Food Poison Blog: Health Law

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Health Law Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

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

Shelled nuts and E. coli O157:H7

Posted on March 05, 2011
Between October 2008 and March 2009, a UK group of scientists studied E. coli and Salmonella contamination on ready to eat shelled nuts. The samples were from retail stores. The whole study can be read here: shellednuts.pdf. Summary: A total of 2,886 nut kernel samples of different varieties were examined for Salmonella spp...

Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan E. coli Illnesses Linked to DeFranco and Sons Hazelnuts

Posted on March 05, 2011
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan Depatments of Health and federal agencies are investigating cases of E. coli O157:H7 infection associated with eating in-shell hazelnuts (also known as filberts) purchased from bulk bins at retail food stores (stores not yet identified)...

A mad cow in Alberta

Posted on March 05, 2011
Food Safety News reports today that, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as mad cow disease, was detected last month in a dairy cow from Alberta. The agency said no part of the slaughtered cow was used for human or animal food and the case should not affect exports of Canadian cattle or beef...

FDA Announces Skippy Peanut butter Recall - Salmonella

Posted on March 05, 2011
The FDA announced yesterday that Unilever United States, Inc. today was conducting "a limited recall of Skippy® Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter Spread and Skippy® Reduced Fat Super Chunk Peanut Butter Spread." The product was recalled over concerns that it might be contaminated with Salmonella...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Botulism recall for uneviscerated fish

Posted on March 04, 2011
Daiei Trading Co., Inc. of College Point NY 11356 is recalling Gourmet Family Brand Large Mouth Smelt Komochi Shishamo because it has the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium which can cause life-threatening illness or death...

William Marler to receive Seattle University Professional Achievement Award

Posted on March 04, 2011
Professional Achievement: To recognize exceptional achievement in the professional arena William Marler, ‘87 William Marler is an accomplished and highly respected attorney who is recognized as national expert in food borne illness litigation. Marler has been a major force in food safety policy in the United States and abroad...

Morningland Dairy embargo ratified in Missouri Circuit Court

Posted on March 03, 2011
Recently the Missouri State Milk Board and Department of Ag's embargo against Morningland products was challenged in Howell County Circuit Court. The Court granted a permanent injunction following the Jan. 11-12, 2011 hearing. As a result of that permanent injunction, products previously embargoed--i...

USDA Inspector General: FSIS's E. coli O157:H7 testing program inadequate

Posted on March 03, 2011
USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong testified today before the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee concerning, among other things, the inadequacy of Food Safety and Inspection Service's testing program for E. coli O157:H7 on beef trim, which is used in the production of ground beef: We recently completed an audit that assessed how the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) samples beef trim for E...

Western Farm Press on lingering effects of 2006 Spinach E. coli outbreak

Posted on March 02, 2011
Strange that the 2006 spinach E. coli outbreak is getting so much coverage today: (1) Casper Star-Tribune ran a story this morning on Ruby Trautz and her family (Ruby died in the spinach outbreak); (2) i'm preparing for a presentation to the Canadian Food Processors Association tomorrow, where the spinach outbreak, as an incentive for improved food safety, will take center stage; and (3) today Cary Blake at the Western Farm Press wrote a very insightful article titled "Leafy greens industry still reeling from the e...

More food items caught in Taylor Farms Broccoli recall

Posted on March 02, 2011
Taylor Farms Pacific, a California company, recalled certain broccoli products yesterday because tests by the Washington State Department of Health revealed contamination by Listeria monocytogenes. Today, several other food producers who had used the recalled broccoli in other products, issued their own recalls...

FDA Cites Firm for Shipping Eggs From Contaminated Farm

Posted on March 02, 2011
Phillip Brasher of the Des Moines Register reported yesterday that an egg producer from Ohio received a warning letter from the FDA for "selling eggs from a contaminated farm." The firm goes by the name "Ohio Fresh Eggs." The FDA states that Ohio Fresh Eggs "shipped 798 cases of eggs from the farm last October even though company testing had found salmonella at the site...

Cook County Resident files lawsuit in outbreak linked to Merle's Smokehouse

Posted on March 01, 2011
Tomorrow we will file suit on behalf of a Cook County Resident who was infected by Clostridium perfringens in an outbreak that the Evanston City Health Department linked to Merle's Smokehouse. The Outbreak: On Thursday, February 17, 2011 the City of Evanston Health Department was contacted by Evanston School District 65 regarding 30 individuals becoming ill after eating food catered by the defendant at a Parent/ Teacher Conference held on Wednesday February 16, 2011...

Taylor Farms recalls broccoli over Listeria concerns

Posted on March 01, 2011
Taylor Farms Pacific is voluntarily recalling broccoli items with a best if used by date of 2/7/11 to 3/7/11. Taylor Farms issued the recall after the Washington State Department of Health detected Listeria monocytogenes in a random sample of product...

Spurred by loss, spinach outbreak victims continue to push for change

Posted on March 01, 2011
The E. coli O157 outbreak linked to Dole baby spinach is still known as "The Outbreak" amongst producers in America's salad bowl--a.k.a the Salinas Valley, California. It caused more than 200 severe illnesses, more than 30 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome, and killed 5 people--although the CDC only acknowledges 3 deaths...

Shopping Carts, Kids, and Bacteria - Health Risk or No?

Posted on March 01, 2011
A new study showed that fecal bacteria could be found on a majority of shopping carts. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Arizona, in Tucson. The carts were sampled in four different states. According to this report, of the 85 carts examined, 72 percent turned out to have a marker for fecal bacteria...

Colorado bill to limit food retailer liability postponed "indefinitely"

Posted on February 28, 2011
The Colorado House Judiciary committee has recommended that HB 11-1190 be "postponed indefinitely." The bill, introduced by state Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg and state Sen. Cheri Jahn, would have changed Colorado law by absolving food retailers, as opposed to manufacturers, of liability in situations where the manufacturer isn't subject to the jurisdiction of Colorado courts...

Illinois food poisoning outbreaks continue

Posted on February 26, 2011
2010 hit Illinois hard when it came to foodpoisoning outbreaks. (2011 just got worse with the announcement of the Merle's BBQ clostridium perfringens outbreak) Rolf's Patisserie staph aureus outbreak sickens over 100 Tiny Greens sproutbreak sickens at least 70 with Salmonella Illinois Subway restaurants sicken over 100 with Salmonella Hvittingfoss Skokie Country Club causes at least 87 Salmonella illnesses Lombard Subway causes hundreds of Shigella sonnei illnesses

Food poisoning outbreak at Merle's in Evanston, Illinois

Posted on February 26, 2011
Clostridium perfringens has caused an outbreak of food poisoning illnesses at Merle's BBQ in Evanston, Illinois, sickening more than 30 people. Actually, the implicated meal was catered by Merle's for the parent/teacher conferences at Haven Middle School on Feb...

A First Hand Account of Salmonella Suffering

Posted on February 26, 2011
A story out of South Australia gives one woman's account of her battle with Salmonella. Her words help provide some understanding of the severity of even an uncomplicated bout with Salmonella, one that comes without any of the less common but frightening complications that can occur...

Public Health Groups See Global Warming as Food Safety Threat

Posted on February 25, 2011
The American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Public Health Association (APHA) yesterday held a conference call to explain how global warming has "taken a toll on human health and will continue to cause food-borne illnesses, respiratory problems, and deaths unless policy changes are enacted...

New Market Poultry Recalls Chicken

Posted on February 25, 2011
New Market Poultry, a New Market, Va., establishment, is recalling approximately 3,339 pounds of ice-packed, whole chicken products that may be adulterated due to leaking cooler condensate, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today...

FDA Approves of First Early Detection Norovirus Test

Posted on February 24, 2011
The FDA announced that it is permitting the marketing of the first test of its kind designed for early detection of norovirus, one of the most common source of gastrointestinal illnesses. The Ridascreen Norovirus 3rd Generation EIA assay is for use when a number of people have simultaneously contracted gastroenteritis and there is a clear avenue for virus transmission, such as a shared location or food...

New Genome Sequencing Test Aids Investigation of Salmonella Outbreak

Posted on February 24, 2011
FDA scientists successfully used a new genome sequencing test to retrospectively examine a 2009-2010 foodborne illness outbreak to help trace the source of the infection. A Salmonella Montevideo outbreak that began early in 2010 was linked to spice rubs on certain salamis and sickened nearly 300 people in 44 states and the District of Columbia...

'Seize the Cheese' - FDA acts to prevent distribution of food from rodent-infested facility

Posted on February 24, 2011
FDA: U.S. Marshals seize food products at Tennessee company U.S. Marshals today seized about $200,000 worth of food products from Bedford Cheese Store Inc. in Shelbyville, Tenn., after U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigators found evidence of rodents throughout the company's facility...

Full Disclosure: these products were not grown at a farm or facility that was licensed or subject to inspection

Posted on February 24, 2011
Four counties in Maine have joined many other states in proposing legislation intended to liberalize sales of raw milk or lighten the regulatory load on certain producers of other food products. Rich Hewitt at the Bangor Daily News wrote today: Small, local farm operations in recent years have faced increasingly stringent state regulations that, farmers say, threaten their farms and the rights of local residents to buy local food...

2008 Salmonella peppers outbreak is a study in tough circumstances, but hardly incompetence

Posted on February 24, 2011
Governments' foodborne disease investigating agencies (CDC, FDA, USDA-FSIS, and the many state, local, and tribal units) are not infallible, but yesterday's release in the New England Journal of Medicine of a collaborative study on the 2008 Salmonella Peppers outbreak is not nearly the indictment of the methods and conclusions of that outbreak that United Fresh Produce Assocation said it was today...

Foodborne Illness Outbreak Database Seeks Contributions, Corrections and Comments

Posted on February 23, 2011
Welcome to outbreakdatabase.com, a searchable database of illness outbreaks caused by one or more of the following 1. consumption of contaminated foods or beverages, 2. exposure to animals, 3. exposure to contaminated recreational water, 4. person-to-person contact with someone whose illness initiated from animal exposure or consumption of contaminated foods and beverages...

E. coli O157:H7 and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS)

Posted on February 23, 2011
Escherichia coli (E. coli) are members of a large group of bacterial germs that inhabit the intestinal tract of humans and other warm-blooded animals (mammals, birds). Newborns have a sterile alimentary tract, which within two days becomes colonized with E...

FSMA: The price of progress

Posted on February 23, 2011
Foodpoisonjournal.com has long championed the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act, signed into law by President Obama in January. It basically re-wrote an archaic regulatory scheme almost a century old, where the same demands, markets, and risks simply did not exist...

Forget Taco Bell's beef, how would you like to be served this mess?

Posted on February 23, 2011
A raw burger does not always cause foodpoisoning, but come on. This is from a young mother in Ohio, who purchased a kids meal for her children, and a burger for herself, from a fast food restaurant today (hint: billions and billions sold, but not necessarily re-invested in food safety)...

Previous | Next

Related Law Bulletins

New Baptist Covenant Blog
Last week, I pointed to the New Baptist Convenant website, now onl...

The Mexico Trucker Blog
I've written before about the perceived problems with relaxed rest...

Triarc Focusing on Food
As expected, billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz has not s...