Possible Bacterial Contamination Spurs Recall of All Ready-to-Drink Slim-Fast Canned Products

Dec. 4, 2009 -- All Slim-Fast ready-to-drink canned products are being recalled because of possible contamination with Bacillus cereus, a bacterium that may cause diarrhea and possibly nausea and/or vomiting.
Unilever United States, Inc. issued the voluntary recall in cooperation with the FDA.
"The probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote," states a Unilever news release. Unilever says it issued the recall "out of an abundance of caution" based on its quality testing of Slim-Fast ready-to-drink (RTD) products in cans.
The recall involves all ready-to-drink Slim-Fast products sold in cans, regardless of flavor, "Best-By" date, lot code, or UPC number.
The recall doesn't include any other Slim-Fast products, such as powdered shakes, meal bars, or snack bars.
The recalled cans are sold individually or packaged in paperboard cartons containing four, six, or 12 steel cans that are marked "11 FL OZ (325 mL)" each.
Unilever urges people to immediately discard Slim-Fast ready-to-drink products in cans and call the company at 800-896-9479 for a full refund. Unilever's Consumer Services Center is open Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time. A recorded message is available around the clock, every day.
Unilever states that it "is in the process of identifying and correcting the production issue, and will resume production and shipping of the product when the issue has been addressed and corrected."