Ann Arbor E. coli Outbreak Prompts Food Safety Lawyer to Call for Change
Business Wire has released the following press release in connection with the E. coli O145 outbreak affecting university students and faculty in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Columbus, Ohio and Amherst, New York.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen has learned that ground beef is not high on the list of foods suspected of causing an outbreak of E. coli O145 in Michigan, Ohio and New York, where approximately 50 university students and other people are believed to be infected.
Health investigators are looking for a cause that likely comes from a shared foodservice supplier or foodservice item at Ohio State University, University of Michigan and Daemen College, said Fred Pritzker, founder and president of the firm.
But regardless of what food ultimately is confirmed as the cause, Pritzker Olsen is calling on USDA to immediately take steps to broaden E. coli protections where beef is slaughtered and processed. Contaminated ground beef is currently the most common source of E. coli infection.
E. coli O157:H7 is the single most prevalent type of E. coli in U.S. food poisoning cases. As such, it was declared an adulterant in ground beef in 1994, making tainted ground beef illegal to sell and requiring industry to test for the pathogen.
But in 16 years since then, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has failed to put adulterant labels on six additional strains of shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STEC); E. coli O145, 045, 0121, 0103, 026 and O111. In addition, the agency has not acted on a public petition to deem all beef products adulterated if contaminated with E. coli organisms -- not just ground beef and cuts intended for ground beef as regulations now state.
Pritzker said the university outbreak of E. coli O145 is a powerful reminder that it's time for the USDA to take a major step forward in keeping potentially deadly E. coli forms out of the U.S. beef supply.
"Non-O157 STECs are every bit as hazardous as E. coli O157:H7 and they all need to be regulated,'' said Pritzker, whose many current food poisoning clients include a survivor of E. coli O111. "Another public health disaster shouldn't be required in order for change to take place.''
The CDC estimates that non-0157 STECs cause 36,700 illnesses, 1,100 hospitalizations and 30 deaths in America each year. These strains can cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), kidney failure, and E. coli death, just like the O157 strain.
Pritzker Olsen law firm, headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, represents individuals and families nationwide in cases involving foodborne illness. The firm is involved in virtually every major foodborne illness outbreak and has obtained some of the largest verdicts and settlements in foodborne illness cases. Attorney Fred Pritzker can be reached at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE).
Nearly 50 people have confirmed or suspected illnesses that began to occur in early- to mid-April around the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Ohio State University in Columbus. New York has one confirmed E. coli O145 illness matching the outbreak strain and 11 other suspected cases.
