Unpasteurized apple cider can make you sick: health officials

Don’t fall for this common fall mistake.

Local health officials are warning about the dangers of consuming unpasteurized apple cider. The Ogle County Health Department in Illinois warns that it could contain harmful bacteria that can make people, especially vulnerable populations, seriously ill.

“Apple cider is a drink made from fresh apples,” the health department wrote in a Facebook post last month. “It’s usually a little cloudy and golden in color because it’s unfiltered and unpasteurized. Most apple orchards don’t take the time to pasteurize because it’s not necessary.”

Last month, the Fulton County Health Department in Illinois noted on Facebook that foodborne illnesses can be particularly serious and even life-threatening for infants, young children, pregnant women, older adults and people with weakened immune systems.

In 2015, unpasteurized apple cider made on a private dairy farm for a fall festival in Illinois was blamed for an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness that sickened more than 100 people.

Participants from five states and 10 counties in Illinois, ages 1 to 89, reported bloody diarrhea, stomach cramps and vomiting.

In one lawsuit, a couple said they became “gravely ill” after drinking several samples of the cider and bringing a container home.

Officials said the cider contained cryptosporidium, a tiny parasite that can cause watery diarrhea.

Authorities discovered that there were cattle known to carry cryptosporidia near the cider press.

Most juices sold in the United States are pasteurized, meaning they have been heated to kill harmful bacteria, yeast and mold.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires that packaged, unpasteurized juices in the refrigerated sections of grocery stores, health food stores, cider mills, or farmers’ markets must have a label that states: “WARNING: This product has not been pasteurized and therefore may contain harmful bacteria that can cause serious illness in children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems.“

However, juices sold by the glass at apple orchards, farmers markets, roadside stands or juice bars are not required to carry this warning.

A health authority recommends pasteurizing the juice at home by heating it to 70 degrees Celsius for at least a minute.

Healthline Nutrition editor Lisa Valente, a registered dietitian, told The Post: If you have any doubts about pasteurization, be sure to ask the seller.

“Farmers markets are part shopping, part social experience,” she said in June.