Health Law

Salmonella Egg Outbreak: the facts so far

By Drew Falkenstein

Over 500,000,000 eggs have been recalled due to potential contamination by Salmonella enteritidis.  The recalls have been initiated by two apparently distinct corporations, Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, although reports certainly suggest that the two companies have close ties, including part of their egg production operations.  The CDC estimates that, as of August 19, there have been 1,953 illnesses nationally caused by the same strain of Salmonella enteritidis, many of which are thought to be related to the Wright County Egg outbreak.

Here is a summary of what we know, to date, about the retail sources of people's confirmed illnesses nationally:

     --California: 266 confirmed cases, including 43 in Los Angeles County. 

     --Colorado: 28 cases in June and July, versus the usual 7 cases for that time frame; some of the cases were from an outbreak associated with The Fort, a restaurant in Jefferson County.

     --Minnesota: 14 cases, linked to at least two separate restaurant outbreaks, one of which is rumored to be Mi Rancho, a relatively new Mexican cuisine restaurant in north Bemidji, whose eggs were traced to Hillandale Farms.

     --Southern Nevada: 30 cases since January – four times the usual number.

     --Texas: more than 150 cases in 40 or more counties since mid-May; investigations are in progress to determine how many are linked to Wright County's eggs.

     --Wisconsin: 21 cases linked to the Baker Street Restaurant and Pub in Kenosha.

In addition to the lawsuit we have filed against Wright County Egg in the outbreak at Baker Street Restaurant in Wisconsin, we have been contacted by 45 people from all across the country, including the specific states listed above.  Specifically, we have been retained by multiple people from Ohio, North Carolina, and Oregon to investigate their suspicious Salmonella enteritidis illnesses during the time frame of this outbreak; and tomorrow, we will be filing suit on behalf of an 11-year-old California girl who was sickened in early July after consuming recalled eggs.  The young girl was hospitalized for several days during her severe, acute illness. 

Full post as published by Food Poison Blog on August 22, 2010 (boomark / email).