Personal Injury Law

E. coli O157:H7, Spinach and Children Do Not Mix - Well

Posted on April 17, 2009
Severe illness - Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) - caused by E. coli O157:H7, impacts kids the hardest.  Here is another family's story of when feeding your kids something healthy goes very wrong.  Again, might need to download Quicktime to view the video below:

Another E. coli O157:H7 Death Casused by Tainted Spinach

Posted on April 17, 2009
Click on below to watch video.  You might need Quicktime to watch.

Clostridium difficile in Food - The Next Thing to Worry About May Already Be Here

Posted on April 17, 2009
Over the last several years we have seen multiple instances where Clostridium difficile and foodborne illness have been related. However, the Clostridium difficile infection has generally been associated with the foodborne illness after treatment for the infection by antibiotics, not as a result of actual ingestion of the Clostridium difficile bacteria...

Another E. coli O157:H7 Death Caused by Tainted Spinach

Posted on April 17, 2009
Click on below to watch video.  You might need Quicktime to watch.

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An Agenda for Strengthening State and Local Roles in the Nation's Food Safety System

Posted on April 17, 2009

Spice Recall Increased Because of Salmonella Contamination

Posted on April 16, 2009
FDA announced that Union International Food Co. is expanding a spice recall to include all Lian How brand and Uncle Chen brand sauces, oil and oil blends in various size packages because the products may be contaminated with salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, especially in young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems...

Raw Milk Outbreaks - 2009 Update

Posted on April 15, 2009
Thanks to my friends at Kansas State - click below:

Royal Society for Public Health - E. coli: Cases, Controls and Common Sense

Posted on April 14, 2009
I have the great honor to once again speak before the Royal Society for Public Health in London next month.  It will be great to share the stage again with Hugh Pennington.  Professor Pennington just finished an extensive investigation into an E...

Bill Marler - The food-safety litigator - Interview with Culinate

Posted on April 14, 2009
Had a great chance to speak with Miriam Wolf of Culinate. Here is the interview: In 1993, as a Seattle trial lawyer, he was hired to litigate against the fast-food restaurant chain Jack in the Box, whose E. coli-contaminated hamburgers had killed four children...

Hepatitis A in Imported Green Onions - Its Impact on One Man

Posted on April 14, 2009
In late October 2003, Beaver County ER doctors reported an alarming number of Hepatitis A cases. Investigators from the Pennsylvania Department of Health initiated an investigation immediately and discovered that many, if not all, cases had eaten at Chi Chi's restaurant in Monaca, Pennsylvania's Beaver Valley Mall...

Raw Milk, Campylobacter jejuni, President Roosevelt and Guillain-Barré Syndrome - Six Degrees of Separation?

Posted on April 13, 2009
I spent part of the day working on the sad case of a Crescent City, California woman, Mrs. Tardiff, who contracted Campylobacter jejuni from consuming raw milk purchased at Alexandre Family EcoDairy Farms.  The farms stopped the sale of raw milk...

Salmonella Pistachio Product Recall Expanded

Posted on April 13, 2009
The FDA announced additional and expanded items that are being recalled.  The following recalls have been announced because the products may be contaminated with salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, especially in young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems:Aurora Products Inc...

Yet Another Reason E. coli O157:H7 Has No Place in Our Food

Posted on April 13, 2009
Donna Roy was part of the 2006 Dole Spinach E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak. She developed Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), which is a severe, life-threatening complication of an E. coli O157:H7 bacterial infection. It is now recognized as the most common cause of acute kidney failure in childhood in the United States...

Two Dead from Sea Cucumber Food Poisoning

Posted on April 13, 2009
Two people died while four others are in critical condition in Cebu after eating a fried sea cucumber delicacy on Saturday, a report said. The sea cucumber, a herbivore, is not known for being poisonous but it secretes blue ink from its skin which is potentially lethal to any predators...

Easter Egg Hunt - Staphylococcal Food Poisoning - A Great Way to Ruin Your Easter

Posted on April 12, 2009
So, between reading my emails, I read the 1984 JAMA Article by G. A. Merrill, S. B. Werner, R. G. Bryant, D. Fredson and K. Kelly Staphylococcal food poisoning associated with an Easter egg hunt Staphylococcal contamination of intact, hard-boiled eggs resulted in the food poisoning of an estimated 300 children out of 850 who had participated in an Easter egg hunt...

Great Email to Get on Easter Sunday - Little Brother Peanut Vents

Posted on April 12, 2009
So, I get home from visiting my parents for Easter and I get this email from hugh.parnell@yahoo.com. The email came from Lynchburg Virginia - home of Falwell Ministries, Liberty University, Stewart Parnell and the Peanut Corporation of America: You have got to be a money crazy son of a bitch, with a big mouth...

Foodborne Illnesses Increase - 2008 FoodNet Data on the Incidence of Infection with Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food

Posted on April 11, 2009
Surveillance Results In 2008, a total of 18,499 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection in FoodNet surveillance areas were identified. The number of infections and incidence per 100,000 population were reported as follows: Salmonella (7,444; 16.20), Campylobacter (5,825; 12...

Amalgamated Produce Sprouts Recalled After Testing Positive For Listeria

Posted on April 10, 2009
Sprouts processed by Bridgeport-based Amalgamated Produce Inc. have been recalled after a sample collected from a supermarket in New York tested positive for an organism that can cause serious infections.  The sprouts also were sold at Stop & Shop, ShopRite and Price Chopper stores in Connecticut...

Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) - The Ultimate Humiliation - "None of its Salmonella is in My Product."

Posted on April 10, 2009
The picture speaks for itself.  I am not sure I ever recall a case where a product specifically said that it did not contain another company's product.  A friend did just send me the following photo stemming from the 2006 spinach E. coli outbreak:

Off to Texas and Georgia in a Week to Tour the Peanut Corportation of America Salmonella Manufacturing Plants

Posted on April 10, 2009
Georgia Texas

California Department of Fish and Game - Preliminary Research Results Find Less Than One Half of One Percent Occurrences of E.coli O157:H7 in Wildlife in California Central Coast Counties

Posted on April 10, 2009
Bacterial, specifically E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks and illnesses linked to leafy greens have sickened hundreds in dozens of outbreaks in the last several years.  The "salad bowl" of the nation has been hit with recall upon recall.  No one, regulator, farmer, consumer or environmentalist knows quite what to do to protect consumers, business and the environment...

Colorful Dyed Chicks Could Have Salmonella

Posted on April 09, 2009
According to News West Nine - This Easter Season it's not just about the colorful eggs, but the colorful chicks as well. The chicks are painted with dyes for nothing more but looks. Many wonder if the chicks are safe to handle especially for young children? Dr...

Despite What Seems Like an Outbreak a Week, Preliminary FoodNet Data from 2007 on the Incidence of Infection with Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food, Seems to Hold Relativey Steady

Posted on April 09, 2009
The CDC reported today: The Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) of CDC's Emerging Infections Program collects data from 10 U.S. states regarding diseases caused by pathogens commonly transmitted through food. FoodNet quantifies and monitors the incidence of these infections by conducting active, population-based surveillance for laboratory-confirmed infections...

With all The Raw Milk Recalls and Outbreaks Lately, I Really Need to Update My Charts

Posted on April 09, 2009
Prompted by a post by the "Raw Milk Apologist," The Complete Patient - "When It Comes to Discussing Raw Milk Safety, It Helps to Appreciate the Behind-the-Scenes Agendas at Hand," I felt the need to give a bit of a counter-point to "the raw milk kills all ills" propaganda the spews from his keyboard...

Sprouts Recalled in Rhode Island Shaws, Stop & Shop, Whole Foods and IGA Due to Possible Listeria Contamination

Posted on April 09, 2009
The Rhode Island Department of Health advises consumers of sprout products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria is an organism that can cause serious or fatal infections in young children, elderly or anyone with a weak immune system...

The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) Issues Final Report on E. coli 0111 Outbreak Linked to Food Served at Country Cottage Restaurant in Locust Grove

Posted on April 09, 2009
Outbreak Statistics At a Glance Source of Outbreak: Country Cottage Restaurant, Locust Grove, OK Outbreak Organism: E. coli 0111:NM Vehicle of Contamination: Unknown Method of Spread: Foodborne transmission Confirmed Outbreak Period: Aug. 15-24, 2008 Cases: 341 Hospitalizations: 70 Deaths: 1 The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) released its final report today on the investigation of the largest E...

WOW! Peanut Corporation of America Texas Plant Fined $14.6 Million Due to Salmonella Contamination

Posted on April 09, 2009
According to press reports, the Texas Department of State Health Services has levied a $14.6 million fine against the Texas plant owned by a peanut company at the heart of a national salmonella outbreak.  The Texas Department of State Health Services said Thursday it was fining Plainview Peanut Co...

Investing in Food Safety - Why You Cannot Afford Not To

Posted on April 08, 2009
I was quoted the other day in USA Today about investing in food safety BEFORE an outbreak happens that sickens hundreds and drives your business and others into the ground: 'It's a good investment, says Bill Marler, a prominent Seattle-based food-safety lawyer who has already filed eight lawsuits against PCA...

Salmonella Peanuts - FDA Serves Warrant for Inspection of Westco Fruit and Nuts Inc. - Is this the future if Recalls are Not Voluntary?

Posted on April 08, 2009
For the last few weeks the FDA and Westco Fruit and Nuts Inc. (Westco/Westcott), have been "negotiating" on whether a recall would be issued of Westco/Westcott peanut products.  Today the FDA dropped the hammer down.  From the FDA Website: At the request of the U...

First Doggy Could be a Real Yuk - Watch Out for Salmonella Dog Food

Posted on April 08, 2009
I was reading obamafoodorama's post on the "First Pooch" and it got me to thinking.  Could President Obama's best known campaign promise endanger the well being of little Malia and Sasha? Think about it: When President Obama sat down with Jay Leno a few weeks ago, he hinted he was about ready to fulfill his ever-so-popular promise to provide the White House, and those outrageously cute Little Obamas, with a new puppy...

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