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Health Law

Food Poison Blog

Surveillance and analysis on food poison news and outbreaks.
By Marler Clark

Post Frequency: 17.6/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 12:57:03

Summer 2010 food safety report card

Posted on September 11, 2010
It is constructive to look at what we've done recently, and take lessons from failures. This summer--totally gone now in Seattle--was actually fairly encouraging, despite the best efforts of one bad egg who dominated food news. Here are the grades for several major food industries (beef, produce, and raw milk), and a grade for Wright County Egg...

"What we've got here is [a] failure to communicate"

Posted on September 10, 2010
The Wall Street Journal today lambasted the USDA and FDA, though less specifically, for failure to communicate about many sanitation problems at Wright County Egg in the months during the current Salmonella debacle (a/k/a outbreak). In written remarks, the USDA graders repeatedly noted problems with bugs, trash and egg residue...

CDC Reports 1,519 Salmonella Illnesses linked to Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms

Posted on September 10, 2010
The CDC reports that from May 1 to August 31, 2010, approximately 1,519 illnesses were reported that are likely to be associated with this outbreak. In addition, the FDA is nearing completion of initial investigations at both of these firms in Iowa...

Correction on Huron County, Michigan E. coli O157:H7 infections

Posted on September 10, 2010
We reported on Labor day weekend that health authorities in Michigan were investigating a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses that appeared to match each other, and were thus thought to have come from the same source. In fact, Michigan state and local health officials recently announced their conclusion that the three confirmed cases are actually from quite different strains of E...

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Milk recall due to failure to properly pasteurize

Posted on September 09, 2010
New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker today alerted consumers that Midland Farms, located in Menands, New York, is voluntarily recalling certain milk products due to the potential of improper pasteurization. The recalled milk products are all sold in plastic containers and are marketed under the brand names Midland Farms, Corrado's Market, Jersey Dairy Farms and Trade Fair Premium...

More about conditions at Wright County Egg

Posted on September 09, 2010
Jens Manuel Krogstad and Phil Brasher at the Des Moines Register this morning published another article on the conditions at Wright County Egg during the egg outbreak . . . and, for some, extending back a decade or more. The reports came from past and present workers at the company...

Two Illnesses In Maine Confirmed Linked to E. coli O26 Outbreak

Posted on September 09, 2010
A report today confirms the link of two E. coli O26 infections in Maine to the Cargill outbreak and recall. The Maine CDC has identified two adults with a matching strain of E. coli O26. The date of onset of illness for the two patients, who live in Androscoggin and Oxford counties, was July 8 and July 16...

US PIRG issues report on food recalls; more support for Food Safety Modernization Act

Posted on September 08, 2010
US PIRG, the federation of state public interest groups, released a report today on outbreaks and illnesses since the House's passage of HR 2749, a/k/a the Food Safety Enhancement Act, known in its current iteration before the Senate as the Food Safety Modernization Act...

Colorado E. coli O157 Infections a Reminder of Raw Milk's Huge Risks

Posted on September 07, 2010
A recent raw milk outbreak of E. coli O157 among 30 plus folks in Colorado serves as an important reminder of the enormous risks associated with consumption of raw milk and raw milk products, especially for kids and the elderly. Jennifer Brown at the Denver Post has written an excellent article on one family's horrific experience...

Marler Food Safety Speeches 2010 and 2011

Posted on September 05, 2010
In between my day job as managing partner at Marler Clark, my evening job as blogger at Marler Blog and my middle of the night job as publisher at Food Safety News, I spend some time traveling the world pitching 'why it is a bad idea to poison your customers...

Huron County, Michigan, E. coli outbreak

Posted on September 04, 2010
E. coli O157:H7 has sickened at least three people, and likely more, in an outbreak that the Huron County Health Department and State of Michigan are trying to figure out. According to a press release from Huron County, the three confirmed cases have all tested positive for the same strain of E...

To Wright County Egg, on behalf of thousands of sick people: thanks for caring

Posted on September 04, 2010
The CDC's most recent case count in the egg outbreak rose to 1,469 the other day. It seems to have been understood from the beginning that prolific contamination in the facilities at Wright County Egg, resulted from inattentiveness, at best, and blatant disregard, at worst, in the production environment...

Bakersfield Salmonella outbreak at Don Pericos Mexican restaurant

Posted on September 03, 2010
Salmonella has dominated the news lately, but its not all eggs. A Bakersfield, California mexican restaurant called Don Pericos has been identified as the source of a salmonella outbreak that has caused at least 4 confirmed illness...

Half a Billion Eggs Later, Egg Producers Continue to Blame, Mislead Consumers

Posted on September 02, 2010
Here's what egg producers had to say after one of their largest, Wright County Egg, poisoned thousands with Salmonella in conjunction with a recall of half a billion eggs: it's your fault. It is a stunning position to take in light of FDA findings from an inspection of Wright County Egg facilities in Galt, Iowa, as listed in pleadings filed on behalf of Marler Clark clients in Federal District Court in Iowa this week...

Guest blogger: Salmonella victim Barb Pruitt urges Senate to act food safety legislation

Posted on September 02, 2010
Nobody can speak more authoritatively about the risks of foodpoisoning than those who have succumbed to severe illness in large outbreaks, and had there lives permanently changed as a result. Barb Pruitt will not be in Washington DC next week to speak with key senators and staffers on the importance of new food safety legislation, but hers is certainly a voice that needs to be heard as well...

A Bad Egg Revealed: FDA Releases Inspection Report of Wright County Egg

Posted on August 31, 2010
Today the FDA released its Form 483 Inspection Observation Report from the on-site inspections it recently conducted at Wright County Egg's egg laying farms/plants, and the findings are nothing short of disgusting. Here are just a sampling of the conditions witnessed by FDA's inspectors: Chicken manure located in the manure pits below the egg laying operations was observed to be approximately 4 feet high to 8 feet high at the following locations: Layer 1 – House 1; Layer 3 – Houses 2, 7, 17, and 18...

Bill Marler: E. coli O26 Outbreak and Recall Illustrate Urgent Need for Change

Posted on August 30, 2010
Food Safety Advocate has Petitioned USDA Seattle, WA (August 30, 2010) The recent outbreak of E. coli O26 linked to three illnesses and the recall of four tons of ground beef products produced by Cargill Meat Solutions is the precise reason these pathogen needs to be monitored, says Seattle food safety attorney, Bill Marler...

The silver lining in the egg outbreak

Posted on August 29, 2010
Sometimes major food-safety events (i.e. large-scale outbreaks and recalls) have the effect of bringing important issues to the fore, thereby preventing them from being ignored any longer. The 2006 Spinch E. coli O157 recall certainly did; the Leafy Green Marketing Agreement--which sets forth standardized, fairly stringent rules for the production of leafy greens--came out the other end of the illness vortex that sickened over 200 people and killed 5 (not 3, which is normally the number given)...

Retail distribution of recalled Cargill ground beef products: BJ's was the recipient

Posted on August 28, 2010
BJ's grocery establishments in 8 states appear to be the only retailers to have received the Cargill ground beef products that have sickened 3 people in New York and Maine since early August. The 8 states where BJ's stores are known to have received recalled product are New York, Maine, Connecticut, Virginia, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachussetts, and Maryland...

Cargill ground beef outbreak: Maine and New York no strangers

Posted on August 28, 2010
At least 3 people have been sickened recently in Maine and New York after consuming ground beef manufactured by Cargill (but sold under various brand names) that was contaminated by E. coli O126, a rare strain of shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli...

Cargill Meat Solutions Recalls E. coli O26 Tainted Ground Beef

Posted on August 28, 2010
Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., a Wyalusing, Pa. establishment, is recalling approximately 8,500 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O26, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today...

Press Advisory - Non-E. coli O157:H7 EHEC should be "Adulterants"

Posted on August 28, 2010
In light of this weekends recall by Cargill Meat Solutions of approximately 8,500 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O26, and the sickening of three people, it is time for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to deem another six 'enterohemorrhagic (EHEC) Shiga toxin-producing serotypes of Escherichia coli (E...

Some local flavor (for Kentuckiana) in the Wright County Egg mess

Posted on August 27, 2010
Sheila Mclaughlin at the Cincinnati Enquirer today reported that as many as 264 restaurants in the greater Cincinnati, Louisville, and Indianapolis metro areas received recalled eggs from Wright County Egg company, which has been linked to a major Salmonella outbreak that has sickened thousands...

Nearly 50 Marler Clark Clients Share in $12M Salmonella Award

Posted on August 26, 2010
According to press reports, late yesterday afternoon a federal judge recommended approval of a $12 million settlement for those sickened or killed in last year's salmonella outbreak tied to a Virginia-based peanut processor. This includes nearly 50 families represented by Marler Clark...

Delays in food recalls continue to threaten public health

Posted on August 26, 2010
Back on February 3, 2010, in the wake of another big salmonella outbreak linked, ultimately, to an FDA regulated product (pepper), I authored a blog-post titled "The slow flow of information about food outbreaks." It discussed what was perceived as unreasonable delays in acting on infromation that suggested there was a problem with a particular product...

2010 Salmonella outbreak update: 4th installment

Posted on August 26, 2010
Over the course of the last several months, I have periodically reviewed major Salmonella outbreaks that have occurred at various restaurants, and from other food sources, over the first 2/3 of 2010. Obviously, this fourth installment is heavy on the eggs...

Feed Being Eyed As Likely Source for Salmonella in Egg Outbreak

Posted on August 26, 2010
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today that feed given to chickens at both Hillandale Farms and Wright County Egg could be the source of the Salmonella bacteria that has caused an outbreak of 2,403 confirmed illnesses throughout the United States...

Missouri Dairy's Raw Milk Cheese Production Stopped Due to Listeria and Staph

Posted on August 26, 2010
Inspectors with the Missouri Department of Agriculture have halted production and distribution from Morningland Dairy located in Mountain View, after raw cheese from the dairy tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. The cheese samples were seized June 30 in California; Missouri officials were made aware of the California department's test results today...

Time for a Senate vote on the "Food Safety Modernization Act"

Posted on August 25, 2010
1938 was the year that Congress passed the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which gave the FDA the authority to oversee the safety of many aspects of our food supply. Also in 1938: The average price of a new home was $3,900 A gallon of gas cost a dime Average annual wages were $1,730 The Fair Labor Standards Act set the minimum wage at twenty-five cents Oil was DISCOVERED in Saudi Arabia And Adolf Hitler was designated Time Magazine's "Person of the Year...

Salmonella Egg Outbreak Update: Which States?

Posted on August 25, 2010
As per usual, a very informative post from Phyllis Entis at efoodalert.com providing an update on the nationwide Salmonella enteritidis outbreak on a state by state basis. The state by state breakdown is preceded by her accurate observation that the public is still left without conclusive, easily accessible, information about where these contaminated eggs have been distributed...

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