Food Poisoning Law Blog

Update to the entry below: There are now 21 confirmed cases of hepatitis A associated with the Chipotle restaurant in La Mesa, California.

The number of hepatitis A cases associated with Chipotle in La Mesa, California has risen to 18. Health officials are still looking for the source of the outbreak.  According to the San Diego County Health Department, all 26 food handlers identified to date by the restaurant have tested negative for active hepatitis A infection. Given the long incubation period for hepatitis A (10 to 50 days), this is not conclusive evidence that a food handler did not contaminate food eaten by those who have tested positive for hepatitis A. The negative test results do make it a little more likely that the source of the outbreak is a food product that was contaminated before it got to the La Mesa Chipotle restaurant.  The long incubation period for hepatitis A will make it extremely difficult to pinpoint a specific food product that is the source of the outbreak.

Even if the source of a hepatitis A outbreak is never found, other microbiological evidence along with epidemiological evidence can be sufficient to find a restaurant liable for money damages. In this outbreak the microbiological proof consists of the tests run to determine the people were sickened by hepatitis A.  But just knowing that the people have hepatitis A does not link the illnesses to Chipotle. Health officials made the connection between the illnesses and the La Mesa Chipotle with epidemiological evidence. 

Epidemiology is part detective work and part statistical analysis. It involves trying to piece together potential sources (stores, restaurants, and food products as well as water and animal exposures) and determine if they are the source of the illness that the microbiologists were able to identify.  Epidemiologists develop and test hypotheses to determine if there is a common link between the people with the same foodborne illness. They question foodborne illness patients in order to determine if they ate at the same place, ate the same food, got sick at the same time, lived in the same area, etc. They also visit suspected outbreak sources and do further testing. By a process of elimination, epidemiologists rule out other sources until they can settle on a common link.

In this case, epidemiologists discovered that the people with hepatitis A had eaten at the La Mesa Chipotle within a specific time period.

For more information about proving a foodborne illness case, please see our previous entry, “Proving Foodborne Illness: How Lawyers Evaluate Defective Food Product Cases.”

Contrary to what most people would think, young (inner) lettuce greens may pose a greater risk of E. coli O157:H7 contamination than older (middle) leaves, according to a study conducted by researchers at Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unity, Albany, California and the University of California, Berkeley. The study found that E. coli O157:H7 consistently colonized on young (inner) romaine lettuce leaves at a rate ten-times greater than on the middle leaves of the romaine lettuce. The reason may be nitrogen content. Young-leaf exudates used in the study were found to have about 2.9 times more nitrogen than the middle-leaf exudates. 

According to the researchers involved in this study, “Our results indicate that leaf age and nitrogen content contribute to shaping the bacterial communities of preharvest and post-harvest lettuce and that young lettuce leaves may be associated with a greater risk of contamination with E. coli O157:H7.”

Reference: M.T. Brandl, R. Amundson. 2008. Leaf age as a risk factor in contamination of lettuce with Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 74. 8: 2298-2306.

Listeria, an often-fatal foodborne pathogen, may be useful in the fight against cancer. According to research done by Advaxis Inc., a live Listeria cancer vaccine, Lovaxin C, may have helped 15 women with advanced cervical cancer:

“We are using Listeria to deliver tumor-specific antigens to the immune system in a manner that we feel results in maximal immune and tumor-clearing response,” said John Rothman, PhD, vice president of clinical development at Advaxis, which is developing Lovaxin C.

The trial included 15 women with progressive, recurrent or advanced cervical cancer. All patients had failed chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery. The women had metastatic disease and most were stage IVb.

Listeria monocytogenes infects antigen presenting cells (APCs) — “a very special piece of immune real estate,” Rothman said. These cells instruct the immune system what to attack. Listeria thrives within APCs and Advaxis’ Lovaxin vaccines have the ability to direct a strong immune attack against whatever tumor target is bioengineered into the vaccine. Lovaxin C is engineered as a therapy for people who have cancer caused by HPV.

“We bioengineer Listeria both to attenuate it and to cause it to secrete a tumor-specific antigen fused to a listerial protein, which makes it more effective than Listeria that just secretes the tumor antigen,” Rothman said. “By doing this we focus a very strong immune attack against the antigen in question, which is typically specific to a tumor.

“What we’re doing is taking advantage of millennia of evolution that enabled Listeria to infect human immune systems, and an equal amount of evolution that enables humans to get rid of Listeria once this occurs. We are then co-opting and redirecting all of these complex immune responses and targeting them against cancer,” Rothman said.

The above quote is from an Advaxis press release.  At the bottom of the press release it states, "At the time of this writing, 6 of 13 patients evaluable for efficacy are still alive."  (Reality check: Clinical studies aren't about drugs; they are about people.) We hope additional research and development will produce a cure for this deadly cancer.

Honduran cantaloupe contaminated with Salmonella has been responsible for over 50 illnesses in 16 different states, including at least nine in Canada.  The FDA has since advised consumers not to eat any cantaloupe grown in Honduras.  Salmonella contamination is not a rare commodity among cantaloupe, being listed among the top 5 fruits and vegetables responsible for foodborne illness outbreaks.  

Much of the risks associated with cantaloupe can be attributed to the grower, but consumers can also take special measures to ensure that enjoying the fruit can be reasonably safe. The main rule is to keep the interior fruit from being contaminated by bacteria living on the cantaloupe rind.

The International Food Safety Network explained one method for safe cantaloupe preparation:

One method uses two knives, two cutting boards and a spoon. Cut the cantaloupe into large pieces with the first knife and cutting board, and then spoon out the seeds. Next, wash your hands with soap and water, rubbing vigorously. Use the second knife to cut the fruit away from the rind, and place the fruit on the second cutting board. Now you can cut the fruit into smaller pieces without worrying about the rind. This method prevents the outer layer of the cantaloupe from contacting the inner. It is known that bacteria can grow and thrive on the fruit of the cantaloupe, so it is important to always keep it refrigerated.

Other good ideas include a thorough washing of the fruit before cutting into it, even going so far as using a vegetable brush.  Even washing and scrubbing the fruit may not be enough, due to the numerous pores on a cantaloupe’s rind.  All in all, it is important to wash the fruit and to take use any necessary precautions to prevent cross-contamination of the cantaloupe surface with the interior fruit.

The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company is alerting customers to a Chang Farm Soy Sprouts recall.  The voluntary recall by Chang Farm involves Chang Farm Brand 12oz packages of Soy Sprouts with a sell-by date of April 19, 2008 and a UPC code of 00 29899 0100.

The product is being recalled because of the possible presence of Listeria bacteria.  Contamination with Listeria in food such as sprouts represents a significant danger to public health.

According to a Stop & Shop press release, upon being notified of the recall, Stop & Shop immediately removed from its shelves the affected product.

Do not eat the recalled Chang Farm Soy Sprouts. Listeria infections can be fatal, particularly for unborn babies, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems.

If you are diagnosed with listeriosis, contact a Listeria lawyer at our law firm.  We have recently obtained a significant recovery in a Listeria case.  An attorney at our office would be happy to discuss our experience with Listeria lawsuits and your case.  To contact an attorney, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free), e-mail our lawyers or submit our free case consultation form.

Information on Stop & Shop from their press release:

The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company, based in Quincy, Massachusetts,
employs more than 59,000 associates and operates 389 stores throughout
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, New York
and New Jersey.