Unpasteurized apple cider or juice and E. coli infection

Drinking unpasteurized apple cider has led to some cases of infection with E. coli bacteria. Apples used in making the cider most likely became contaminated when they came in contact with cow manure on the ground.¹

Pasteurization (heat treatment) of apple cider kills these bacteria.

Federal policies in the United States require that unpasteurized juices include a warning on the label.

Citations

1. Kaplan SL, Keusch GT (2004). Diarrhea- and dysentery-causing Escherichia coli. In RD Feigin et al., eds., Textbook of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, 5th ed., vol. 1, pp. 1431–1449. Philadelphia: Saunders.