If you?ve been on the Slim Fast diet and drink one or two canned drinks adaily you should probably stop or swap to another product. All canned Slim Fast drinks have voluntarily been recalled by the company because of fears over bacterial contamination, which is linked to diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Presently there are about 10 million products in the market.

The beverages might be contaminated with the microorganism Bacillus cereus. Thus far the Food and Drug Administration hasn?t revealed any deaths or injuries linked to the recall but an unknown number of people have gotten sick between six and fifteen hours after consumption. Although they improved within 24 hours.

Contamination most likely happened during the manufacturing process. The pathogen was discovered and then the FDA was informed. The products are found nationwide and all Slim Fast drinks should be discarded. They come in packages of either four, six, or 12 and in steel 11 ounce cans. But some cans are also sold alone.

All cans have been recalled. No matter what the flavor, expiration date, lot code or UPC number is just get rid of them. But if you?re worried about screwing up the Slim Fast plan you don?t have too. All other products besides the drinks including the powdered shakes, meal bars or snack bars are okay.

The corporation is working on determining where the issue took place and what caused the contamination. Production has closed until the problem is taken care of. All customers need to dispose of their drinks. If not they risk the chance of being ill for 24 hours with very disagreeable symptoms.

In the U.S. everyone relies immensely on the products produced in factories. But the fact is that there?s a very small chance of getting ill from the food we buy, but we really don?t know what is going on when our food is being processed. We just have to believe in the system and the FDA and hope that we?ll come out alright.

The trouble is that in developed countries there are producers and consumers. In the past everyone raised their own food and would buy the few supplies that they needed. And now there are very few people that raise a garden to provide for their own needs. Most of us don?t have the time or space to grow one so we rely wholly on others to produce our food and we just buy it at the supermarket.

So the fact that we have little to do with producing our own food makes us completely reliant on farmers and manufacturers. Particularly if we?re on a particular diet like Slim Fast because then you only eat one or two meals a day and the remaining meals end up being a shake.

Diets enhance our loyalty on products especially if we?re loyal to a certain brand. Branding takes a lot of cash out of our pockets and puts it into theirs but it makes us question that when there?s a recall like this. But after this recall and the close inspections the plant is going through, these products will probably be the safest because they?ve recently inspected and upgraded in order to avoid similar problems in the future.
About the Author

Diane Johnson earned a bachelor?s degree in Political Science from the University of Utah. She is interested in continuing education and likes to write about the news, politics, college degrees, online classes, and the college experience.