Food Poisoning Law Blog : Food Poisoning Lawyer & Attorney : PritzkerLaw : Food Safety, Outbreaks & Recalls

A clambake at Hinerwadel's Grove in North Syracuse, New York, is associated with a Campylobacter outbreak that has sickened at least 60 people.

All victims were attendees at a Hinerwadel's clambake held September 15 for the Central New York Builders' Exchange, WSYR-TV reported. The television station quoted the Onondaga County Health Department as saying raw clams were served at the event.

Campylobacter bacteria is one of the most common causes of food poisoning in the United States, but the vast majority of cases occur as isolated events, not as part of recognized outbreaks such as the New York clambake Campylobacter outbreak at Hinerwadel's. Illnesses may last up to 10 days, including diarrhea, fever, cramps and vomitting.

National food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is investigating the clambake food poisoning outbreak at Hinerwadel's and is beginning to accept cases from those who fell ill. To receive a free case consultation, call PritzkerOlsen at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or by completing the contact form on the side of this Web page.

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The food safety lawyers at Pritzker Olsen represent many clients in Campylobacter food poisoning lawsuits. Campylobacter is a dangerous pathogen that can lead to Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Food safety attorney Brendan Flaherty discusses the firm's experience with these cases.

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Wisconsin has foolishly legalized the sale of raw milk on 60-35 vote by its Assembly, rejecting warnings from its own disease experts, doctors, researchers, child safety experts and farm bureau.

If signed by Gov. Jim Doyle, the bill will put the state's endorsement on a product labeled as dangerous to human health by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the USDA and the FDA -- not to mention its own state department of health.

In the Pittsburgh area right now, a 67-year-old man is fighting for his life on a respirator after being paralyzed from consuming raw milk that later tested positive for the pathogen Campylobacter. James Orchard and his wife are represented by Pritzker Olsen, a national food safety law firm that has actively supported banning raw milk sales.

Wisconsin has set itself up for more raw milk E. coli outbreaks and raw milk Salmonella outbreaks -- disease clusters that will seriously injure and eventually kill consumers who expect what they are drinking is safe because the state legalized it.

Despite quackery spewed by some evangelical supporters of raw milk, there is no nutritional difference between raw milk and milk that has been pasteurized to kill microscopic bugs that cause extremely painful and often bloody diarrhea and other symptoms.

For a certain number of victims of raw milk food poisoning, there also are long-term consequences. As is the case of Mr. Orchard, Campylobacter can lead to Guillain-Barre' syndrome. Salmonella can lead to Reiter's syndrome and E. coli can lead hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), the leading cause of kidney failure in children.

Wisconsin is still known as America's Dairyland, despite being eclipsed in milk production many years ago by California. Wisconsin health officials and farm organizations who worked to defeat the bill can only hope it won't be renewed when it sunsets in 2011. 

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USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is gearing up for a one-year study to collect baseline data concerning the prevalence and quantitative levels of selected foodborne pathogens and microorganisms in raw chicken. The microbes serve as indicators of process control.

The two main pathogens targeted in the baseline study are Salmonella and Campylobacter, which Consumer Reports found recently to be common in store-purchased raw chicken .

FSIS has announced a  "shakedown" period of training for plant inspection personnel to learn the routines of the so-called FSIS Nationwide Raw Chicken Parts Microbiological Baseline Data Collection Program. The testing will focus on broilers cut into chicken parts "of the type typically available for purchase by consumers.''

Before the baseline study begins, FSIS will conduct a 90-day training period. The purpose is to ensure that inspectors are familiar with new sample collection procedures for raw chicken parts. During this period, chicken parts are tested for Salmonella, Campylobacter, generic Escherichia coli, Enterobacteriaceae, coliforms, and plate counts of aerobic microorganisms.

Inspectors will inform plant personnel that the microbiological sampling from this baseline testing will not be the basis for regulatory actions.

National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen will publish results of the baseline study when theybecome available.

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An outbreak of at least five cases of Campylobacter in and around Saratoga County in New York has been associated with raw milk produced at Willow Marsh Farm in Ballston Spa, New York.

The farm is licensed by the state to sell raw milk but it has temporarily halted production after preliminary tests showed Campylobacter contamination, according to a press release from the state.

The New York State Department of Health and the State Department of Agriculture and Markets report that all five individuals who recently were diagnosed with Campylobacter enteritis had consumed raw milk from Willow Marsh Farm.

If final test results prove the connection, the farm won't be allowed to resume raw milk sales until monitoring shows no pathogens.

Campylobacter is a bacterial infection that can cause diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, nausea, headache, and muscle pain. The illness usually occurs two to five days after ingestion and generally lasts for seven to ten days. This form of food poisoning can result in long-term health consequences.

State officials say that anyone who purchased milk from Willow Marsh Farm and still has the product should not consume it. Individuals experiencing gastrointestinal illness after consuming milk purchased from Willow Marsh Farm should contact their health care provider.

For answers to legal questions about compensation from food poisoning, contact national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete our contact form on the side of this Web page. Our firm is one of the few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness and we have collected millions for victims.

Campylobacter from raw milk is one of the risks associated with the practice of drinking milk that is not pasteurized. Many people think raw milk has healthful qualities, but science has proven it does not provide the protection of pasteurization, which eliminates all pathogenic bacteria, including Campylobacter without sacrificing milk's nutritional value.

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A raw milk dairy in Montrose, Colorado, has been allowed to reopen under enhanced sanitation requirements and new testing protocols.

The Kinikin Corner Dairy was ordered to halt distribution April 7 after at least 11 people in the area became ill with Campylobacter, a foodborne illness that carries risks of nerve cell damage. Of  the 11 patients, 10 said they had consumed raw milk and eight said the raw milk was from Kinikin.

Since the outbreak was announced, the Campylobacter attorneys at Pritzker Olsen Law Firm have tried to alert consumers to the threat. The firm represents victims of foodborne illness in practically all major outbreaks and currently represents a woman who was hospitalized at length for treatment of Campylobacter associated with food she ate at a Chipotle restaurant in Lakeville, Minnesota.

Patti Klocker, assistant director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Consumer Protection Division, told the Montrose Daily Press that an initial review showed Kinikin  meeting the new parameters. She said no further testing by the state was taking place and that the order to shut down was being removed.

Kinikin Owner Scott Freeman told the newspaper that only about 6 of his 180 customers have opted out  the dairy's cow-share program for raw milk. State and federal health officials around the country routinely advise people not to drink milk that isn't pasteurized because of health hazards, including the transmission of Campylobacter and E. coli O157:H7. But raw milk enthusiasts continue  to believe raw milk is better in its natural state.

Symptoms of Campylobacter  include fever, diarrhea (sometimes bloody), abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting. People experiencing these symptoms should consult with their health care provider. In rare cases, Campylobacter can cause Guillian-Barre' syndrome, a condition in which the body damages its own nerve cells, resulting in weakness and sometimes paralysis.

To contact a food poisoning attorney at Pritzker Olsen, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or write to us online for a free consultation of your case. 

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