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

From April 1 to November 16, 2011, a total of 179 illnesses due to Salmonella Heidelberg with the same  PFGE pattern were reported in states where Schreiber Processing Company “kosher broiled chicken livers” were distributed:  New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Florida. With the chicken liver products, Schreiber Processing Corporation was doing business as Alle Processing Corporation/ MealMart Company. Some of the meat was distributed to retailers under the MealMart brand.

People contracted Salmonella Heidelberg after eating the chicken livers or chopped liver made from the chicken livers. Some people were sickened after eating the product at home, and others, at grocery stores or other locations. In all cases, victims have a claim against Schreiber Processing for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering compensation, and other damages.

The number of people who contracted Salmonella Heidelberg from chicken livers as follows: New York (99), New Jersey (61), Pennsylvania (10), Maryland (6), Ohio (2), and Minnesota (1). Among persons for whom information is available in in these states, ill persons range in age from <1 to 97 years with a median age of 13 years. Forty-nine percent are female. Among the 126 ill persons with available information, 25 (20%) have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

Salmonella Heidelberg Outbreak Investigation

Epidemiologic and laboratory investigations conducted by officials in local, state, and federal public health, agriculture, and regulatory agencies linked this outbreak to eating “kosher broiled chicken livers” from Schreiber Processing Corporation (doing business as Alle Processing Corporation/MealMart Company), and chopped chicken liver prepared from this product. These “kosher broiled chicken livers” are sold at retail stores and may be used as an ingredient in other prepared foods. These products appear to be ready-to-eat, but are in fact partially cooked, and therefore need to be fully cooked before eating.  Consumers may have incorrectly thought the use of the word “broiled” in the label meant the chicken liver was ready-to-eat; however, these chicken livers must be fully cooked before eating.

Among 37 ill persons for whom information is available, 25 (68%) reported consuming chicken liver products in the week before their illness began. Laboratory testing conducted by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Laboratory Division identified the outbreak strain of Salmonella Heidelberg in samples of “kosher broiled chicken livers” and chopped liver products obtained from retail stores.  In addition, New York City health officials found  the outbreak strain was found in “kosher broiled chicken liver” products.

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Over 300 inmates and staff who ate tainted chicken at the U.S. Penitentiary-Canaan in Waymart, Pennsylvania were sickened by salmonella poisoning. "Tainted chicken" served in fajitas on June 25 has been confirmed as the cause of the outbreak at the prison 135 miles north of Philadelphia, according to Lamine N'diaye, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons northeast regional office.

The chicken was prepared in the prison kitchen, which was closed when inmates and staff fell ill soon after eating the chicken, according to the Associated Press.

Pritzker Olsen attorneys represent Salmonella victims nationwide. They recently settled a large case involving contaminated food served at fast food restaurants. To contact the law firm, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our free case review form.

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Salmonella and chickens go together as surely as roosters crow at dawn, but many people don't recognize the extent of contamination hazards and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reminds families to take precautions while raising backyard chickens and other poultry. In recent years there have been several human Salmonella outbreaks associated with live poultry contact and the outbreaks are especially threatening to children and others whose immune systems are not fully developed or impaired. Salmonella is believed to be responsible for 35 percent of hospitalizations related to foodborne illness and 28 percent of foodborne deaths.

It’s common for chickens, ducks, and other poultry to carry Salmonella bacteria in their intestines, which is then shed in their droppings or feces. Even when the animals appear healthy and clean, the germs can live on their feathers, feet, and beaks. The pathogens also spread to cages, coops, hay, plants, and soil in the area where the birds live and roam. Additionally, the germs can be found on the hands, shoes, and clothing of those who handle the birds, feed them or work or play where they live and roam

Here's a list of live poultry raising precautions urged in a recent posting on CDC's Public Health Matters blog: 

• Do not let children younger than 5 years of age handle or touch chicks, ducklings, or other live poultry without supervision.
• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water immediately after touching live poultry or anything in the area where they live and roam.
• Avoid touching your mouth before washing your hands.  Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not readily available.
• Adults should supervise hand washing for young children.
• Wash hands after removing soiled clothes and shoes.
• Do not eat or drink in the area where the birds live or roam.
• Do not let live poultry inside the house or in areas where food or drink is prepared, served, or stored, such as kitchens, pantries, or outdoor patios.
• If you have free-roaming live poultry, assume that where they live and roam is contaminated.
• Clean equipment and materials associated with raising or caring for live poultry, such as cages, feed containers, and water containers, outside the house, not inside. 

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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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 A federal judge in White Plains, New York, has ordered the shutdown and padlocking of a kosher poultry slaughter facility in New Square, N.Y., that federal authorities say has been selling uninspected poultry since 2002.

The action was taken yesterday by Judge Stephen C. Robinson at the request of federal prosecutors who argued that the risk of foodborne illness or death was too great to allow New Square Meats to continue.

Here is an excerpt from news reporter Timothy O'Connor's story for LoHud.com describing conditions in the facility:

"During an April visit to the plant, federal investigators said they found poultry residue on walls, light fixtures, and the manager's office. Employee restrooms had no soap or hand sanitizer while rubbish and foul-smelling pools of water were found outside the plant, according to court papers federal authorities filed.''

Attorneys for the company asked the judge for a two-week reprieve, but he denied it in light of unsanitary conditions that posed an obvious health risk to the community.

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Consumer Reports magazine has completed its second testing of store-bought raw chicken since 2007, finding only slight improvement in the percentage of fresh whole broilers contaminated with Salmonella and/or Campylobacter.

These two pathogens are the leading bacterial causes of foodborne illness in the U.S., causing 3.4 million infections, sending 25,500 to the hospital and killing 500 people a year.

According to the latest chicken test, two-thirds of the birds tested positive for Salmonella and/or Campylobacter. That compares to eight of 10 birds found contaminated in the organization's 2007 research but is still far too high by any decent food safety measure.

The bacteria commonly grows in the intestines of chickens without harming them. But when droppings from their environments attaches to the exteriors of the animals, it flakes off onto meat during processing.

Here's a summary of other findings, which Consumer Reports released via press release. Full results can be seen online at the Consumer Reports website: 

• Campylobacter was in 62 percent of the chickens, Salmonella was in 14 percent, and both bacteria were in 9 percent. 
• Only 34 percent of the birds were clear of both pathogens. That's double the percentage of clean birds we found in our 2007 report but far less than the 51 percent in our 2003 report.
• Among the cleanest overall were air-chilled broilers. About 40 percent harbored one or both pathogens. Eight Bell & Evans organic broilers, which are air chilled, were free of both, but our sample was too small to determine that all Bell & Evans broilers would be.
• Store-brand organic chickens had no Salmonella at all, showing that it's possible for chicken to arrive in stores without that bacterium riding along. But as our tests showed, banishing one bug doesn't mean banishing both: 57 percent of those birds harbored Campylobacter.
• The cleanest name-brand chickens were Perdue's: 56 percent were free of both pathogens. This is the first time since we began testing chicken that one major brand has fared significantly better than others across the board.
• Most contaminated were Tyson and Foster Farms chickens. More than 80 percent tested positive for one or both pathogens.
• Among all brands and types of broilers tested, 68 percent of the salmonella and 60 percent of the Campylobacter organisms we analyzed showed resistance to one or more antibiotics. 

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