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

Larry Schultz Organic Farm of Owatonna, Minnesota, is cooperating with a Minnesota Department of Health investigation into an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis that investigators have associated with organic eggs. Some of those eggs -- now recalled -- were sold as Lunds & Byerly’s Organic, Kowalski’s Organic and Larry Schultz Organic Farm eggs.

Three people were hospitalized and three others sickened to the point where they went to a doctor and tested positive for the outbreak strain of Salmonella -- a human pathogen that is capable of causing death or long-term, disabling illness known as reactive arthritis or Reiter's syndrome.  The illnesses occurred in both children and adults, and all are residents of the seven-county metropolitan area around St. Paul and Minneapolis. 

Minnesota food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A. is one of the very few legal groups in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne Illness litigation. The firm is currently representing Salmonella outbreak victims and has published the complete details of this current organic egg Salmonella recall. Salmonella infection is a serious health concern and should not be taken lightly.

Anyone who believes they may have become ill with Salmonella should contact their health care provider. For answers to legal questions about claims recoveries, call a Salmonella lawyer at PritzkerOlsen, 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or leave your contact information and a lawyer will call you.

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The FDA found that an Ohio egg processor shipped 798 cases of eggs to market three days after the company's own tests showed Salmonella Enteritidis contamination, according to an FDA warning letter written to the firm's CEO last week.

The food safety hazard was created in October 2010 by Ohio Fresh Eggs LLC of Johnstown, Ohio. The company initiated a recall on November 5 after the Salmonella-positive egg tests were uncovered by the FDA during a review of company records. The records review was ordered after 13 FDA environmental samples from four egg layer sites at the company were confirmed positive for Salmonella Enteritidis.

"We found that you have serious deviations'' from federal regulations established to prevent Salmonella Enteritidis in shell egg production and storage, said the warning letter to Ohio Fresh Eggs CEO John Glessner. No illnesses were reported as a result of the problem.

A copy of the warning letter to Ohio Fresh Eggs was obtained by national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A. The firm represents victims of the 2010 Salmonella Enteriditis outbreak linked to Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, both of Iowa. In that outbreak, more than 1,900 people were sickened around the country from contaminated eggs. If you have questions about Salmonella egg lawsuits, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete our contact form.

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Following last year's egg Salmonella outbreak , which sickened nearly 2,000 people around the country from May through November, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) set out to inspect 600 facilities where 80 percent of the nation's egg supply originates.

Through December, FDA had inspected 35 egg farms in Ohio, Maine, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah and Washington. They were chosen because they had been associated with previous outbreaks or had a history of poor compliance. Nine separate companies operate the 35 farms. 

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Wright County Egg LLC, one of two Iowa egg producers deemed at fault for this year's massive egg Salmonella outbreak, has received FDA approval to resume shipping shell eggs directly to consumers. Since the August shutdown of normal operations at Wright County Egg, Salmonella egg litigation has cropped up in several states based on government findings confirming a link with the multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis.

FDA's concurrence for the resumption of normal marketing extends only to eggs from two hen houses on one of six farms operated by Wright County Egg. The other company linked to the outbreak, Hillandale Farms of Iowa, was previously cleared to resume sale of shell eggs to consumers.

“During the outbreak, I said that FDA would not agree to the sale of eggs to consumers from Wright County Egg until we had confidence that they could be shipped and consumed safely,” FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg said in a news release.  “After four months of intensive work by the company and oversight, testing, and inspections by FDA, I am satisfied that time has come.” 

FDA said its decision is based on the agency’s verification that the company has taken corrective measures in these two hen houses to address dirty egg laying environments, contaminated young chickens, contaminated feed and rodents.

FDA said it will continue to conduct environmental and egg sampling and will conduct periodic inspections to verify the safety measures in place.  Corrective actions continue to be implemented for Wright County Egg’s remaining houses.

Meanwhile, national food safety lawyers at PritzkerOlsen, P.A., continue to accept new cases from families and individuals sickened in the outbreak. Our firm has filed a Salmonella egg lawsuit against Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms on behalf of victims of this outbreak in an attempt to recover medical expenses, lost wages, travel expense and compensation for pain and suffering. To discuss your case with a Salmonella egg lawyer at the firm, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or complete the electronic contact form on the side of this Web page. A lawyer will respond to you.

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An egg Salmonella threat has been documented in an expose' on abuse and conditions inside a factory farm owned by a leading egg producer, the Humane Society of the United States said in a press release.

Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the organization, called on the egg industry to embrace cage-free housing systems. Taking proper care of laying hens is an important way to safeguard our food supply. His comments stem from an undercover video project that captured animal abuses and filth in a caged hen facility. The documentary comes on the heels of a major Salmonella egg outbreak and recall involving two Iowa egg producers that were later found to be in violation of food safety rules.

Hillandale Farms of Iowa and Wright County Egg, also of Iowa, recalled 550 million eggs after investigators associated a major Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak with shell eggs from the two companies. Around the country more than 1,800 people were sickened in the outbreak, prompting more than one Salmonella egg lawsuit. Law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is continuing to accept additional cases from individuals affected by the outbreak and free consultations are available at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or by completing the contact form on the side of this Web page.

According to the Humane Society press release,  a Humane Society investigator worked inside a factory egg farm in Texas recently for 28 days and documented multiple abuses and food safety threats, including:

• Birds trapped in cage wires, unable to reach food or water. Cage wires can trap hens' wings, necks, legs and feet, causing other birds to trample the weakened animals, usually resulting in a slow, painful death.
• Abandoned hens. Live birds were roaming outside their cages, some falling into manure pits.
• Injuries. Birds had bloody feet and broken legs from cage wires.
• Overcrowding injuries.  multiple birds crammed into one cage, giving each hen only 67 square inches of cage space—less than a sheet of paper on which to live for more than a year.
• Eggs covered in blood and feces. 

Every one of the last ten published studies comparing cage to cage-free systems found higher Salmonella rates in cage systems, including a 2010 study that found 20 times greater odds of Salmonella infection in caged flocks, the Humane Society said. Click here to see the Humane Society video.

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A Salmonella egg test result has prompted the recall of 24,000 dozen eggs by the country's largest maker of shell eggs: Mississippi-based Cal-Maine Foods Inc.

Published by Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the recall applies to eggs supplied to Cal-Maine by Ohio Fresh Eggs of Croton, Ohio. An FDA sample test found Salmonella Enteritidis -- the same type of Salmonella in eggs that sickened more than 1,800 Americans earlier this year in an outbreak linked to two Iowa egg producers.

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Egg safety initiatives are under way in the public and private sectors in the wake of a nationwide egg Salmonella outbreak  that has sickened more than 1,800 people and has been linked to a pair of farms in Iowa.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is primarily responsible for egg safety but has a limited number of inspectors, plans to train USDA egg graders how to catch potential bacterial problems at egg farms and to conduct inspections.

FDA previously announced plans to inspect every major farm in the nation, starting with operations that have had past trouble with government officials. Sixteen inspections had been carried out by midmonth. The agency expects to conduct about 600 inspections in the next 14 months.

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The egg Salmonella outbreak that has spawned multiple egg lawsuits will reach its six month next week with an official illness count that has surpassed 1,800.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the outbreak has spanned the summer and fall, with confirmed Salmonella Enteritidis cases peaking in July. No deaths have been reported. 

From May 1 to October 15, public health officials in 11 states since have identified 29 restaurants or event clusters where more than one ill person with the outbreak strain has eaten. Data from these investigations and from site inspections have identified Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms of Iowa as the sources of this outbreak. Both companies face an egg lawsuit from Salmonella attorneys at PritzkerOlsen, P.A., one of the country's leading food safety law firms.

An online egg lawsuit claims center has been established at PritzkerOlsen for members of the public who have been victimized in this outbreak with Salmonella Enteritidis infection matching the outbreak strain. Click here to reach the Salmonella outbreak claims center or call 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE).

Based on loads of information gathered by inspectors from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it appears to the CDC that  Salmonella persisted in the environment at the two plants, including feed, which resulted in the contamination of eggs. Uncontrolled manure piles, mice, wild birds and food safety violations by workers were among the problems documented by inspectors.

PritzkerOlsen sent its own team to the Iowa egg manufacturers for an inspection. The egg lawsuit team collected evidence captured on video of some of the problems. Hillandale has been cleared to sell shell eggs again, but FDA inspectors have not been satisfied with progress at Wright County Egg and the plant is still under restrictions.

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Egg lawsuit attorneys Brendan Flaherty and Ryan Osterholm hired a poultry processing and products microbiology expert to accompany them in the inspection of the egg production facilities at Hillandale Farms in New Hampton, Iowa and Wright County Egg in Galt, Iowa, on September 30 and October 5, respectively.

Hillandale Farms and Wright County Egg facilities were at the center of a nationwide Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak that started in May and continued through September. In August, the two Iowa egg producers recalled more than 500 million eggs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1,600 illnesses have been documented and many more went unreported.

FDA inspectors found such unsanitary conditions as: live mice in chicken barns, numerous live and dead flies, manure piles up to eight feet high, uncaged hens tracking manure throughout the facilities and workers violating food safe practices. Last year, PritzkerOlsen also attended inspections of the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA)  facilities as part of their litigation in the 2008-2009 Salmonella peanut product outbreak. The firm represents the families of three victims who died in that outbreak--more than any law firm involved in the PCA litigation. That case recently settled for $12 million.

"Seeing firsthand the conditions that led to our clients' illnesses allows us to prove their cases and see that they are compensated for the physical, emotional and financial hardships the contaminated eggs caused them,'' Flaherty said.

In the Salmonella egg outbreak, PritzkerOlsen filed the first egg lawsuit in Minnesota on behalf of a woman sickened in June after eating at Mi Rancho, a Bemidji restaurant that served eggs purchased from Hillandale Farms. The case was filed in Beltrami County District Court (no. 04-CV-10-3168). PritzkerOlsen continues to take on new cases related to this outbreak 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 Salmonella egg outbreak that has sickened at least 1,600 Americans since May has put an egg facility inspection program run by the Food and Drug Administration under a spotlight.

                 The FDA's Deputy Commissioner for Foods, Michael Taylor said this week in a letter to the New York Times that the anti-Salmonella inspection program is on track. "In response to the Salmonella outbreak that led to the recall of more than 500 million eggs, the agency will inspect all 600 of the nation’s largest egg producers by the end of 2011,'' Taylor said.  These inspections have already begun, starting with facilities considered at highest risk because of past problems, he said.

The Times ran a story last week noting gaffes in the FDA's egg facility inspection training program. A top FDA egg expert broke a basic biosecurity rule by parking her van near a henhouse where she was giving a training session in Pennsylvania. It was called to her attention but she then repeated the act at another training session, where she became argumentative. The issue with vehicles is that they can track manure on roads too close to where eggs are laid.

The FDA confirmed to the Times that the person involved in the incidents was removed from the inspection program and that the program is on track. Said Taylor: "The agency is committed to ensuring the safety of the nation's egg supply.''

Meanwhile, an egg class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of victims across the country. To contact an egg Salmonella lawyer, call national Salmonella law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page. We represent those sickened with Salmonella Enteritidis associated with shell eggs from Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms of Iowa.

Two attorneys from our firm and an investigator have returned from a court-approved inspection of the Iowa egg plants and information garnered in our investigation is bolstering an egg lawsuit that our firm filed soon after the outbreak was revealed. Families who are looking for assistance can go to our online Salmonella egg claim center for more information and details about the outbreak and how to recover money as compensation for medical expenses, pain, suffering and other harms caused by this contamination. 

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An egg Salmonella lawsuit against Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms of Iowa is going forward with the addition of evidence collected in the past week during on-site inspections of these facilities by attorneys from PritzkerOlsen, P.A., a national food safety law firm.

PritzkerOlsen represents victims in the nationwide egg Salmonella outbreak and is continuing to accept cases from a group of more than 1,600 people sickened since May from contaminated shell eggs. The law firm's egg Salmonella claims center has information on contacting an attorney for a free consultation at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE).

Investigators from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also inspected multiple facilities of Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms. At Wright County Egg, officials found chicken manure reaching eight feet high, employees who did not wear or change protective clothing when moving from one laying house to another, and many live mice throughout the facilities. Inspectors also observed wild birds sitting near and flying over grain bins that contained chicken feed. In total, six samples taken from the facilities and feed supply tested positive for Salmonella Enteritidis

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Egg lawsuit attorneys from PritzkerOlsen, P.A., will inspect the facilities of Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms this week to bolster Salmonella egg litigation on behalf of outbreak victims nationwide. The lawyers’ on-site investigation comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found a shocking list of unsafe conditions including uncaged hens on overflowing piles of manure.

Attorneys Brendan Flaherty and Ryan Osterholm, along with poultry processing and products microbiology professor Dr. Scott Russell, will tour Hillandale Farms in New Hampton, Iowa on September 30 and Wright County Egg in Galt, Iowa, on October 5. Both attorneys will be available for media interviews before and after the inspections.

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As Salmonella litigation proceeds in the egg outbreak associated with two Iowa egg farms, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing the findings of its investigation to evaluate what enforcement actions may be appropriate.

That statement from FDA Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein was made Wednesday in Washington, D.C., at a Congressional hearing on Salmonella in eggs. According to a transcript of the proceedings, Sharfstein said the agency found serious problems with pest control and manure handling when inspectors went to facilities operated by the DeCoster family. Those problems could have contributed to the spread of Salmonella, Sharfstein told the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Although the DeCosters identified contaminated feed as a likely culprit for the outbreak, Sharfstein said the FDA wasn't ready to point to a single source for the problem.

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The Salmonella egg hearing in Washington opened Wednesday with a powerful statement of disdain against operations at Wright County Egg, the Iowa farm at the center of a Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak that has sickened more than 1,600 people nationwide.

The admonishment came from Representative Henry Waxman, D-California, chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Waxman said the DeCoster family who owns Wright County Egg and raised eggs for Hillandale Farms in Iowa has known about safety problems at its facilities for decades, yet they continue to persist. Over 30 years ago, eggs from a farm operated by the DeCoster family killed nine people and sickened 500 in New York, Waxman said. Twenty years ago, Maryland ordered the DeCosters to stop selling eggs in the state because of the contamination problems.

Law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., has filed an egg lawsuit against Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms and it continues to accept new cases for egg litigation in various states. To contact a lawyer, go to the firm's online Salmonella claims center. 

"DeCoster farms have had warning after warning. Yet they continue to raise chickens in slovenly conditions – and to make millions by selling contaminated eggs,'' Chairman Waxman said in his opening remarks at the hearing.

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PritzkerOlsen, P.A., one of the country's leading law firms in foodborne illness litigation, has launched a new Salmonella egg website for consumers and victims.

The website acts as a Salmonella egg claims center and information clearinghouse for those seeking compensation from infections caused by contaminated shell eggs produced by Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa, and Hillandale Farms of Iowa. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has associated more than 1,600 cases of Salmonella Enteritidis from around the country with pathogens traced to these farms.

The new website features background information on Salmonellosis, including in-depth explanation of Salmonella symptoms. The site also details information about an egg lawsuit already filed by PritzkerOlsen against Wright County  Egg and Hillandale Farms.

If you or a loved one have contracted a Salmonella Enteritidis infection after eating eggs at home or at a restaurant, you may have a claim against Wright County and Hillandale for payment of your medical expenses and compensation for loss of income, pain and suffering, emotional distress and other damages.

Click here to make your Salmonella egg claim.

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 A Congressional hearing entitled "The Outbreak of Salmonella in Eggs'' is scheduled to begin at noon Wednesday in Washington, D.C. before the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

The latest agenda for the meeting notes that two of the five scheduled witnesses are victims of the Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak. Those victims are Sarah Lewis and Carol Lobato.  According to the committee's briefing memo, the hearing at 12:00 p.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building will examine the recent Salmonella outbreak associated with shell eggs produced by Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms of Iowa. The hearing continues the Subcommittee’s investigative activities concerning the adequacy of efforts to ensure the safety and security of the nation’s food supply.

The hearing follows a massive egg recall in August by Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa, and Hillandale Farms of Iowa. State and federal health investigators have associated more than 1,600 cases of Salmonella Enteritidis with contaminated eggs from those two farms. Wednesday's hearing calls for testimony from top executives of both companies, including Wright County Egg founder Austin "Jack" DeCoster. Media reports indicate DeCoster will apologize.

His egg operations have drawn scrutiny from regulators in the past and the committee has documentation of previous problems with Salmonella at Wright County Egg.

The nationwide outbreak has prompted an egg class action lawsuit and a Minnesota egg lawsuit filed by PritzkerOlsen, P.A. Fred Pritzker, president of the national Salmonella law firm, is having the egg farms inspected next week and is continuing to accept cases from those who have suffered Salmonella infections in the outbreak.

To contact the firm for a free case consultation, call 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page. 

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Egg Recall highlights as presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are now part of the public record as victims press a Salmonella egg class action lawsuit against Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms of Iowa.

The Salmonella Enteritidis investigation update from CDC notes that 1,608 illnesses likely were caused by contaminated eggs from the two producers. The previous CDC update, dated September 9, counted 1,519 illnesses associated with the egg outbreak.

Law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is representing victims of the outbreak and has filed an egg lawsuit in Minnesota on behalf of a woman from Mantorville, Minnesota, who became infected with Salmonella bacteria in an outbreak at Mi Rancho restaurant. The firm continues to accept cases from victims across the country at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or by completing the contact form on the side of this Web page.

According to the CDC, health investigators in 11 states have detected the outbreak strain of Salmonella in 29 restaurant or event outbreaks, including the Mi Rancho outbreak. And for the first time, CDC has released details of how the investigation unfolded.   What follows are some key developments leading up to the egg recalls in mid-August by Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms. More than 550 million eggs were recalled by the two companies.

• May 24: Minnesota implicates stuffed chili peppers made with shell eggs as cause of Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak. Eggs traced to Hillandale Farms
• June 27 - Mid July: California reports six clusters of Salmonella Enteritidis associated with a bakery or breakfast restaurants.
• July 29: California identifies Wright County Egg as common supplier in the six clusters. 
• August 6: Colorado associates Salmonella restaurant outbreak with eggs from Wright County Egg.
• August 6: FDA focuses on three distinct outbreaks in Colorado, Minnesota and California for traceback investigations to find source of illnesses.
• August 12: FDA begins investigation at Wright County Egg in Galt, Iowa.
• August 13-20: Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms recall a total of 550 million eggs.

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An egg class action lawsuit has been filed in Chicago (United State District Court for the Northern District of Illinois). The action was filed on behalf of six people who were sickened after eating eggs contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis that were produced by Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, both of Iowa. Wright County Egg is a business alias of Quality Egg, LLC.

Plaintiffs Listed in the Egg Class Action Lawsuit Documents

The following are the plaintiffs (people suing) as listed in the egg class action lawsuit documents. All of the information below is from the complaint.  If you would like to be part of an egg class action lawsuit, please contact our  national Salmonella law firm.

1. HILDA A. DWYER, a 69 year old resident of Orland Park, Cook County, Illinois. According to the complaint, she purchased 18 count Hillandale Extra Large Eggs from Costco Wholesale, located at 9915 W. 159th Street, Orland Park, Cook County, Illinois. After ingesting the eggs she began to develop severe nausea and vomiting and received medical treatment.
2. MARTHA A. PATTON, a 48 year old resident of Gulfport, Harrison County, Mississippi. According to the complaint, she purchased Sun Ups Cal-Maine, Ca, 36 count eggs. She ate some of the eggs on August 27 and had severe diarrhea and a fever of 102 degrees. She was admitted to the emergency room twice.
3. JESSICA T. EASON, a resident of Greensboro, North Carolina. She purchased Sunny Meadow Eggs at a Food Line Store.
4. IRVIN B. BOYKIN, a 67 year old resident of New Winsdor, Orange County, New York. He ingested contaminated eggs at a Waffle Kitchen located at 1835 Southeast Boulevard in Clinton, North Carolina on or about August 13, 2010. Within 6 hours, Mr. Boykin felt severe abdominal pain and subsequent severe diarrhea.
5. MARY C. TURNER, a resident of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. She purchased eggs at Giant Eagle. On or about August 26, 2010 after ingesting the contaminated eggs, she was admitted to the emergency room suffering from abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and dehydration.
6. PATRICIA L. DEAN, on behalf of a minor, residents of Carmel, Hamilton County, Indiana. On or about August 7, 2010, the child consumed food containing contaminated food at a Costco located at 9010 Michigan Rd., in Indianapolis, Indiana. The child experienced abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting and sought medical treatment.

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A pair of powerful congressman want egg Salmonella information straight from Austin "Jack'' DeCoster, the owner of the Iowa egg company that federal investigators have associated with a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis.

DeCoster was mailed a letter Tuesday from Representatives Henry Waxman of California and Bart Stupak of Michigan, leaders of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. They have invited DeCoster and the president of Hillandale Farms of Iowa to provide egg Salmonella information to the committee at a public hearing next week. The letter indicates that Wright County Egg tested positive for Salmonella hundreds of times in the past two years.

"When you testify before the committee, we ask that you come prepared to explain why your facilities tested potentially positive for Salmonella Enteritidis contamination on so many occasions, what steps you took to address the contamination identified in these test results, and whether you shared these results with FDA or other federal or state food safety officials," Waxman and Stupak wrote.

The letter to DeCoster indicated that environmental sample reports between 2008 and 2010 found 426 positive results for Salmonella, including 73 samples that were potentially positive for Salmonella Enteritidis, the same strain that has sickened more than 1,500 people across the country.

The outbreak started in May, peaked in July and has continued into September. The recall of 550 million eggs by Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms happened in mid-August. Meanwhile, victims of the outbreak are continuing to contact law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., for egg litigation and compensation for medical expense, lost wages, travel, pain and other harms.

Our firm filed an egg lawsuit late last month in Minnesota on behalf of a woman who was sickened  in the Mi Rancho restaurant outbreak in Bemidji. State officials traced the outbreak to eggs from Hillandale Farms. More lawsuits are being prepared for PritzkerOlsen's egg Salmonella clients in other states.

Free case consultations can be obtained by completing the contact form on the side of this Web page or by calling a Salmonella egg recall lawyer at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE). 

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One month after Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa, announced its initial recall of shell eggs, law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is continuing to get contacts from people sickened by the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis.

The food safety law firm represents Salmonella egg outbreak victims whose illnesses date as far back as June. Founder and president Fred Pritzker, who is lead attorney for the firm’s egg recall cases, already has filed an egg lawsuit in Minnesota and is working on additional egg lawsuits for other clients from across the country. The Minnesota case stemmed from a cluster of illnesses among patrons of the same restaurant, Mi Rancho in Bemidji, Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Health traced it back to contaminated eggs from Hillandale Farms, also of Iowa.

“We’re getting complaints like crazy,’’ Pritzker said. “People are scared and angry because this outbreak should not have happened.’’ 

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The invited witnesses before Chairman Henry Waxman's committee are Austin "Jack" DeCoster, owner of Wright County Egg; Orland Bethel, president of Hillandale Farms of Iowa and Michael R. Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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USDA egg graders were at Wright County Egg facilities (the egg recall company) and wrote daily sanitation reports. Reporters at the Wall Street Journal went through these reports and discovered that, as conditions at egg plant packing facilities became unsatisfactory, the USDA workers did not report the problems to the FDA, the regulatory body for food safety issues in commercial egg production. 

This is disturbing, but what is even more disturbing is the following quote from the Wall Street Journal article:

The USDA said it didn't give notice because "the conditions at the egg plant packing facilities were routine."

Does this mean that bugs, overflowing trash, and egg residue on equipment that can cross contaminate is routine for the egg industry or just Wright County Egg?

I, for one, would be willing to pay more for eggs if I could get a guarantee that the hen house, egg packing plant and all facilities were clean. I might even pay more for eggs if I just could be assured that manure was not allowed to pile up and that dead chickens, mice and bugs were promptly removed, something that was not being done at Wright County Egg, according to the August FDA inspection report and an article in the Des Moines Register.

For the 1500-plus people who were sickened in the egg Salmonella outbreak, there was no guarantee of cleanliness. Instead, they ate eggs produced by a company that let manure piles rise to 8 feet. Contact our law firm for egg lawsuit information.

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Egg Salmonella outbreak information has been updated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding the egg recall and salmonella outbreak associated with Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms.

The latest highlights from the CDC ongoing investigation include:

"From May 1 to August 31, 2010, approximately 1,519 illnesses were reported that are likely to be associated with this outbreak. FDA identified Salmonella with PFGE patterns indistinguishable from the outbreak strain in egg farm environmental samples."

The CDC advises consumers NOT to consume recalled eggs, which could still be in grocery stores, restaurants and refrigerators in homes. People who have these eggs should throw them away. A searchable database of recalled egg products is available to consumers.

Egg Salmonella Outbreak Timeline

Part of the way health officials determine whether patients are part of an outbreak is by analyzing the timeline of illnesses. This includes the following steps:

1. Incubation time: the time it takes for symptoms to show after consuming the tainted food. This is typically 1-3 days for Salmonella
2. Time to contact health care provider: how long it takes a patient to contact a doctor after experiencing their first symptoms.
3. Time to diagnosis: The time it takes to get test results back from a patient to confirm that he or she is, in fact, sick with salmonella.
4. Sample shipping time: the time it takes to ship the salmonella sample to the state public health authorities that will perform “DNA fingerprinting”.
5. Time to serotyping and DNA fingerprinting

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Past and present workers at Wright County Egg in Iowa, home of the chickens who laid the Salmonella eggs, dished out some dirt on the company to the Des Moines Register. Here are some quotes from the article about the conditions in the Wright County Egg hen houses:

Dozens of chickens died daily, their bodies lying undiscovered in cages for days, and perhaps weeks, at a time.

“I saw maggots and sometimes mice on the conveyor belt.”

Hundreds of mice killed by poison can fill about 50 cage traps in each hen house several times a week.

A wry smile broke across her face as she recalled the multitude of mice that dodged her feet when she walked between rows of chicken cages.

Every worker interviewed said the piles of manure under the hen houses are cleaned out once a year.

The ammonia caused bloodshot and swollen eyes, and made nasal passages throb.

A Mexican woman who declined to be identifiedsaid she quit in January and worked there four years. She said the ammonia grew worse in the winter because the vents were closed to keep the hen houses warm.

She called the conditions inside the hen houses "incredible."

"I don't understand how the government allowed them to operate like this," she said through an interpreter.

The manure problem was highlighted in an FDA inspection report of Wright County Egg facilities issued in August after Wright County Egg recalled over 300 million eggs and over 1000 people reported getting Salmonella poisoning.  According to the report, manure was piled 8 feet high, and two hen house entrance doors were blocked with excessive amounts of manure.

Justice requires that Wright County Egg and its owner, Jack DeCoster, be held accountable for the illnesses caused by the contaminated eggs. Our law firm has filed a lawsuit against Wright County Egg seeking payment of medical expenses and compensation for pain and suffering and other damages. Contact our law firm for egg lawsuit information.

Image from the Humane Society Factory Farming website.

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I just got back from a convenience store to buy eggs.  When I asked the cashier about the egg recall, there was a blank stare.  Another woman looked at me and said, "I am going to watch football.  The eggs come from somewhere."  I appreciated the concern and knew neither of them had ever had Salmonella or probably any illness with severe barfing and diarrhea. 

I got home and checked my eggs with the egg recall list.  My eggs are not on the list but I can't assume they are Salmonella-free. 

Here is the updated egg recall list:

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 A state health official told the St. Cloud Times newspaper that a man from Clearwater, Minnesota, was among the seven people sickened in the Mi Rancho Restaurant Salmonella egg outbreak that helped investigators trace the problem to Hillandale Farms of Iowa.

The Clearwater man was not mentioned by name, but Minnesota Health Department spokesman Josh Rounds said the man was one of seven who became infected with Salmonella Enteritidis after eating at Mi Rancho restaurant in Bemidji, Minnesota. The Mi Rancho Salmonella egg outbreak was the first of three clusters of Salmonella Enteritidis in Minnesota, Rounds said. The others were in St. Paul and Rochester.

A Mi Rancho lawsuit was filed late last month in Bemidji by law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A.. The suit seeks more than $100,000 for Robin and Kenneth Shaffer of Mantorville. Like the man from Clearwater, Robin was one of the seven confirmed Mi Rancho Salmonella victims. The egg lawsuit seeks compensation from Mi Rancho and two egg suppliers in Iowa at the center of the multi-state Salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 1,460 people across the country.

PritzkerOlsen represents victims in the Mi Rancho outbreak and others sickened by Salmonella Enteritidis in eggs. More egg litigation is pending and the firm is continuing to accept cases at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or by completing the contact form on the side of this Web page. Fred Pritzker, the lead attorney handling egg cases, has been pressing to get investigators into facilities at Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms to advance the firm's own probe of the outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said state investigations in Minnesota, Colorado and California helped associate a four-fold increase in Salmonella Enteritidis cases this year to contamination at Wright County Egg, Hillandale Farms and additional companies like Sparboe Farms of Litchfield, Minnesota, that repackaged eggs from those suppliers.

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The egg recall product list has been updated by the Food and Drug Administration to aid consumers search egg brands recalled in the multi-state Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak associated with eggs recalled by Iowa's Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms.

The latest egg recall list by FDA contains 46 egg brands that may be contaminated with Salmonella. Already this outbreak has caused more than 1,460 illnesses across the country as stated by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The latest egg recall list is searchable and provides plant codes and Julian dates for affected cartons.

While the recall list focuses on retail shell eggs, many of the contaminated eggs produced in Iowa were sold through foodservice channels for use in restaurants and other commercial kitchens. In fact, clusters of illnesses from restaurant outbreaks and catered social events led to the discovery that tainted eggs were the cause of a four-fold increase nationally in the number of Salmonella Enteritidis illnesses.

PritzkerOlsen, P.A., represents many Salmonella egg victims and has filed an egg lawsuit on behalf of Robin and Kenneth Shaffer of Mantorville, Minnesota. Robin was one of seven people sickened in an outbreak at Mi Rancho Restaurant in Bemidji, Minnesota, and the public health investigation traced the problem to Hillandale Farms. The lawsuit seeks more than $100,000 in compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain, suffering and other harms. 

National food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen is conducting its own investigation of the Salmonella egg outbreak and is continuing to accept additional cases. If you or a loved one has been sickened by Salmonella from contaminated shell eggs, call 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page for a free case consulation.

Our firm is one of the few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigaton and we have collected millions on behalf of victims of food poisoning, including Salmonella from eggs.

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The Salmonella egg outbreak in California has sickened more than 200 people, including 42 confirmed illnesses in Santa Clara County.

The Santa Clara County Public Health Department issued an update on the outbreak this week, saying that six of the 42 confirmed victims in that county were hospitalized with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis.

As federal health officials have noted, public health investigations in California, Colorado and Minnesota were instrumental in tracking a four-fold rise in Salmonella Enteritidis illness this spring and summer to contaminated eggs sold by Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, both of Iowa. The two producers have recalled more than half a billion eggs

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Egg lawsuit investigations by PritzkerOlsen, P.A., are continuing as more restaurant outbreaks and clusters of Salmonella Enteritidis are being identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to the latest CDC update on the Salmonella egg outbreak, public health investigations in 10 states since April have identified 29 restaurants or event clusters where more than one ill person with the outbreak strain has eaten. Data from these investigations suggest that shell eggs are a likely source of infections in many of these restaurants or event clusters. Wright County Egg, in Galt, Iowa, was an egg supplier in 15 of these 29 restaurants or event clusters, CDC said. Three are clusters that have been recently reported, but occurred earlier in the outbreak, the CDC said. Traceback investigations are ongoing.

Fred Pritzer, founder and president of PritzkerOlsen, filed one of the first egg lawsuits in the country on behalf of a Minnesota woman and her husband after the woman suffered a painful Salmonella infection traced by the Minnesota Department of Health to contaminated eggs at Hillandale Farms of Iowa. She was one of six people sickened in a Salmonella outbreak at Mi Rancho restaurant in Bemidji, Minnesota.

The firm represents many other victims and is continuing to accept additional cases at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or by completing the contact form on the side of this Web page. According to the CDC there are approximately 1,469 reported illnesses that are likely to be associated with this outbreak.

Individuals who think they might have become ill from eating recalled eggs should consult their health care providers and request a stool culture. For answers to legal questions about egg recall compensation, contact a Salmonella egg lawyer at PritzkerOlsen, a leading national practitioner of foodborne illness litigation.

In this egg Salmonella outbreak, investigation by the CDC, FDA, USDA and state health agencies in Minnesota, Colorado and California indicate substantial potential for Salmonella to have persisted in the environment and to have contaminated eggs at Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms. Together, the two companies distributed more than half a billion eggs since May that may have been contaminated with Salmonella.

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Our law firm has filed a lawsuit against Mi Rancho restaurant in Bemidji, Minnesota on behalf of a woman who contracted a Salmonella Enteritidis infection after eating at the restaurant.  Her case of salmonellosis was traced back to recalled eggs produced by Quality Egg LLC (doing business as Wright County Egg) and Hillandale Farms, both of Iowa.  These companies were also named in the lawsuit.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, six other people were also sickened by eggs consumed at Mi Rancho in May.  The illnesses were reported May 20.

For egg lawsuit information, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our online form for a free consultation.

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The August inspection report of Quality Egg LLC (doing business as Wright County Egg) provides a clue to how over 500 million eggs could have to be recalled due to possible contamination with Salmonella Enteritidis.  Manure was 8 feet high in one area, and a door was "blocked with excessive amounts of manure."  Feel like eating an omelet?

Below is part of the investigation report (click here for full report):

You [Quality Egg LLC, d.b.a. Wright County Egg] failed to take steps to ensure there is no introduction or transfer of SE [Salmonella Enteritidis] into or among poultry houses. This was evidenced by the following observations:

Specifically,

a) There was only one entry doorway to access egg laying areas located at every other house. Entrances for houses on Layer I and Layer 2 were located on even numbered houses. Entrances for houses on Layer 3 and Layer 4 were located on odd numbered houses. For example, at Layer 3 and Layer 4—House 1 had a doorway and this same doorway had to be used to gain entrance to House 2.

b) Employees working within the houses did not wear or change protective clothing when moving from house to house. An employee at Layer 6 -House 3 was observed walking out of House 3 with a metal scraper and into House 2 without changing protective clothing and without cleaning/sanitizing equipment between the houses.

c) Un-caged birds (chickens having escaped) were observed in the egg laying operation in contact with the egg laying birds at Layer 3—Houses 9 and 16. The uncaged birds were using the manure, which was approximately 8 feet high, to access the egg laying area.

d) Layer 3 – House 11, the house entrance door to access both House 11 and 12 was blocked with excessive amounts of manure in the manure pits.  

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We just filed suit on behalf of two of our Salmonella egg outbreak clients. These are the first Minnesota outbreak cases in litigation and some of the earliest cases filed in the United States. Here is a link to the Salmonella eggs suit papers.

Proving a case of salmonella poisoning (or any other foodborne illness) requires facts establishing a microbiological and epidemiologic link between the victim’s illness and the food product produced and/or served by the wrongdoers. It also involves identifying the wrongful conduct that caused the food product to become poisoned in the first place. This process is discussed in more detail in an interesting article entitled “How Lawyers Prove Foodborne Illness.”

Despite the science and technology involved in proving these cases, we often hear from people who blame us for suing wrongdoers. One impassioned writer let me know that “rather than blame our companies who ALL follow strict standards, or the consumers that they try to blame from time to time(telling us how to cook our eggs etc etc)- let's ask ourselves, what is really happening to our food supply, and other products?” She then proceeded to explain that the egg-salmonella outbreak was the product of “agroterrorists” intent on sickening and killing our citizens as part of an “Al Queda” (her spelling) plot.

An extreme viewpoint? Perhaps. But in a country in which all sorts of nutty beliefs become accepted as part of the national discourse, it is important to consider facts rather than unfounded beliefs.

The “facts” in this case are stated in the FDA Form 483 inspection reports of Quality Egg LLC  and Hillandale Farms just released by the government following inspections at the facilities of Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, the egg producers implicated in this outbreak (that collectively recalled 500 million eggs). These reports make it clear, in our humble opinion, that we don’t need terrorists to poison our food supply; we’re perfectly capable of doing it ourselves.

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by Fred Pritzker

I represent victims of food poisoning. I represent them in cases involving Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, Shigella and other nasty pathogens. 

The cases that bother me most are those in which food processors put profit over safety and needlessly endanger the health and safety of American consumers.  I know these cases first hand. My firm represented the families of more people killed in the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) Salmonella outbreak than any other law firm in the United States.

You remember PCA. The company sold peanut products to food producers that used the peanut paste to make thousands of snack products. The company was shut down and forced into bankruptcy after hundreds of people were sickened and several died as a result of Salmonella poisoning from the company’s peanuts.

As part of our thorough investigation, I traveled to the Blakely, Georgia PCA plant implicated in the outbreak and personally inspected it. What I found was appalling: filthy equipment, vermin and gaps in walls and the ceiling that allowed in any number of rodents, insects and other disease carrying animals. My observations mirrored those made by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the report of which may be viewed at http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/ORA/ORAElectronicReadingRoom/UCM109843.pdf.

There is now another Salmonella outbreak. It involves half a billion eggs from two large producers in Iowa, Quality Egg LLC (Wright County Egg), Galt, IA and Hillandale Farms, New Hampton, IA. Shockingly, these plants were never inspected by the FDA until after this recent outbreak.

It’s a pity they were not previously inspected. Here are some of the observations made by federal inspectors at Wright County Egg during their August inspections during the outbreak:

• Live frogs living in egg laying house
• Wild birds flying through egg laying houses
• Pigeons roosting in air vents
• Gaps and holes in building foundations large enough to admit vermin
• Evidence of rodent burrows located along baseboards
• “Dark liquid which appeared to be manure was observed seeping through the concrete foundation to the outside of the laying houses…”
• Employees not wearing or changing protective clothing when moving between laying houses
• Laying house entrance doors “blocked with excessive amounts of manure in the manure pits
• Live mice observed inside the egg laying houses

The complete report may be viewed at: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/ORA/ORAElectronicReadingRoom/UCM224399.pdf

These disgusting findings come on the heels of other reports about the practices of Wright County Egg and its operator. According to a recent article in the New York Times: “The company behind the recall, Wright County Egg, of Galt, Iowa, is owned by Jack DeCoster, who has had run-ins with regulators over poor or unsafe working conditions, environmental violations, the harassment of workers and the hiring of illegal immigrants.”

We just sued Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms on behalf of one of the recent Salmonella outbreak victims. Here is the link to those court papers.  Contact me for more information about the egg lawsuit.

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According to the lawsuit, filed in Beltrami County, the woman ate at Mi Rancho restaurant in Bemidji, Minnesota, on May 7, 2010, and started getting ill a short time later. The Minnesota Department of Health determined that she and at least six other patrons of the restaurant were sickened by the same identical strain of Salmonella Enteritidis. 

“Our client’s severe illness could have been prevented at several levels, but those with the ability to protect her from Salmonella poisoning failed to do so,’’ stated Attorney Fred Pritzker, lead attorney for the firm’s egg recall cases.  “Our client and the hundreds of others sickened in this outbreak deserved better.” 

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Egg recall information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now searchable by brand name and other data, making a powerful consumer guide to 88 different egg brands involved in the recalls by Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, both of Iowa.

Click here for the searchable egg recall list  that covers more than half a billion eggs.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1,470 reported illnesses were likely to be associated with this outbreak between May 1 to August 25. More are expected as investigation and testing continues in more than 20 states.

Smoking gun evidence was uncovered by FDA, linking the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis to the Iowa egg producers. Of 600 samples taken, six so far have come back with the same identical Salmonella strain that is making people sick.. One of those samples came from the feed mill at Wright County Egg and the feed was provided to young hens. The hens were distributed to all premises at both companies.

"These findings indicate that Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms of Iowa are the likely sources of the contaminated shell eggs,'' CDC has stated.

Law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A. is preparing an egg lawsuit on behalf of a woman who is confirmed by health authorities as a victim of this outbreak. Salmonella egg recall lawyers at the firm are in contact with other victims and the firm is continuing to accept cases. Free consultations are available at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or by completing the contact form on the side of this Web page. 

Many of the cases in this outbreak have been in people who attended catered social events or who ate at restaurants where clusters of illnesses were found.  A person infected with the Salmonella Enteritidis bacterium usually has fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea beginning 12 to 72 hours after consuming a contaminated food or beverage. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without antibiotic treatment. However, the diarrhea can be severe, and the person may be ill enough to require hospitalization. 

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Egg litigation is possible in 23 states where egg recalls indicate  products potentially contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis were distributed.

The Center for Infections Disease Research and Policy reviewed company recall notices and other factors to arrive at 23 states. Health officials in Michigan, for instance, said recalled eggs were distributed in their state despite not being mentioned in recall notices by the two big Iowa producers at the center of the Salmonella egg outbreak.

Together, Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa, and Hillandale Farms have recalled more than half a billion eggs that may contain Salmonella, a human pathogen that can cause severe illness in young children, older adults and others who have weakened immune systems.

The Salmonella egg problem remains under active investigation by federal and state health investigators, with recalls continuing.

Wright County Egg, for instance, has added California-distributed  Cardenas Market brand eggs to its recall list. Cardenas eggs included in the recall are labeled with plant number 1026 and Julian dates ranging from 136 to 228.

Another California distributor, Trafficanda Egg Ranch, said it is recalling eggs supplied by Wright County Egg that were packaged under the Trafficanda Egg Ranch brand for retailers and restaurant suppliers. The eggs are packaged in 12-egg cartons, 20-egg over wrap, and 5 dozen over wrap with the Julian dates ranging from 136 to 229 and plant numbers 1026, 1413, 1720, 1942 and1946 .

"There have been confirmed Salmonella enteritidis illnesses from May 17, 2010 to August 17, 2010 relating to the shell eggs, and trace back investigations are ongoing," Trafficanda said.

Hundreds if not thousands of people are estimated to have been sickened by Salmonella eggs in states across the country. California, Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin, Texas, Arizona, Nebraska and Nevada are among the states with confirmed illnesses and large spikes in Salmonella Enteritidis cases believed to be caused by contaminated eggs.

If you or a loved one believe you have been sickened in this outbreak, your questions about egg litigation can be answered by Salmonella egg recall attorneys at PritzkerOlsen, P.A. at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or by completing the contact form on the side of this Web page.

PritzkerOlsen is working with victims of the Salmonella egg outbreak and is continuing to accept cases. Our firm is one of the few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation and we have collected millions of dollars for victims of food poisoning.

Note to consumers: 

The Food and Drug Administration is tracking all brands of eggs recalled for possible Salmonella contamination. Click here for the official updated egg recall list to ensure whether eggs in your refrigerator are a known food safety risk.

Dates and codes can be found stamped on the packaging. The plant number begins with the letter "P", followed by a number (P-1946 in the example below). The Julian date follows the plant number.

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Egg lawsuit stemming from the multi-state Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak will consider the history of health and safety violations at the plants involved in producing more than half a billion eggs that may be contaminated.

 Washington Post today published a story about  repeated health and safety violations by Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa. Other media outlets have written similar stories.

According to the Post story, the company has withstood a string of reprimands, penalties and complaints about its performance in several states.

Food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker said that if the news accounts are true, the owners of Wright County Egg "join a rogue's gallery of pernicious operators that endanger the public.''

Pritzker proposes new laws that impose meaningful sanctions -- such as criminal prosecution and loss of licensure for repeat violators of food safety laws. As founder and president of PritzkerOlsen, P.A., he is involved in virtually every foodborne illness outbreak in the United States as a representative for victims.

According to the Washington Post,  an example of problems at Wright County Egg occurred as recently as June. The owners agreed to pay a $34,675 fine stemming from allegations of animal cruelty against hens in its 5 million-bird Maine facility.

An animal rights group used a hidden camera to document hens suffocating in garbage cans, twirled by their necks , kicked into manure pits to drown and hanging by their feet over conveyor belts, the story said.

The federal investigation into the Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak that has sickened hundreds if not thousands of Americans is continuing. More than half a billion eggs have been recalled by Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, also of Iowa. The Post story said Wright County Egg and Hillandale share suppliers of young chickens and feed, 

For families affected by this outbreak, PritzkerOlsen is providing free egg lawsuit case consultations at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) If you prefer to contact the firm online, please complete the form on the side of this Web page.

PritzkerOlsen is a leading food safety law firm that is actively involved in efforts to keep potentially lethal pathogens out of the public food supply. The firm has collected millions of dollars on behalf of people injured or killed as a result of adulterated food, including eggs contaminated with Salmonella.

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With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) associating a national outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis with eggs from Iowa, there is a solid framework for an egg Salmonella lawsuit.

The CDC's latest announcement on the Wright County Egg Salmonella outbreak said California, Colorado and Minnesota all have data suggesting the association. State and federal investigators have traced clusters of Salmonella infections from restaurants or events to the mass egg producer based in Galt, Iowa.

The company issued a recall three days ago and federal health officials announced Wednesday they have expanded the recall of eggs linked to the Salmonella outbreak to 380 million eggs, or 32 million dozen-egg cartons.

Law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A. is continuing to accept cases for an egg Salmonella lawsuit and is conducting its own investigation into conditions that may have led to the hundreds of illnesses of Salmonella Enteritidis associated with contaminated eggs.

To contact aSalmonella lawyer at the firm, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page.

Our firm is a leading national practitioner of foodborne illness litigation with a record of winning food poisoning lawsuits. We have collected millions for victims and are involved in practically every major outbreak of foodborne illness.

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The following was released August 13, 2010:

Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa is voluntarily recalling specific Julian dates of shell eggs produced by their farms because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections, endocarditis or arthritis.

Wright County Egg Lawsuit

To determine who is part of a Salmonella enteritidis outbreak and the source of an outbreak, health officials use both microbiology and epidemiology. Both types of evidence can be used in a Salmonella lawsuit against the parties responsible for the contamination of the food product and the sale and distribution of the contaminated product.

The microbiology is a series of tests on samples of Salmonella taken from suspected food and the stools of people sickened.

Initial tests determine if the bacteria is Salmonella enteritidis. If testing confirms that you have Salmonella enteritidis, the law in your state requires that your doctor or the hospital has to report the test findings to the state health department. The state health department will usually do further testing (or send the sample to the Unites States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - CDC) to confirm if the genetic fingerprint of your sample matches the genetic fingerprint of the salmonella strains from other people associated with this outbreak.

The epidemiology used involves primarily interviews with people who have been sickened and their families. Health officials get information about where the sick person has been, what he or she ate and other questions that will give direction as to a source of the outbreak.

Determining Victims of an Salmonella Outbreak

A series of events occurs between the time someone is infected and when public health officials determine that the patient is part of an outbreak. So, there will be a delay between the start of illness and confirmation that a patient is part of an outbreak.

Steps to confirmation that a person is part of an outbreak:

• Laboratory Salmonella diagnosis from a stool sample and genetic testing
• Diagnosis based on Salmonella symptoms

For  Salmonella enteritidis lawsuit purposes, it is valuable to have a state health department and/or the CDC determine that a person with a Salmonella infection is part of a foodborne outbreak.  This can be used as evidence in court that:

• The person with the Salmonella infection was a victim of the foodborne outbreak
• The restaurant, food processor and/or other party linked to the outbreak is liable for the victim’s damages

Victims of Salmonella outbreaks should consult an experienced Salmonella lawsuit lawyer regarding an Salmonella lawsuit's strength and the amount of damages that should be sought.

Salmonella Lawyer

If you have been diagnosed with Salmonella enteritidis and are or may be a victim of a foodborne outbreak, contact a Salmonella lawyer at PritzkerOlsen, P.A. for a free consultation regarding your legal rights and remedies.  You may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, emotional distress and other damages. Call 1-888-377-8900.

Salmonella lawsuit lawyer Fred Pritzker has over 30 years of experience and has established a national reputation for excellence in the area of food poisoning litigation.  He has recovered millions for victims of food poisoning.


 

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