Health official tries to allay ‘Robin Hood’ fear

Chief Environmental Officer in the Ministry of Health Yolanda Penn is trying to allay public fears about Robin Hood products that are imported into the Territory; this as some of the said products remain on the local shelves despite a recall.

Penn said only products with certain batch numbers were tainted.

“All of those [tainted] items have been pulled from the shelves. I don’t even think that there were any here [in the BVI]. But there is nothing on the shelf that was part of the recall… Not all Robin Hood products [are contaminated]. It’s certain lot numbers.”

“The ones that were pulled were potentially contaminated with E coli. But, like I said, we haven’t even found any of the products,” Penn told BVI News Online.

E coli, which is short for Escherichia coli, is a type of bacteria that lives in the intestines of people and animals. It is also sometimes found on food.

The health ministry had stated that the product recall “is due to findings by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency during its investigation into a food-borne illness associated with flour”. It added that “certain items may be contaminated with E coli 0121”.

The ministry added that symptoms associated with that type of E coli bacteria include watery to bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and mild to severe abdominal cramps. “In severe cases of illness, persons may have seizures or strokes, need blood transfusions and kidney dialysis, or live with permanent kidney damage. Severe cases can lead to death.”

Persons should seek medical attention if they experience any of the aforementioned symptoms after they consume Robin Hood products.

The following is a list of the products that were red-flagged: Creative Baker All Purpose Flour, Robin Hood Best for Blending Flour, Robin Hood All-Purpose Flour, and Robin Hood Bread and Roll Mix Home-style.