Personal Injury Law

CDC Weighs in on National Steak and Poultry E. coli Recall from CA, CO, FL, HI, IA, IN, KS, MI, MN, NV, OH, OK, SD, TN, UT, and WA

Posted on January 07, 2010
I should have waited until 6:00 AM to post what I did below at 2:00 AM.  In any event, the CDC confirmed that it is collaborating with public health officials in several states and the United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to investigate a multistate outbreak of human infections due to Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E...

New Years Day CNN - Status of Food Safety in America

Posted on January 06, 2010
I was having a leisurely New Years Day when food safety, like is seems to do every day, again becomes the focus:

Olive Garden, Applebees, Moe's Southwest Grill, Carino's Italian and 54th Street Grill & Bar linked to E. coli Meat Recall

Posted on January 06, 2010
According to Alan Liddle of Nation's Restaurant News 'at least five restaurant chains are now included in a list of those affected by the late December recall of 124 tons of beef including,' Olive Garden, Applebees, Moe's Southwest Grill, Carino's Italian and 54th Street Grill & Bar...

CDC tells which states have the 21 ill due to E. coli O157:H7 tainted National Steak and Poultry beef products

Posted on January 06, 2010
As of Monday, January 4, 2010, 21 persons infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 had been reported from 16 states. The number of ill persons who were identified resides in each state as follows: California (1), Colorado (1), Florida (1), Hawaii (1), Iowa (1), Indiana (1), Kansas (1), Michigan (1), Minnesota (3), Nevada (1), Ohio (2), Oklahoma (1), South Dakota (2), Tennessee (1), Utah (2), and Washington (1)...

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So, what is going to happen with food safety legislation now that Congress is back?

Posted on January 06, 2010
Frankly, I am not quite sure Congress even knows. As you might recall from last year the House passed, H.R. 2749: Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. Then the Senate HELP Committee passed, S. 510: FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. When it will get to the floor for a vote, then to a Conference Committee to work out the differences with the House Bill will hopefully happen soon before the politicians start thinking about the 2010 elections...

E. coli O157:H7, My Constant Companion for 17 Years

Posted on January 06, 2010
Along with most of the country, I was introduced to E. coli O157:H7 suddenly in 1993, when hundreds of people became ill and four children died after eating Jack in the Box hamburgers. However, the then little-known strain of bacteria was first recognized as a new food-related threat more than a decade earlier, in 1982, after an outbreak of hemorrhagic colitis (bloody diarrhea) in Michigan...

Kudos to Cargill

Posted on January 05, 2010
Over the years, I have not been very kind to Cargill – we tend not to be on good terms. So, when one of the world's largest food companies tries to do something right, I need to say, 'hat's off.' According to the Journal Star and Cattle Networks, Cargill Meat Solutions is testing a vaccine that could protect consumers from E...

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Steps-up on Salmonella and Campylobacter Chicken and Turkey

Posted on January 05, 2010
I must be in a good mood today.  In my last post I give Kudos to Cargill and now I am saying something nice about my friends at USDA/FSIS.  Perhaps it is the afterglow of the holidays.  Or, perhaps Cargill and FSIS have been reading my blog...

FDA sues Listeria Cheese Maker over insanitary conditions - Do you think they will go after Stewart Parnell and Peanut Corporation of America next?

Posted on January 04, 2010
From an FDA Press Release: FDA Takes Action Against New Jersey Cheese Manufacturer - Company failed to correct violations despite federal, state warnings The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced intentions to ask a federal court to shut down a New Jersey cheese manufacturer with an alleged history of operating under insanitary conditions and producing cheese contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes...

Antibiotic Resistance in Salmonella

Posted on January 04, 2010
With several recent recalls of Salmonella-tainted beef in 2009 and recent reports of Salmonella-tainted chicken, getting a better understanding of Salmonella - especially Antibiotic Resistance in Salmonella - is a good way to start off the New Year. Salmonella is a leading cause of foodborne illness worldwide, with an estimated 1...

"We're not waiting to be the victim of the next food outbreak"

Posted on January 02, 2010
So say, Peter Hurley. Lynn Terry of the Portland Oregonian profiled my clients, Peter and his young son who was a victim of the Peanut Corporation of America Salmonella Outbreak in 2009 – 'Year-end profile: Portland officer advocates food safety on son's behalf...

So, why still the silence from CDC, FSIS, National Steak and Poultry, and the Restaurants?

Posted on January 02, 2010
To refresh, on Christmas Eve, National Steak and Poultry recalled approximately 248,000 pounds of beef products ('mechanically tenderized' steak) that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The recalled meat was linked to illnesses in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota and Washington...

Dubai International Food Safety Conference - 21st to 24th February, 2010

Posted on January 01, 2010
The 5th Dubai International Food Safety Conference is just around the corner.  I need to finish up my speech.

Time for 2010 Food Safety Resolutions

Posted on January 01, 2010
Over at Food Safety News we have made lists of who has been naughty and nice in food safety for 2009.  We listed the top stories in food safety for 2009 and we guessed on what the top food safety issues for 2010 just might be.  Now, we are on to making 2010 food safety resolutions for others...

First Lady Michelle Obama on Iron Chef America - What is she serving? What is she and her family eating?

Posted on January 01, 2010
Michelle Obama, America's First Lady, will be a guest of ‘'Iron Chef America,' a show I have never watched on the Food Network. It will be airing January 3, 2010 and the White House portion was filmed in late October. My friends over at Obamafoodorama were kind enough to put up this teaser video below...

Food Safety Issues for the First Year of the Second Decade

Posted on December 31, 2009
Laws The U.S. Congress and Legislatures in most of the 50 states will all be back in session as 2010 begins. In Washington D.C., work should resume on food safety reform. To get through to the President's desk, the Senate must adopt S. 510, conference with the House, and then see the compromise bill passed by both houses...

Does your favorite store sell; restaurant serve, or your kid's school feed this?

Posted on December 31, 2009
Michael Moss does it again in tomorrow's New York Times, 'Company's Record on Beef Treatment Questioned.' He once again starkly shows what the beef industry will do to make a buck and how, not only does our government turn a blind eye, but actively hides information from us...

Will consumers continue to buy Beef Products Inc.'s Ammonia Meat Product?

Posted on December 31, 2009
AP's Christopher Leonard and Mae Anderson in their story, 'Restaurants, food makers defend products after report that treated beef may still harbor germs,' asked the obvious question that the New York Times did not ask – 'Would customers of Beef Product Inc...

FSIS Recall Naughty List 2009

Posted on December 30, 2009
Here is the most current information that I have on hamburger recalls due to E. coli O157:H7 or antibiotic-resistant Salmonella for 2009.  The pounds recalled come from FSIS (you should also check on the amount that they actually get back).  The sicknesses and deaths are from several sources, CDC, State and Local Health Departments and our own Litigation...

USA Today Continues its Critical Look at Food Safety in our Schools

Posted on December 30, 2009
Elizabeth Weiss and Peter Eisler of the USA Today continue on this month's hard look at the school lunch program in this morning's 'Schools could learn lessons on food safety.' It is a good read. It is concerning, however, that the fast food industry is held up as a model of food safety for our kid's lunches...

Washington Post weighs in on the "mechanically tenderized" steaks E. coli Outbreak that has now sickened 21 in 16 States

Posted on December 30, 2009
I always feel a bit better when I know that the big national papers, like the Washington Post, are weighing in on something that I have been blogging about since Christmas Eve. Lyndsey Layton posted online an hour ago – 'E. coli-tainted beef infects 21 people in 16 states...

This is really pathetic if you think about it.

Posted on December 30, 2009
I just received this email: I'd like to subscribe to your email list so that I can get the latest updates on all food illness recalls & outbreaks. This is so that I can check my cuboards/fridge/freezer & know what not to buy or eat in order to keep myself & my family safer...

Nineteen Sickened - National Steak and Poultry Meat Tested Positive for E. coli O157:H7

Posted on December 29, 2009
Thankfully Kim Archer of the Tulsa World Herald is adding to the slow roll of information on this outbreak and recall – 'Owasso beef linked to E. coli.' Here is some clarified and newer information: Nineteen sickened, so says the CDC The E. coli outbreak — considered a Class 1 recall because the health risk is high — has sickened at least 19 people, said Arleen Porcell-Pharr, a spokeswoman for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta...

FSIS figures out where 312 pounds of ham went - What about the National Steak and Poultry Recall?

Posted on December 29, 2009
Today the FSIS published the RETAIL CONSIGNEES FOR FSIS RECALL 068-2009. This was the recall of 312 pounds of Canadian Ham by Associated Grocers of Maine. The recall consisted of 16-ounce packages of "SUPER TRIM, Shurfine, IMPORTED, COOKED HAM, WATER ADDED, 98% FAT FREE...

19 Ill in 16 States due to Mechanically Tenderized Steaks Tainted with E. coli O157:H7

Posted on December 29, 2009
According to State Health Department officials in six States, as of Monday there were reports of 1 illness each in Washington, Michigan, Iowa, Kansas and Colorado and 2 in South Dakota linked to the National State and Poultry E. coli O157:H7 beef recall linked to 'mechanically-tenderized' steaks...

Top Ten Food Safety News Stories of 2009

Posted on December 28, 2009
1.  New York Times reporter Michael Moss introduced readers to Stephanie Smith, a children's dance instructor from Minnesota who is partially paralyzed from E. coli O157:H7. In Moss's Oct. 4 story, it was this paragraph in particular that made readers burn: "The frozen hamburgers that the Smiths ate, which were made by the food giant Cargill, were labeled 'American Chef's Selection Angus Beef Patties...

Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, South Dakota, Iowa and Michigan Linked to National Steak and Poultry, but what Restaurants - Really?

Posted on December 28, 2009
Today, National Steak and Poultry has confirmed that the recall is for beef products "sold primarily" to Moe's, Carino's Italian Grill, and KRM Restaurants (KRM Restaurant Group operates Jeremiah Johnson's and nine locations of the 54th Street Grill)...

National Steak and Poultry E. coli Outbreak in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota and Washington Linked to Moe's, Carino's Italian Grill, and KRM Restaurants.

Posted on December 28, 2009
According to recent press reports, a statement from National Steak and Poultry and discussions with various state health officials, Colorado has confirmed that at least one person in that state was sickened there in November but wasn't hospitalized. Iowa and Kansas each confirmed one illness...

USDA had been Warned of E. coli Risk of Mechanically Tenderized Steak

Posted on December 27, 2009
On Christmas Eve the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Recall 248,000 'beef products' from Oklahoma-based National Steak and Poultry. The recall was issued because the mechanically tenderized, non-intact steaks, were contaminated with E...

Terrorism Meets Food Poisoning

Posted on December 27, 2009
After the events of the last few days, I am thinking twice about traveling to Europe and the Middle East in a month to speak at a food safety conference. Not that I am particularly concerned about being a target of foreign terrorism myself, although I do find the process that you have had to endure since 9/11 to board a plane bothersome...

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