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

A Minnesota high school science class received an inadvertent lesson in microbiology and pathology when 29 of 117 students in five class periods were sickened with E. coli O103:H2 traced to deer they shot, field-dressed, butchered, marinated and consumed as part of a class project.

The outbreak happened in the fall of 2010 after teachers oversaw a student  hunt for six whitetails. A seventh deer was gathered from the scene of a roadside accident and cleaned to make kabobs, like the others. The bamboo skewers were marinated in five-gallon buckets before being grilled.

The episode was studied by scientists at the Minnesota Department of Health and a paper was published in the latest edition of the CDC journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

None of the 29 case patients in the outbreak suffered hemolytic uremic sydrome (HUS), a complication of toxic E. coli infection that shuts down a person's kidneys and can lead to stroke, heart attack, neurological damage and other severe illness.

Interviews with students in the class showed that hand-washing after handling raw venison was a factor in preventing E. coli transmission. Some mistakes that led to illness included using the same plate for handling raw and cooked venison and undercooking the meat.

The researchers did not identify the high school by name or location. The kids who got sick started to show symptoms a little more than two days after they prepared and ate the venison. If your child was sickened in the Minnesota high school deer E. coli outbreak of 2010, you may contact a food illness lawyer at PritzkerOlsen, P.A., for a free case consultation at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) Our firm currently represents E. coli victims from other outbreaks and we are one of the very few law firms in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation. Our offices are located in Minneapolis.

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Months after 3-year-old Avala Pierce was hospitalized with an infection of E. coli O157:H7 tied to the summer 2011 outbreak at Cowans Gap State Park in Pennsylvania, the toddler is continuing to suffer ongoing seizures, has mobility issues as a result of a stroke and is now at risk for long-term kidney problems for the rest of her life.

Community members have rallied behind her, raising more than $1,400 to assist her family's financial strain. Her case is a reminder of how high the stakes are for child victims of E. coli poisoning. Children under 5 are in the age group most likely to suffer a potentially deadly complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). 

Avala's mother provided an update on her condition in an interview with Public Opinion, the local newspaper in Chambersberg, Pennsylvania. Her daughter was one of at least 14 people who fell ill with E. coli O157:H7 infection after a visit to the state park that included swimming. Health officials closed the beach for the remainder of the season as they searched unsuccessfully for the exact cause.

Avala spent many weeks at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center battling HUS kidney failure and other critical illnesses. She needed kidney dialysis for an additional month after she left the hospital.

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The N.C. Division of Public Health is now investigating 30 cases (up from 27 yesterday) related to the North Carolina State Fair E. coli outbreak. Twelve cases are confirmed E. coli cases; 18 cases are still being investigated.

The latest numbers and counties involved include:

Wake - 13
Sampson - 7
Cleveland - 1
Durham - 3
Johnston - 1
Lenoir - 1
Orange - 2
Wilson – 2

The North Carolina State Fair ran from October 13 to the 23rd. The incubation period for E. coli can be as long as 10 days, so there will probably be few if any new cases of E. coli.

The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is responsible for the operation of the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh.  Contact our attorneys for information regarding whom E. coli victims can sue for compensation.

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An "overwhelming majority" of people who have tested positive for E. coli ate unspecified items from salad bars at various Schnucks locations, the St. Louis County Department of Health said through a spokesman.

That leaves more work to do for investigators in terms of finding the specific source of the St. Louis E. coli outbreak, but so far the scientific study of an outbreak that has sickened at least a couple of dozen people has landed at Schnucks. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has talked to four people who said they were diagnosed with E. coli infections and had eaten produce from salad bars at Schnucks in High Ridge, Ladue, downtown St. Louis and Ballwin.

No recalls have been announced in conjunction with this outbreak, but Schnucks last week removed lettuce and other items from salad bars at various locations. This was done voluntarily and as a precaution.

If you or a loved one has experienced bloody diarrhea or other E. coli symptoms, seek medical attention immediately. Physicians in the area around St. Louis have been alerted to this E. coli outbreak and will conduct proper testing to confirm a diagnosis. Children under age 5 are especially at risk for a life-threatening complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

National food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is in contact with victims of this outbreak who ate from the salad bar at Schnucks. We are continuing to accept cases at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or leave your contact information and an attorney will call. Our firm is one of the few in the country who practice extensively in the complex area of foodborne illness litigation and we have collected tens of millions of dollars for victims and their families. We currently represent E. coli outbreak victims, including those who have suffered HUS. 

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At least six people have required hospital stays in the current Missouri E. coli outbreak that investigators are still probing. Some Schnucks food stores have voluntarily pulled lettuce or other produce from store salad bars, but only as a precaution because public health officials haven't yet discovered the exact source of the outbreak.

So far, 24 of 34 stool samples from individuals suffering from gastroenteritis have tested positive for the outbreak strain of E. coli. Some have suffered kidney failure and other complications from hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). These illnesses have been reported within a compressed time period. Health directors in St. Louis and outlying areas have put physicians on alert and have been urging people who had bloody diarrhea to immediately seek health care.

Outbreaks involving the human pathogen E. coli are preventable and people made sick from contaminated food have the right to compensation for pain and suffering, lost time at work, medical bills and more. An E. coli lawyer at PritzkerOlsen, P.A., has been assigned to investigate the Missouri outbreak and the firm has been in contact with victims. Our national food safety law firm is accepting cases at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or leave your contact information online and an attorney will call.

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Wisconsin E. coli testing for as many as 140 Monroe School District students has begun at Abe Lincoln Elementary School in response to an unexplained outbreak of E. coli O157:H7.

Public health officials are trying to understand if three recent illnesses at Lincoln are of the same exact strain as the one that caused a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 infections, including one child's death, late this summer.

The Green County Health Department and the Wisconsin Division of Public Health have recommended stool testing for all pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students who attend Lincoln. The kits are being distributed through the school nurse's office or the county health department offices and should be returned to the health department by 2 p.m. Monday, October 17, for delivery to the state lab.

Lincoln school has undergone a special cleaning and students and staff have been taught good hand washing techniques. If school children in the area display E. coli symptoms, health officials are recommending they stay home from school and day care facilities over the next few weeks.

Once test results are completed and shared with parents, the next step in the investigation will be to find what food source is responsible for the outbreak.

Families who have legal questions about E. coli compensation in this situation should call food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., one of the few legal groups in he country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation. This area of law is complicated and Pritzker's E. coli lawyers have years of experience, collecting tens of millions of dollars for E. coli outbreak patients in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and beyond the Upper Midwest. Free case consultations are available at the firm's offices by calling 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free), or leave your contact information and one of our attorneys will promptly call you. 

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An E. coli outbreak in Michigan and a related public health alert are still in effect as state and federal officials continue to investigate the distribution of 2,200 pounds of recalled ground beef from McNees Meats. USDA has linked the hamburger meat to five confirmed E. coli cases and four probable cases.

This outbreak of E. coli O157:NM is especially concerning because two-thirds of the confirmed and probable cases had to be hospitalized. Known case patients range in age from 15 to 88 and live in Michigan counties of Lapeer, Genesee, Isabella, and Sanilac. The outbreak started in mid-July.

If you or a member of your family believes they have been sickened by contaminated ground beef as part of this outbreak, immediately contact a physician. If you have questions about a Michigan E. coli lawsuit, contact an E. coli lawyer at PritzkerOlsen, P.A., a nationally recognized leader in food poisoning litigation. Our law firm is one of the very few in the country practicing extensively in this area and we have collected tens of millions of dollars for E. coli outbreak victims. Call for a free case consultation at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE)

The Michigan Departments of Community Health (MDCH) and Agriculture and Rural Development are working on the outbreak with local health agencies and USDA to determine how widely the recalled products were distributed. McNees Meats has a retail location in North Branch, Michigan, and some of the ground beef was sold to area restaurants.

Click here for McNees E. coli recall information 

 E. coli is a life-threatening human pathogen that can cause severe, bloody diarrhea. In children, the elderly or people with compromised immune systems, it is especially dangerous. E. coli can lead to more dangerous conditions like thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which can cause permanent kidney damage. Even non-complicated infections of E. coli O157 have been observed to cause long-term health concerns, including vascular injury.  

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“Dyspepsia” is defined as “painful, difficult, or disturbed digestion, which may be accompanied by symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, heartburn, bloating, and stomach discomfort.”

Many of our foodborne illness clients sickened by E. coli have these complaints long after the passing of their acute illness. Is there a relationship between these symptoms and the initial illness?  Emerging medical studies offer strong evidence of just such a connection.

In 2000 there was a massive water-borne E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in Walkerton, Ontario, Canada. The only good thing to come of it was the unprecedented opportunity to study the long-terms effects on those individuals exposed to bacterial dysentery. One such recent study, “Prevalence of Uninvestigated Dyspepsia 8 Years After a Large Waterborne Outbreak of Bacterial Dysentery: A Cohort Study,” published in the journal, Gastroenterology, concluded that “this 8-year study has demonstrated a greater than 2-fold increase  in the prevalence of dyspepsia in subjects exposed to acute gastroenteritis compared with nonexposed individuals, suggesting that acute enteric infections have the ability to trigger symptoms that affect the upper, as well as the lower GI tract, with long-lasting consequences.”

Dyspepsia is a descriptive term that often surfaces in western literature. Derived from Greek dys-, "difficult, bad" + pepsis, "digestion," dyspeptics have painful symptoms as referenced in this quote from Seneca, the first century Roman philosopher:

“Pain, scorned by yonder gout-ridden wretch, endured by yonder dyspeptic in the midst of his dainties, borne bravely by the girl in travail. Slight thou art, if I can bear thee, short thou art if I cannot bear thee!”

Emerging medical literature is showing that dyspepsia, decreased kidney function, high blood pressure and allied medical problems are long-term consequences of E. coli O157:H7 even in those individuals who were previously thought to have made a full recovery. 

Attorney Fred Pritzker represents E. coli victims and their families nationwide. To contact Fred, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our free consultation form.

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 A filbert E. coli outbreak in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan has sickened seven people with confirmed E. coli O157:H7 infections traced to a California wholesaler D. DeFranco & Sons. DeFranco's recall of hazelnuts was announced Friday for hazelnut and mixed nut products distributed from November 2, 2010, to December 22, 2010. Recalled product was shipped to stores in Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

All confirmed case patients in this outbreak reported eating in-the-shell filberts, most purchased in bulk bins at grocery stores. Also included in the recall are Sunripe Hazelnuts, Sunripe Large Hazelnuts in one-pound. packages, and Sunripe Mixed Nuts in two-pound and four-pound packages, all with a sell-by date of June 30, 2011. Click here for a combined list of filbert E. coli recall stores in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan where product was delivered.

The three Minnesota cases occurred in men over age 50 in Hennepin, Redwood and Stearns counties. The three Wisconsin cases occurred in La Crosse and Brown County and included a child and two adults. None of the Wisconsin case patients were hospitalized, but there have been E. coli O157:H7 hospitalizations elsewhere in this outbreak. The Minnesota Department of Health said two Minnesota filbert E. coli case patients were hospitalized for a time, but have recovered. 

Routine monitoring by the health departments in the respective states identified E. coli O157:H7 cases with the same DNA fingerprint. The individuals became ill between December 20, 2010, and January 28, 2011. The California Department of Public Health helped trace the filberts to DeFranco.

If you or a loved one has been sickened in this outbreak, you may be curious about a potential filbert E. coli lawsuit. E. coli lawyers at PritzkerOlsen, P.A., are conducting their own investigation of the outbreak and will answer questions about victims' rights to compensation at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or by completing our online contact form. Our law firm is one of the very few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation and we have collected tens of millions of dollars over the years for victims of food poisoning.

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E. coli lawyer Fred Pritzker told Minnesota Public Radio today that Minnesota state officials would make rare news if they were to file criminal charges against a raw milk farmer from Gibbon, Minnesota, who currently is under fire on contempt of court allegations.

"The level of prosecution in foodborne illness cases is practically nil," said  Pritzker, a national attorney based in Minneapolis who specializes in seeking damages for food contamination victims.  "In all the years that I've been doing this I have yet to see a manufacturer, producer, actually prosecuted and convicted for any outbreaks.'' 

The audio of the MPR report can be heard below:

Steil and MPR have provided consistent and comprehensive coverage of the story.

The Minnesota case began to unfold last spring when state epidemiologists traced an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 to raw milk dairy products from the farm of Michael Hartmann. State investigators inspected the farm last spring after associating its products to eight E. coli illnesses. It was re-inspected in October after the state linked seven more cases of food borne illness to Hartmann milk, this time Campylobacter and cryptosporidium. Hartmann was defiant and more conflict arose late last year when the Hartmann farm was caught selling its products in the Twin Cities against a state prohibition. The contempt of court charges arose when state officials reported that raw milk products embargoed by the state as unsafe had disappeared from Hartfmann's farm.

For his part, Hartmann has denied wrongdoing and has accused the state of overstepping its authority. But the state says in its contempt of court brief that Hartmann "has consistently refused to comply with food law for more than a decade." According to MPR, state authorities have said the case could warrant felony charges.

Mr. Prtizker, founder and president of national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., said the most recent example of a criminal investigation in a foodborne illness outbreak dates to the 2008-2009 peanut product Salmonella outbreak linked to now-defunct  Peanut Corporation of America. Nine deaths and more than 700 illnesses were attributed to the company's tainted peanut butter, peanut paste and other items. 

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Texas researchers say they have found a way to kill E. coli in lettuce and other fresh produce using low doses of irradiation that don't also destroy the texture of the food.

The goal was to kill E. coli 0157:H7, Salmonella and other pathogens in leafy green vegetables and other fresh produce, including fruits. The team of Texas AgriLife Research engineers at Texas A&M University says it has developed a way to cut by as much as half the amount of irradiation needed to kill 99.999 percent of these organisms. 

Dr. Carmen Gomes, AgriLife Research food safety engineer, and her colleagues found they could significantly reduce the amount of radiation needed to achieve the result if the produce was packaged in a Mylar bag filled with pure oxygen. Besides the food safety benefit, it is a way to preserve quality of the produce, she said in a Texas A&M report. Previously, higher doses of radiation were proven effective in killing harmful bacteria, but they made the food mushy. In other words, tests showed modified packaging containing either pure oxygen or the nitrogen/oxygen mix increased the sensitivity of E. coli, Salmonella or Listeria to radiation without changing the way the radiation affected the vegetables.

The AgriLife Research Food Safety Engineering Team at Texas A&M began work in 2002 with a $1 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant. The team is the only one in the nation doing research that focuses on accurate dose calculations and dose distribution within a variety of complex-shaped foods, such as blueberries, bagged spinach and lettuce, mangoes and cantaloupes, according to the university.

E. coli in lettuce, spinach and other fresh produce has been identified over the past several years as an emerging public health threat. As recently as last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that fresh produce increasingly has been implicated in viral disease outbreaks.

"Fewer than 10 infectious viral particles are sufficient to cause disease and these organisms are resistant to (chlorine) disinfectants at concentrations that reduce bacterial levels. Contamination of fresh produce could pose a health risk to humans because fresh produce is eaten raw. High levels of viral contamination can result in large outbreaks,'' according to a letter in CDC's Emerging Infectious Diseases publication.

According to a 2010 study published by the Produce Safety Project, 39 percent of E. coli outbreaks and 54 percent of E. coli illnesses linked to FDA-regulated food items were attributable to produce at an estimated cost of $39 billion per year.

When people are sickened or killed in these outbreaks, they have turned to national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., for representation in Salmonella and E. coli litigation. Our firm represents victims of food poisoning around the country and has collected millions of dollars for families and individuals who incur large medical expenses, remarkable pain and suffering and losses to income from infections caused by contaminated food. To speak to a food safety lawyer at our firm, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page.

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Three E. coli cases in children who attended the Northwestern Michigan Fair are under investigation by state and county health officials.

The illnesses began in the children between August 15-17. The Grand Traverse County Health Department said the victims appear to be infected with a shiga toxin-producing E. coli strain. E. coli 0157:H7 is the most prevalent shiga toxin E. coli, but there are many other types.

Dr. Michael Collins, medical director for the county health department, told UpNorthLive.com that it seems likely the kids contracted their infections from animals at the fair, but officials also are testing the fairground's water supply.

Because of the cluster of E. coli illnesses, physicians in northwestern Michigan have been put on notice to order stool cultures for people showing symptoms of E. coli infection.

E. coli symptoms include abdominal cramping followed by diarrhea that progressively worsens and is often bloody.

In five to 15 percent of E. coli cases, the toxins enter the bloodstream, causing hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which can lead to kidney failure, anemia, internal bleeding, and the destruction of vital organs.

About 5 percent of the children who develop hemolytic uremic syndrome are killed by it. Those who survive are often left with permanent disabilities, such as blindness or paralysis.

If your family is involved in the Northwestern Michigan Fair E. coli cluster, answers to your legal questions about compensation for medical expenses and other harms can be answered by an E. coli lawyer at PritzkerOlsen, P.A. at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free). Free case consultations also are available by completing the form on the side of this Web page.

PritzkerOlsen is a leading practitioner of foodborne illness litigation and has a record of winning lawsuits for people infected with E. coli and other pathogens at fairs, livestock shows and petting zoos.

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New research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) should put restaurants on notice to be extra careful in preparing and serving salsa and guacamole to avoid food poisoning.

From 1984 to 2008, restaurants and delis were the settings for 84 percent of the 136 salsa or guacamole-associated (SGA) outbreaks of foodborne disease recorded by CDC.

According to the research, salsa and guacamole-associated outbreaks accounted for 1.5 percent of all food establishment outbreaks from 1984 to 1997. This figure more than doubled to 3.9 percent during the ten-year period from 1998 to 2008.

Said Kendall:  "Awareness that salsa and guacamole can transmit foodborne illness, particularly in restaurants, is key to preventing future outbreaks."  

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National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen has filed a Rocky Mountain Natural Meats E. coli lawsuit in Jefferson County District Court on behalf of a woman who was sickened by contaminated bison meat.

According to the complaint filed in Golden, Colorado, a retail package of buffalo made by Rocky Mountain Natural Meats was the source of an E. coli O157:H7 infection suffered by 53-year-old Fran Vanse of Lakewood, Colorado.

The lawsuit, filed with local counsel Reilly Pozner of Denver,  says state health department officials investigated her illness and concluded that Ms. Vanse is part of a Colorado buffalo E. coli outbreak linked to the defendant's meat. She is one of at least six people to contract E. coli O157:H7 from eating bison from Rocky Mountain Natural Meats.

Lawyer Fred Pritzker, founder and president of Pritzker Olsen, is currently in contact with other victims from this outbreak and is accepting additional cases. The firm has launched its own independent investigation. If you have information or questions, call Fred at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete the online contact form on the side of this Web page.

Our firm is a leading practitioner of foodborne illness litigation and we have collected millions over the years for victims of food poisoning. 

According to the complaint in Jefferson County, Ms. Vanse purchased the contaminated meat in June from the King Soopers grocery store in Lakewood. She experienced classic E. coli symptoms including diarrhea and stomach pain and was hospitalized for several days at Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver. After being released from the hospital, she continued to be sick for about a week.

On July 2, 2010, Rocky Mountain Natural Meats recalled 66,000 pounds of bison product that USDA has said may be adulterated with E. coli O157:H7. 

The meat was sold nationwide in certain grocery stores and in some restaurants via foodservice distributors in Arizona and Utah.

The Colorado lawsuit on behalf of Ms. Vanse alleges that Rocky Mountain Natural Meats negligently manufactured, distributed and sold a food product that was unreasonably dangerous. 

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Ground beef E. coli outbreaks continue to occur in the United States despite advances in the ability to detect and identify the sources of E. coli O157:H7 contamination.

Because an estimated 20 ground beef E. coli illness occur for every one that is reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the problem is bigger than most of us think.

Traditionally, summer months are considered high season for ground beef E. coli outbreaks, partly because cattle shed more of these pathogens when the days are long. Meat packers take steps to prevent contamination and they test for the bacteria because it is outlawed in ground beef. But the system is far from fail-proof.

In addition, consumers struggle more in warmer months to keep their ground beef out of the "Danger Zone" — temperatures between 40 and 140 °F. In that range, bacteria can cluster and multiply quickly.

E. coli O157:H7 bacteria survive refrigerator and freezer temperature and most scientists believe it takes only a small number of the organisms to cause serious illness and even death, especially in children.

Consumers can protect themselves by ensuring ground beef is cooked to at least 160 degrees, but most people don't use a meat thermometer when they are grilling hamburgers. Just remember that color is NOT a reliable indicator that ground beef or ground beef patties have been cooked to a temperature high enough to kill E coli. 

In 2009, according to a review of federal records by  law firm Pritzker Olsen, more than 1 million pounds of ground beef and beef cuts intended for grinding were recalled from market by USDA-inspected slaughter plants and processors.

One of the largest recalls covered 545,699 pounds of E. coli-contaminated ground beef produced by Fairbank Farms of Ashville, N.Y. The CDC linked the ground beef to 26 E. coli infections in eight states.  Our law firm is representing a young child who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) after consuming Fairbank Farms beef.

Pritzker Olsen is a national leader in ground beef E. coli litigation and we have collected millions for victims of E. coli O157:H7 poisoning, including those with HUS. To contact a ground beef E. coli lawyer at our firm, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or fill out the contact form on the side of this Web page.  We provide free case consultations and can explain how you owe us nothing until we win your case.

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E. coli lawyer Elliot Olsen has reached a confidential six-figure settlement for a two-year-old E. coli victim who was sickened by E. coli in well water at her family's rented home in rural Iowa.

For Olsen, the case highlights the need for well owners to frequently test for dangerous pathogens, especially when providing water to others.

The water E. coli settlement in Iowa coincides with a water E. coli outbreak at a fitness center in Jackson, Missouri. 

In Iowa and Missouri, Olsen says the well water E. coli illnesses were preventable. He recommends the following testing requirements for well owners who supply water for a business or rental property.

• Mandatory yearly testing of water for E. coli and other pathogens.
• Mandatory testing of water if the well has been overtopped by flood water or compromised.
• Required posting of well water risks near water fountains and water taps.

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The young woman from Ashtabula, Ohio, suffered E. coli O157:H7 poisoning and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) matched by public health investigation to an outbreak late last year. The illnesses were associated with National Steak and Poultry of Owasso, Oklahoma.

• Requiring producers to use microbiological decontamination technologies on meat products before mechanical tenderization.
• Requiring labeling changes that alert consumers to the existence of and dangers associated with mechanical tenderization.
• Creating and mandating public outreach programs alerting consumers to this practice.

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 A new report showing the high cost of foodborne illness in the United States could help solidify support for major reform in food safety law currently on the table in Washington.

On average, food poisoning costs $1,850 per case nationwide, or $152 billion annually.

"We cannot afford to waste billions of dollars fighting preventable diseases after it is too late,'' said Erik Olson, Olson, director of food and consumer product safety with the Pew Health Group. 

The Produce Safety Project, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts at Georgetown University, published the report. It was written by Robert L. Scharff, a former FDA economist who is now an assistant professor in the Department of Consumer Sciences at The Ohio State University.

Scharff said in a press release: "This study puts the problem of foodborne illness in its proper perspective and should help facilitate reasonable action designed to mitigate this problem."

 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 76 million new cases of food-related illness result in 5,000 deaths and 325,000 hospitalizations each year. 

The report, available online, uses an FDA cost-estimate approach: health-related costs are the sum of medical costs (physician services, pharmaceuticals, and hospital costs) and losses to quality of life (lost life expectancy, pain and suffering, and functional disability).

The ten states with the highest costs per case are: Hawaii, Florida, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, the District of Columbia, Mississippi, New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey. 

The report said produce is linked to the largest number of outbreaks involving FDA-regulated foods. For example, E. coli O157:H7 cases in produce accounted for 39 percent of outbreaks and 54 percent of illnesses. Using CDC data, the report estimates that foodborne illness costs related to produce alone are almost $39 billion per year in the U.S. 

The study broke out estimated health-related costs and lost productivity of chronic, or long-term effects of certain foodborne illnesses. For instance, HUS E. coli, or hemolytic uremic syndrome, is estimated to cost our society $627 million per year.

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In a ground-breaking post that appeared on this web site a full week before the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced a recall of  contaminated beef produced by National Steak and Poultry company, we were the first to forewarn the public of a blade-tenderized steak E. coli outbreak related to restaurants.

The NSP recall December 24th of 248,000 pounds of boneless steaks in connection with a cluster of  E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in six states is proof of the outbreak, but the government's recall notice is essentially useless since it fails to identify the restaurants at which the adulterated steaks were served. Without confirmation of that crucial information, the millions of consumers who eat steak at U.S. restaurants are left with no practical information about whether they were exposed to  this potentially deadly pathogen.

E. coli O157:H7 is an organism that produces a powerful toxin in humans, initially making them sick with extremely painful diarrhea that is often bloody. In more than 5 percent of cases, infections lead to a life-threatening condition known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is the leading cause of kidney failure in children. Another disease associated with E. coli O157:H7 is thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). 

To any person of reasonable intelligence, the decision to withhold restaurant names smacks of favoritism: Protecting the “good name” of national restaurant chains at the expense of vulnerable people who eat at them. Our law firm calls upon FSIS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to end their silence on this outbreak and promptly inform the American public of all the names of all the restaurants at which this recalled beef was served. 

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By FRED PRITZKER

Late last summer there was a devastating outbreak of E. coli O111 traced back to the Country Cottage restaurant in Locust Grove, Oklahoma. 341 people were sickened and one person died.

While the source of the outbreak – the restaurant – was quickly identified, the disease-causing organism was not isolated on the restaurant premises or in the food and water served there. Thus, thefinal outbreak report (just released by the Oklahoma State Department of Health) concluded:

"In the absence of isolating the outbreak organism from any environmental specimen, including restaurant surfaces, food, well water and animal feces, or from a restaurant employee who reported diarrheal illness, the original vehicle of contamination could not be determined. The exact mode of spread within the restaurant was not established, however, the epidemic curve and exposure analyses suggests there was ongoing foodborne transmission of E. coli O111:NM to Country Cottage restaurant patrons between August 15 and August 24, 2008."

Not surprisingly, this outbreak created some political fallout in the Sooner state. The state’s attorney general was quoted as saying “they [OSDH] botched the investigation and are very reluctant to admit they botched the investigation.”  He said his own office determined the likely cause of the outbreak was poultry litter that contaminated the restaurant’s well water.  Local politicians and, of course, the poultry industry vigorously dispute the attorney general’s accusations.

What is not in dispute, however, is the fact that E. coli O111 is a virulent pathogen that causes severe illness and death. Also not in dispute is the fact that most of the restaurant patrons will never be fully compensated for the losses they suffered. That’s because although the restaurant had insurance, the amount of the coverage is woefully insufficient to cover the harms and losses sustained by the victims. Do the math: even assuming a liability policy of $1,000,000, the average recovery for an outbreak victim would be under $3,000.

Within a few months of this massive outbreak, the restaurant reopened its doors and presumably is well on the way to building back up its business. That’s probably a good thing, assuming the restaurant owners utilize this tragedy to review and revamp the restaurant’s food safety and sanitation practices.

Of course, the outbreak victims, especially the person who died, don’t have that luxury. Many of them will never recover and even those who do face financial and physical hardship for years to come.

 So the restaurant re-opens, the disease spreading vector is never identified, nobody is held accountable and politicians try to advance their careers. What about the victims?

The Locust Grove tragedy illustrates a number of problems – some insoluble, but some fairly easy to remedy. For example, let’s start requiring food purveyors to carry enough insurance to fairly compensate their customers when the food they sell is adulterated with deadly pathogens.  This should not be hard or prohibitively expensive.

 If the coverage is not available at a fair price in the private sector, let the government underwrite risk pools and excess coverage. There are a plenty of existing programs to model on including flood insurance, crop insurance, vaccine compensation programs, etc.

 Insurance is risk spreading when the risk of harm cannot be eliminated. So why should foodborne illness survivors have to go it alone, especially when they are absolutely blameless for the damage they suffer. If we write off toxic assets, can’t we at least underwrite insurance for victims of toxic food?

Fred Pritzker is founder and president of PritzkerOlsen, P.A., a national food safety law firm that represents victims of all major outbreaks of foodborne illness, including the Country Cottage E. coli 0111 event.  Mr. Pritzker and members of his firm are frequent guests and commentators about food safety issues and have been interviewed by and profiled in a number of media sources including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, The Associated Press and CBS News. The firm's telephone number is 1-888-377-8900.

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