Personal Injury Law

Guest Post - obamafoodorama - If Americans Are Outraged Over Bank Bailouts, Why Aren't We Outraged Over Big Ag Bailouts?

Posted on March 20, 2009
From Eddie at obamafoodorama. Although the most recent outrage over the profligate behavior of American financial institutions has been focused on AIG's executive bonuses, Americans are equally outraged by the rate of foreclosures, by the credit crisis, by rising unemployment due to the bad economy...

SunSprout Enterprises' Salmonella Sprouts Now Linked to 121 Illnesses in Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota and Iowa

Posted on March 19, 2009
The outbreak that's sickened people in four Midwest states has been tied to SunSprout Enterprises' sprouts that were distributed to grocery stores and restaurants.  The Omaha company "voluntarily" recalled its products. Nebraska health officials say 84 cases of Salmonella saintpaul have been confirmed near Omaha, Lincoln and Kearney...

Georgia Makes Food Safety Changes - Real or Imagined? Is it just more public relations?

Posted on March 19, 2009
The Georgia House and Senate have both moved rapidly over the last several weeks to solve the public relations disaster that was the Peanut Corporation of American. In an effort to prop-up the nearly $2.5 Billion Georgia peanut industry which has lost millions of dollars over the last month, the legislature has passed both houses have passed SB 80 (http://www...

Obamas to Plant Garden on White House Lawn - What Does That Say About the Safety of Our Food Supply

Posted on March 19, 2009
So, I bought myself a Kindle and now download both the New York Times and Washington Post – Well, I try to read them daily. Anyway, I see that according to the Washington Post that the Obamas are planting a garden (first reported on obamafoodorama): On Friday, Michelle Obama will host a groundbreaking for a White House kitchen garden on the South Lawn...

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The Salmonella Outbreak: The Role of Industry in Protecting the Nation's Food Supply

Posted on March 19, 2009
I was stunned by the testimony but sickened by the exhibits watching the video of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing titled, 'The Salmonella Outbreak: The Role of Industry in Protecting the Nation's Food Supply' held at 10:00 a.m...

Can I Sue Miley Cyrus If Her Snacks Make Me Sick?

Posted on March 18, 2009
I actually spoke to "E Online" today regarding the recall of Hannah Montana granola bars.  "E" wanted to know if someone could sue Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana).  As I said: Do you live in China? That would help, says attorney Bill Marler, who represents victims in food-poisoning cases...

Energy and Commerce Subcommittee Hearing on "The Salmonella Outbreak: The Role of Industry in Protecting the Nation's Food Supply"

Posted on March 18, 2009
The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing titled, 'The Salmonella Outbreak: The Role of Industry in Protecting the Nation's Food Supply' at 10:00 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, March 19, 2009, in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building...

Another E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak and Even More Victims

Posted on March 18, 2009
The thing about E. coli O157:H7 is that it does not discriminate - child, young adult, grandparent, man or woman, rich or poor.  It sickens over 70,000 people in the US yearly.  Here are the short stories of three from 2006 - Remember, they could be your kid, your daughter or your parent:

This Post is for Dads - Like Barack Obama and Tom Vilsack

Posted on March 17, 2009
So, I know how (imagine how) the President spent his day – security briefings and then trying to fix the banking, health care, automobile, employment and environment messes. Other Dads? Doing their day jobs – blue collar, white collar, service or manufacturing – all putting in a day's work...

691 Salmonella Typhimurium Peanut Product Illnesses in 46 States

Posted on March 17, 2009
The CDC reports today that 691 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from 46 states. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Alabama (2), Arizona (14), Arkansas (6), California (76), Colorado (18), Connecticut (11), Florida (1), Georgia (6), Hawaii (6), Idaho (17), Illinois (11), Indiana (10), Iowa (3), Kansas (2), Kentucky (3), Louisiana (1), Maine (5), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (48), Michigan (38), Minnesota (43), Missouri (15), Mississippi (7), Montana (2), Nebraska (1), New Hampshire (13), New Jersey (24), New York (34), Nevada (7), North Carolina (6), North Dakota (17), Ohio (100), Oklahoma (4), Oregon (13), Pennsylvania (19), Rhode Island (5), South Dakota (4), Tennessee (14), Texas (10), Utah (7), Vermont (4), Virginia (21), Washington (24), West Virginia (2), Wisconsin (5), and Wyoming (2)...

84 Salmonella Cases in Nebraska Linked to CW Sprouts

Posted on March 17, 2009
The number of salmonella cases in eastern Nebraska initially detected last week has increased, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.  So far, there are 84 lab-confirmed cases, with 13 considered probable.  The outbreak preliminarily has been linked to a source - alfalfa sprouts from a local grower, CW Sprouts from Omaha...

Hearing on "The Salmonella Outbreak: The Role of Industry in Protecting the Nation's Food Supply"

Posted on March 16, 2009
House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations 10:00 a.m. Thursday, March 19, 2009 2123 Rayburn House Office Building Who is testifying has not yet been listed.  It is great to see Congressmember's Waxman and Stupak are still on top of things - "Change is Coming...

Peanut Butter Salmonella Quote of the Day

Posted on March 16, 2009
'The label doesn't likely say ‘Was made for us by a really crappy company in Blakely, Ga.,'' Marler explained. 'The consumer thinks they're buying the retailer's brand.' Had a great talk with Julie of Supermarket News about the liability of retailers for products manufactured for them under a 'private label', when they simply sell a manufactured product and when that manufacturer goes bankrupt...

UPDATE - Hearing on "The Salmonella Outbreak: The Role of Industry in Protecting the Nation's Food Supply"

Posted on March 16, 2009
House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations 10:00 a.m. Thursday, March 19, 2009 2123 Rayburn House Office Building Who is testifying has not yet been listed.  ("[I]t will be a one-panel hearing with representatives from Kellogg, King Nut, and Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers testifying...

President Obama on Food Safety - Full Radio Address Video

Posted on March 14, 2009
In addition to the ideas the President stated, here are my 'top ten' ideas: 1. improve surveillance of bacterial and viral diseases. First responders - ER physicians and local doctors - need to be encouraged to test for pathogens and report findings directly to local and state health departments and the CDC promptly...

Obama on Food Safety - This is why what you do is so important.

Posted on March 14, 2009
E. coli O157:H7, whether it is in contaminated hamburger, spinach or raw milk, is a very nasty bacteria.  Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) can be the horrible result.  Mr. President, the reason food safety is so important can best be explained by clicking on the below pictures and reading these childrens' stories and looking at these other client videos...

Obama Weekly Radio Address - "Change is on the Way" - Obama creates special panel on food safety

Posted on March 14, 2009
Citing an existing health hazard, President Obama announced during his Saturday radio address, the creation of a special interagency panel on food safety, arguing that the status quo was "unacceptable." The Food Safety Working Group, chaired by the secretaries of health and human services and agriculture, will coordinate US government activities aimed at upgrading and enforcing food safety laws...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Announces Final Rule for Handling of Non-Ambulatory Cattle - The Final "Downer Ban"

Posted on March 14, 2009
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today (Saturday) announced a final rule to amend the federal meat inspection regulations to require a complete ban on the slaughter of cattle that become non-ambulatory disabled after passing initial inspection by Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspection program personnel...

Guest Blogger - President Obama - OK, only kidding.

Posted on March 14, 2009
Because he is the President and he and his family eat, and the fact that he is actually talking about food safety is so important to all of us, here is his entire radio/video Saturday address: "I've often said that I don't believe government has the answer to every problem or that it can do all things for all people...

Guest Blogger - Jim Prevor: Who's guarding our commerce? Recent failures on finance and food safety have something in common: Those assigned to enforce regulations didn't. Here's why.

Posted on March 14, 2009
Jim Prevor is the founder and editor-in-chief of Phoenix Media Network Inc., a business-to-business media company specializing in the food industry. He regularly writes on food safety and other issues at PerishablePundit.com.  This editorial appeared today in the Star Tribune...

Judge Rules US Almonds Must be Pasteurized

Posted on March 13, 2009
I talked to San Francisco Chronicle reporter George Raine (who has been covering food business litigation since at least the Odwalla E. coli outbreak in 1996 when I first met him), about the perceived 'setback for organic almond growers and handlers in California's Central Valley, [when] a federal judge this week dismissed a lawsuit protesting the requirement that almonds sold on the domestic market be pasteurized...

Dueling E. coli O157:H7 Vaccines - Time to have a Vaccine-off?

Posted on March 13, 2009
Lately my blog seems to have turned into an 'all Salmonella – all Peanuts – all the time.' In any event, there is other news, and perhaps it is good news – at least in the fight against E. coli O157:H7. A few days ago, Epitopix received a USDA conditional license for America's first E...

Rector v. Kellogg Complaint - Peanut Salmonella Outbreak

Posted on March 13, 2009
A bit of press coverage: Salmonella Cases: Half Still Come from Crackers

Documents, Documents, who has the Peanut Corporation of America's Documents?

Posted on March 13, 2009
It is excellent that our Federal Government is doing such a great job of organizing the Peanut Corporation of America's documents pursuant to a search warrant.  I especially like that they saved the "Black trash bag containing shredded documents near the back door...

MRSA - methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - The risk to our food supply and to us.

Posted on March 12, 2009
I travel a lot, so I bought one of those electronic books so I can download books and newspapers whenever I want. I just finished reading 'Our Pigs, Our Food, Our Health,' an Op-ed by Nicholas D. Kristof of The New York Times. I have now lost my appetite...

FSIS Changes in Sampling Frequency for E. coli O157:H7 Testing in Raw Ground Beef - Real or Imaginary Changes?

Posted on March 12, 2009
FSIS released "[t]his notice announces that inspection program personnel (IPP) may receive FSIS Form 10,210-3, Requested Sample Programs, for E. coli O157:H7 sampling and testing of raw ground beef products (MT43) at the following monthly rates: • Up to 4 times within a 30-day window (See block 4 of FSIS form 10,210-3) for establishments with ground beef product production volumes of greater than 250,000 lb/day, as estimated and recorded in block 28 of FSIS Form 10,210-3 each time a sample is collected...

Peanut Corporation of America Bankruptcy Hearing Attended by Lawyers for Victims of Salmonella

Posted on March 12, 2009
According to press reports today, although today's hearing concerns bankruptcy matters (court documents filed March 6 show Peanut Corp. has almost $11.4 million in assets and $4.8 million in debt. It has nearly 500 creditors), attorneys representing people with salmonella injury and death claims against the peanut processor showed up as well...

Nebraska lists 45 ill, Iowa 21, South Dakota 5 and Kansas 5 - SunSprout Enterprises, Inc. Recalls Salmonella St. Paul Alfalfa Sprouts, Onion Sprouts, and Gourmet Sprouts Because of Health Risk

Posted on March 12, 2009
FDA PRESS RELEASE SunSprout Enterprises, Inc., Omaha, Nebraska, is initiating a voluntary recall of Alfalfa Sprouts, Onion Sprouts, and Gourmet Sprouts based on communications it has had with Nebraska State officials regarding several cases of Salmonella St...

Why I work - "Stephanie Smith remains in a wheelchair, fighting to walk -- and dance -- once again - She ate an E. coli - tainted Cargill hamburger"

Posted on March 11, 2009
From the Saint Cloud Times - Stephanie Smith of Cold Spring was a 20-year-old dance instructor when she contracted E. coli after eating a hamburger at a family barbecue in 2007. She also developed HUS and spent nine months in the hospital, including two months in a medically induced coma to prevent seizures...

Food Democracy Now

Posted on March 11, 2009
Had a very nice chat today with the folks at Food Democracy Now - Check them out:

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