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

The food safety division of 3M has developed a new rapid detection system for Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes and other foodborne pathogens.

The 3M Molecular Detection System, for use in food and beverage pathogen testing labs, combines Isothermal DNA Amplification and Bioluminescence Detection technologies to provide a faster, easier to use, and less expensive test for pathogens, according to 3M spokeswoman Mary Kokkinen..  

“In comparison to other rapid detection methods, our system improves efficiencies in the lab process by offering customers only one preparation protocol across all assays and all matrices allowing for batch processing, easier training and less chance for human error,” Kokkinen said.

The combined technology also contributes to the affordability of the system, she said. “Isothermal DNA amplification proceeds at a constant temperature, removing the need for complicated instrumentation (thermocycler).  Bioluminescence detection eliminates the need for high-cost excitation sources, fluorophores, fluorescent filters and detectors.”

The portable system, requires about as much counter space a laptop computer, has been tested on a variety of food segments, including meat, poultry, produce, dairy, seafood and processed foods. It comes with ready-to-use and pre-dispensed reagents that require no measuring, mixing or aliquoting by the customers.

“We believe this is a growing and important category for Food Safety," Kokkinen said. “Pathogens are a real threat to public health and to our customer’s businesses.”
 

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Over the last three months, three E. coli outbreaks in Michigan have all been caused by E. coli 0157:NM, a rare strain of the pathogen.

Last week, Michigan health officials announced that three Maple Rapids residents had contracted E.coli infections. Two of them were children who required hospitalization for hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious, potentially fatal complication of E. coli poisoning.

A source of this outbreak has not yet been determined. However, during the past three months, there were two other outbreaks of E. coli 0157:NM:

One prior E. coli O157:NM outbreak was linked to ground beef processed and distributed by McNees Meats and Wholesale LLC, of North Branch, Mich. A total of five confirmed E. coli cases and four probable cases were reported in Lapeer, Genesee, Isabella, and Sanilac counties. Illness onset dates range from July 18-30. Those sickened ranged in age from 15-88.

The other prior E. coli O157:NM outbreak involved three people who ate beef at the Clinton County Fair and were sickened by E. coli 0157:NM. The beef was supplied by McNees, according to a story in the Michigan Morning Sun.

Prior to the McNees outbreak, E. coli 0157:NM had not been seen in Michigan, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health's Bureau of Laboratories.

E. coli poisoning can have serious complications, including HUS, which most often affects children under the age of 10. It is characterized by damage and destruction of the red blood cells, which leads anemia, blood clots, and damage to blood vessel walls. Complications of HUS are severe and can include kidney damage, seizures, coma, stroke and damage to the central nervous system.

Contact our E. coli lawyers for a free consultation regarding legal help for victims of these outbreaks and their families.

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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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Health officials in Michigan are trying to pinpoint the cause of an E. coli outbreak that sickened three people including two children from Maple Rapids, Michigan who have been hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

HUS, a condition that develops after and E. coli infection, most often affects children under the age of 10. It is characterized by damage and destruction of the red blood cells, which leads anemia, blood clots, and damage to blood vessel walls. Complications of HUS are severe and can include kidney damage, seizures, coma, stroke and damage to the central nervous system.

E. coli, a bacterium normally found in the gut of animals such as cattle, sheep, pigs, and deer, is spread by the fecal-oral route, through undercooked ground beef, unpasteurized milk or beverages. Symptoms of an E. coli infection include nausea, low-grade fever, loss of appetite, vomiting, abdominal bloating, and diarrhea, which can sometimes be bloody. Health officials urge anyone in the Maple Rapids area with these symptoms to see a doctor right away.

The affects of an E. coli infection can be long lasting and expensive. The E. coli lawyers at PritzkerOlsen P.A., a national leader in food safety law, have helped families all over the country who have suffered the devastating affects of E. coli and HUS. Contact them for a free consultation by clicking here or by calling TOLL FREE at 1 (888) 377-8900.

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A North Carolina State Fair E. coli investigation is under way by state and county officials who have confirmed that seven children and two adults have been sickened by E. coli over the same time period. Three of the children remain hospitalized, fighting kidney failure and other symptoms of hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS. E. coli HUS is a life-threatening complication of toxic E. coli poisoning that happens most often in children under age 5.

Wake County and North Carolina state health officials are now investigating what food or animals at the fair may have caused the outbreak. Eight of the nine case patients attended the event. In 2004, an E. coli outbreak at the North Carolina State Fairr was linked to an animal exhibit. In that case, 108 people were sickened and litigation is still pending.

In the current outbreak, seven individuals are from Raleigh and the rest of Wake County. The eighth and ninth confirmed cases were from outside Wake County – an infected adult in Johnston County and an infected child in Cleveland County.

Investigators also are looking into the possibility of more E. coli illnesses potentially linked to the fair. If you or a loved one has recently experienced bloody diarrhea or other E. coli symptoms, see your health care provider. Make sure to request a stool sample. For answers to legal questions about compensation for present and future harms,  call national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A. at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or leave your contact information and an attorney will call you.

Source: WakeGov.com; WRAL-TV

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An active cucumber E. coli outbreak in Germany, now extending into Sweden and other western European countries, is attracting worldwide attention after hundreds of people have fallen ill, including more than 200 people who have contracted life-threatening hemolytic uremic sydrome (HUS). At least five people have died.

According to reporters from Reuters news agency and Science Insider, the outbreak strain of E. coli O104 has been found in cucumbers grown in Spain and sold at a big market n Hamburg, Germany, that resells to restaurants, caterers and other outlets. 

Stockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which monitors diseases in the European Union, said it had reports of 214 HUS cases, a complication that causes kidney failure and can lead to stroke, paralysis, heart problems, brain infection, severe anemia and other severe health conditions. Children under the age of 5 are most susceptible.

The agency said at least nine HUS cases in Sweden have been linked to the outbreak, including four people who had recently travelled to northern Germany. Scientists have speculated that manure from infected animals used on an organic farm might have spread the bacteria to cucumbers.

E. coli O104 is one of six major non-O157:H7 types of E. coli that emit powerful Shiga toxin, which attack and fragment a person's red blood cells. 

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Five people in business, government and non-profits were recognized at this year's Food Safety Summit in Washington, D.C., as winners of the NSF International Food Safety Leadership Awards. NSF is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization that develops standards and product certifications in multiple fields while focused on public health in food, water, indoor air and the environment.

Deservedly, this year's group of winners includes Nancy Donley, president of STOP Foodborne Illness, a national nonprofit public health organization dedicated to the prevention of illness and death from E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria and other foodborne pathogens.

Here's a complete list of the 2011 NSF food safety award winners, including three companies:

• Brenda Halbrook, Director Office of Food Safety, USDA, Food and Nutrition Service - Winner Education
• David Ludwig, Manager Environmental Health Division, Maricopa County Environmental Services Department - Winner System Improvement
• Publix Super Markets, Inc. - Winner Training
• National Pasteurized Eggs - Winner Technology Breakthroughs
• Jill Hollingsworth, SVP Food Safety Programs, Food Marketing Institute (FMI) - Winner Lifetime Achievement in Industry and Association Food Safety
• Donald Sharp, Deputy Director Food Safety Office, Center for Disease Control, US Department of Health and Human Services - Winner Lifetime Achievement in Public Health Food Safety
• Nancy Donley, President, Safe Tables Our Priority (S.T.O.P.) - Winner - Lifetime Achievement in Consumer Advocacy Food Safety
• International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) - Winner - Trendsetter

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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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E. coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes were found in stocks of Bravo Farms cheese recalled in connection with last year's Bravo Farms Gouda cheese E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that sickened 38 people who bought or sample cheese at Costco stores in Arizona, Colorado, California, New Mexico and Nevada.

In addition, state and federal investigators found conditions at Bravo Farms, based in Traver, California, that were not food safe: a colony of flies in a processing area, bare-handed cheese processing, improper handling of equipment, containers and utensils, a rabbit inside the facility and pests. Of  the 24 unpasteurized cheese samples investigators took, 15 tested positive for Listeria and one tested positive for E. coli O157:H7.

In a complaint filed with the  the Eastern District of California, FDA authorities said the facilities at artisan cheese company Bravo Farms are ripe for cross-contamination and "not of suitable size, construction, and design to facilitate maintenance and sanitary operations for food manufacturing purposes."

The federal court sanctioned a seizure by federal agents of more than 80,000 pounds of recalled Bravo Farms cheese to ensure it is destroyed. The confiscation included 97 wedges of raw-milk Gouda cheese of the type recalled because of the outbreak.

John Sheehan, director of the FDA's dairy division, told the Los Angeles Times that the actions are part of an FDA review of artisan cheese makers. He said the inspections came from concerns "about raw-milk cheese made under artisanal conditions" and a flurry of nine artisan cheese recalls last year, including at least two that were associated with outbreaks. As of October, the FDA had inspected 102 facilities, some big, some small. Of the 147 samples taken, 32 tested positive for Listeria, the Times reported. The inspections continue.

Bravo Farms Lawsuit 

The cheese-making conditions at Bravo Farms are important to a cheese E. coli lawsuit filed against Bravo Farms and Costco by national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., with assistance from local counsel in Arizona. E. coli lawyers at Pritzker Olsen represent seven victims of the Gouda E. coli outbreak, including four members of the same family who suffered infections from contaminated raw milk Dutch Style Gouda cheese from the Costco store in Glendale, Arizona, last fall.

Our firm is conducting its own investigation and continues to accept new cases from those who were made ill.  E. coli O157:H7 is a strain of E. coli that produces large quantities of a potent toxin that damage the intestine and a person's red blood cells with potentially fatal health consequences. Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is the leading cause of E. coli death and the leading cause of kidney failure in children worldwide.

If you or a loved one were sickened after eating Bravo Farms cheese, contact our office for a free case consultation at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or by completing our E. coli lawsuit contact form. 

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 E. coli HUS lawsuits and other foodborne illness litigation will be discussed by food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker and two other attorneys with expertise in lawsuits resulting from outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 and other dangerous human pathogens.

Pritzker is founder and president of PritzkerOlsen, P.A., a leading national practitioner of foodborne illness litigation. He currently represents multiple individuals and families in lawsuits and other legal actions stemming from infections of E. coli 0157:H7, non-O157:H7 E. coli strains, Salmonella and Campylobacter jejuni. One recent E. coli 0157:H7 lawsuit filed by the firm's local counsel in Arizona is on behalf of an Arizona family sickened in the Bravo Farms cheese E. coli outbreak of late 2010. The contaminated Gouda cheese (since recalled) was sampled and sold in Costco stores in Arizona, Colorado, California, New Mexico and Arizona. PritzkerOlsen represents seven people sickened in the cheese E. coli outbreak.

Mr. Pritzker will appear January 21, 2011, at  the Northeastern University Law Journal's annual symposium: "From Seed to Stomach: Food and Farming Law." The symposium will focus on recent legal developments in the areas of food and farming law, including intellectual property and genetically-modified foods, sustainable economic farming, and food labeling and consumption. The symposium will take place on Northeastern's campus in Boston and the three-lawyer panel featuring Mr. Pritzker will be called "Inside Foodborne Illness Litigation.'' Jason Sapsin, former associate chief counsel for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, also is scheduled to participate in the panel discussion.

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 A food safety publication has written a summary of how cockroaches can contribute to foodborne illness, using the 2008-2009 Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) Salmonella outbreak as an example. The outbreak killed nine people and sickened more than 700 in 46 states, more than half of them children.

Quality Assurance and Food Safety magazine highlighted the outbreak while noting a University of Nebraska-Lincoln publication that said cockroaches have been knows to carry Salmonella, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, coliforms and other pathogens. “This is because after feeding on contaminated food, disease bacteria can remain in the cockroach digestive system for a month or more. Later, human food or utensils can become contaminated with cockroach feces. It has been shown that Salmonella bacteria survive in cockroach feces for several years.”

The food safety magazine also noted a white paper published by the National Pest Management Association: “Pest Management in the Wake of the Peanut Corporation of America Salmonella Outbreak.'' The paper explained the conducive cockroach conditions at PCA at the time of the 2009 recall of contaminated peanuts that affected more than 3,900 products that used PCA as an ingredient supplier. “Cockroaches can spread 33 different kinds of bacteria,” said Missy Henriksen, National Pest Management Association Vice President of Public Affairs. “What we are seeing right now is that it really does underscore the importance of sanitation and proper pest management.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation of PCA revealed extensive unsanitary and harmful conditions: “From mold growing on ceilings to rainwater leaking into the production areas; from gaps large enough for rodents to easily access the facility to the presence of dead cockroaches throughout the plant.'' The conditions were termed unsanitary and harmful and the industry white paper said  poor or improper pest management practices could be viewed as a contributing factor in creating the crisis.

Food safety lawyers from PritzkerOlsen, P.A., which represented the families of three people who died in the outbreak, witnessed the plant conditions first hand as part of their investigation into the outbreak. The law firm continues to represent victims of food poisoning across the country and is one of the few U.S. legal groups practicing extensively in the area of fooborne illness litigation. Attorneys can be reached 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 NBC television news affiliate in Green Bay, Wisconsin, has featured national food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker for his views on raw milk.

The topic has been a hot one in America's Dairyland ever since Governor Jim Doyle vetoed a bill earlier this year that would have legalized raw milk sales.

As photojournalist Mike Fisher reported on NBC26, some Wisconsin farmers continue their fight to sell raw milk despite opposition from the dairy industry, public health officials, pediatricians, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"I think the Governor is right, I'm representing people all over the country in raw milk cases who have been harmed grievously by drinking raw milk." 

 

Click here for a more in-depth look into the dangers of raw milk

Mr. Pritzker and his firm are involved in virtually every national outbreak of foodborne illness and they have collected large sums on behalf of people injured or killed by adulterated food. In addition, the firm is devoted to educating the public about food safety issues and advocating for badly needed food safety legislation. Pritzker Olsen has pushed for increased funding for the federal, state and local agencies charged with protecting our food.

 

Mr. Pritzker and members of his firm are frequent commentators on food safety issues and have been interviewed by and profiled in a number of media outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and CNN.

 

He has received numerous accolades including selection by his peers as one of The Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, and one of Minnesota’s Top 100 Lawyers. He is also a Civil Trial Specialist certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and the Minnesota State Bar Association. He is a former president of the Minnesota Association of Justice and a former governor of the American Association of Justice.

 

Mr. Pritzker received his B.A. with honors from Northwestern University in 1972 and his J.D. cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1976.

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 U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is saying in the aftermath of a tough New York Times story about hamburger E. coli that federal regulators are working hard to reduce the incidence of E. coli O157:H7 and that public health -- not meat industry profits -- is the government's top priority.

That's not what a lower-ranking USDA official told Times reporter Michael Moss, who might win a Pulitzer Prize next year for his continued work on food safety. Dr. Kenneth Petersen, an assistant administrator with the USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), told the Times that his department has the power to force grinding plants to test incoming beef trim for E. coli O157:H7.

A food safety officer at a major U.S. hamburger grinding company was on record in the Times' story as saying many big slaughterhouses won't sell beef trim and scrap to grinding plants if the plants test the shipments for E. coli. The admission was one of the most shocking revelations in the story considering that ground beef E. coli outbreaks are a chronic public health threat in the United States. An estimated five percent to 10 percent of infections develop into E coli HUS, or hemolytic uremic syndrome, the leading cause of kidney failure in children. 

Said Petersen: "I have to look at the entire industry, not just what is best for public health.''

Vilsack tried to set the record straight by saying in his written press release that the "sole mission'' of FSIS is to protect public health.

But while Vilsack ticked off recent initiatives taken by USDA to reduce the incidence of E. coli O157:H7, he did not promise to mandate E. coli testing at the receiving docks of plants that grind beef trim and scrap into hamburger. 

In 2008, USDA issued draft guidelines to the beef slaughter and grinding industry saying that every production lot should be sampled and tested before leaving the supplier and again at the receiver. After the proposed guideline received critical comments, the guidelines were never made official, the Times story said

In his statement this week, Vilsack made no mention of the specific testing issue. He would only say that USDA will "initiate a rulemaking'' in the near future to require all grinders to keep accurate records of the sources of each lot of ground beef.

The Times story investigated what ingredients were in Cargill hamburger patties that sickened more than 900 people in late 2007 with E. coli O157:H7. One of the victims -- a dance instructor from Minnesota -- developed HUS E. coli and was paralyzed from the waist down after the pathogen invaded her central nervous system.

The story revealed that the so-called "Angus Beef Patties'' sold by Cargill were actually made in Butler, Wisconsin, from cheap and fatty beef trim and beef scraps from four different suppliers -- one from Nebraska, one from Texas, one from Uruguay and one from South Dakota.

A central point to the story was that eating ground beef in America is still a gamble. If you or someone you love has fallen victim to E. coli 0157:H7, call an E. coli HUS lawyer at Pritzker Olsen Attorneys. Our firm is one of the few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness and we have collected tens of millions for victims of food poisoning. 

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