Bottled water recalled over Pa. E. coli concerns

A bottled-water company whose product is sold under the names of several area retailers has issued a recall for items produced at two Pennsylvania facilities because of E. coli concerns.

Niagara Bottling says the voluntary recall is for all water products produced at its manufacturing facilities in Allentown and Hamburg between June 10 and Thursday.

The company said a spring-water supply source was contaminated.

Routine testing of multiple water samples from that source, Far Away Springs-Auburn in Schuylkill County, indicated the presence of E. coli, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

The affected products were sold under the brand names 7-Eleven, Acadia, Acme, Best Yet, Big Y, Morning Fresh, Nature's Place, Niagara, Pricerite, Shaw's, ShopRite, Superchill, Western Beef Blue, and Wegmans.

Niagara did not say how many bottles were being recalled.

Officials said no illnesses associated with the contamination had been reported.

E. coli means the water could be contaminated with human or animal waste. Consuming the bacteria could cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, and headaches.

Consumers are being asked to check their bottle codes to see if their water is affected. Affected products have codes that begin with the letters F or A. The first digit indicates the production-line number. The next two numbers show the date, followed by the month in letters, the year, and the time of production, based on a 24-hour clock.

Potentially contaminated products were produced between 3 a.m. June 10 and 8 p.m. June 18.

Any bottles of water with codes from that time should not be used without boiling the water to kill any bacteria.

Niagara said it had "discontinued the use of this source," since the bottling company had not been notified of the potential water contamination "in a timely manner."

More information is available on the bottling company's website, www.niagarawater.com, or by calling 877-487-7873.