broken alarms, a leaky valve and an inaccurate temperature device." The

(CDC) advised consumers to dispose of foods recalled due to the food poisoning incidents in the following manner:

Do not open or puncture any unopened can of the recalled product ... Dispose of food that may be contaminated by placing in a sealable bag, wrapping another plastic bag around the sealable bag, and then taping tightly. Place bags in a trash receptacle for non-recyclable trash outside the home and out of reach of humans and pets. Do not discard the food in a sink, garbage disposal, or toilet. Avoid splashing and contact with the skin. Wear rubber or latex gloves when handling open containers of food that you think may be contaminated. Wash hands with soap and running water for at least 2 minutes after handling food or containers that may be contaminated.

In total, 14 people in seven states (Texas – 4, Ohio – 3, Indiana – 2, Hawaii – 2, Georgia – 1, New Mexico – 1, California – 1) contracted botulism poisoning from Castleberry's chili products, under three different brands. The illnesses resulted in litigation against Castleberry's, Bumble Bee Foods, and the equipment manufacturer.

Temporary recommencement of food manufacturing

Following authorization by the FDA and

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

, Castleberry's Food Company restarted operations at its canning plant in September 2007, producing products which carried substantially different labeling and UPCs from those printed on cans of recalled food. Listed amongst the frequently asked questions on the Castleberry's Food Company Web site from November 2007 was the following query: "How do I know Castleberry's Food products are safe to eat?" However, in March 2008, the canning plant was closed when the FDA revoked the "temporary emergency operating permit" that was allowing production to continue.

Sale to Hanover Foods

After closing, Hanover Foods, best known for frozen and canned vegetables, bought the rights to Castleberry's food and name. Hanover continues to sell products like chili and beef stew under the Castleberry's name.

References

{{reflist Food manufacturers of the United States Food recalls Companies based in Augusta, Georgia Botulism Companies established in the 1920s American companies disestablished in 2008 Defunct manufacturing companies based in Georgia (U.S. state) Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2008