News
02/10/1995

<TITLE>FDA WARNING AGAINST CONSUMING "BAMBA SNACKS WITH PEANUTS" </TITLE>
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                                   Contact:  Brad Stone
                                             (202) 205-4144


     FDA is issuing a national warning against purchasing or
consuming "Bamba Snacks with Peanuts" manufactured by OSEM Food
Industries Ltd. of Tel Aviv, Israel, because this kosher snack
product has been associated with outbreaks of Salmonella agona in
Europe.  FDA is issuing this warning as a precautionary measure,
since it is not known how widely the product is distributed in
the U.S., or whether the product in the U.S. is similarly
contaminated.
     Salmonella agona is an organism which can cause serious and
sometimes fatal infections in small children, frail or elderly
people, and others with weakened immune systems.  Healthy
individuals may only suffer short-term symptoms such as high
fever, severe headache, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain and
diarrhea.  Long term complications can include debilitating
arthritis.
     Since December 1, 1994, authorities in England and Wales
have reported 27 cases of Salmonella agona infection in children
under ten years of age who have consumed this snack product. 
Authorities in Austria, Germany and Sweden have also reported 
similar cases.  No cases have yet been reported in the U.S.
                             -MORE-

                                              Page 2, BAMBA
     Laboratory examinations of some of the product conducted by
health authorities in the United Kingdom have confirmed the 
the presence of the organism.  Efforts to recall the product have
been initiated in the United Kingdom and other countries.
     FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
are working to determine whether contaminated product has been
distributed in the U.S. and the extent to which it poses a public
health threat in this country.  In the meantime, consumers who
may have this product are urged not to consume it, but to instead
contact their local FDA office.

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