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

Minnesota is investigating a seventh case of Salmonella Enteritidis that may be linked to organic eggs from free range chickens at Larry Schultz Organic Farm in Owatonna, Minnesota.

The Minnesota departments of health and agriculture jointly announced late last week that three people were hospitalized and three others were sick enough to see a doctor and test positive for the outbreak strain of Salmonella. An investigation linked the illnesses to the same producer and a recall ensued for Larry Schultz Organic Farm, Lunds & Byerly’s, and Kowalski’s organic eggs. The recalled eggs (click for details) were distributed to restaurants, grocery stores, food wholesalers and foodservice companies in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Phyllis Entis, aka the Food Bug Lady, reports that now a seventh case is under investigation. She quotes Trisha Robinson, Senior Epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health. The FDA told Phyllis that  Larry Schultz Organic Farm is a small producer, with fewer than 3,000 laying hens, and therefore is is not subject to the FDA’s Egg Safety Rule and, therefore, was not on the FDA’s inspection schedule.

Just because a farm is labeled "organic'' or the laying hens are "free range,'' doesn't mean they are living in an environment free of  Salmonella or other human pathogens. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that for every confirmed case of Salmonella during an outbreak, many other people are usually sickened by the same bug but haven't seen a doctor who ordered a stool sample that would allow them to be detected as an outbreak victim. If you or a loved one believe you have developed a Salmonella infection after eating organic eggs from the Larry Schultz farm, see your health care provider immediately. 

For answers to legal questions about submitting a claim for compensation, contact an attorney at PritzkerOlsen, P.A., a Minnesota-based law firm that is recognized around the country as a leading practitioner of foodborne illness litigation. Free case consultations are available at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or by leaving your contact information. 

Our firm has collected millions of dollars for victims of Salmonella poisoning and is actively involved in multiple efforts to prevent outbreaks of foodborne illness. Numerous clients have testified before Congress about the importance of keeping our food supply free of potentially deadly organisms, including Salmonella. Fred Pritzker, founder and president, is often quoted in media reports on outbreaks and was recently featured in a story by the Christian Science Monitor.

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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 Minnesota Salmonella outbreak marks the second time in five years that shell eggs have been the source of a Salmonella outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Nearly 2,000 cases of salmonellosis were confirmed during the previous outbreak, which occurred during the summer of 2010. That outbreak was linked to unsanitary conditions on two Iowa farms: Wright County Egg, in Galt, Iowa, and Hillandale Farms of Iowa, Inc..

Salmonellosis, the infection caused by the bacteria Salmonella, causes an estimated 1.4 million cases of foodborne illness and more than 400 deaths annually in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Salmonella can be present on all raw foods including, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables, nut and legumes. To reduce risk of illness from eggs, the CDC recommends the following measures:

• Keep eggs refrigerated at or below 40° F (≤4° C) at all times.
• Discard cracked or dirty eggs.
• Wash hands and all food contact surface areas (counter tops, utensils, and cutting boards) with soap and water after contact with raw eggs. Then, disinfect the food contact surfaces using a sanitizing agent, such as bleach, following label instructions.
• Cook eggs until both the white and the yolk are firm, eat them promptly after cooking.
• Do not keep eggs warm or at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
• Refrigerate unused or leftover egg-containing foods promptly.
• Don’t eat raw or undercooked eggs.

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Lunds, Byerly’s, Whole Foods and The Wedge Coop stores have pulled eggs produced by Larry Schultz Organic Farm of Owatonna from their shelves at all locations following the announcement of a recall due to possible Salmonella contamination.

At least six people In Minnesota have been diagnosed with salmonellosis, an infection caused by eating food contaminated with Salmonella. Five of them reported eating eggs produced at the Owatonna farm prior to becoming ill. 

Roughly 40,000 cases of salmonellosis are reported in the United States every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But, because many of the milder cases are not reported, the CDC estimates that the actual number of Americans who get sick from Salmonella is probably closer to 1.2 million every year.

Healthy people infected with Salmonella may experience diarrhea, fever, and abdominal pain. But for those most at risk, including very young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems, Salmonella poisoning can be a serious health risk.

Minnesotans who believe they contracted salmonellosis after eating eggs associated with this recall should contact their health care provider. Those with legal questions about an illness associated with this outbreak or recall should contact the nation’s leading foodborne illness lawyers at PritzkerOlsen, P.A. for a free consultation.

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A Minnesota Salmonella outbreak has been linked to organic shell eggs produced by Larry Schultz Organic Farm of Owatonna, a small community located in the southeastern part of the state. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) are investigating illnesses of at least six people in connection with a recall of organic shell eggs due to contamination with Salmonella Enteritidis.

Five of the six cases reported eating eggs from the Larry Schultz Organic Farm purchased at grocery stores or co-ops. The illnesses occurred between August 12 and September 24. The victims included children and adults all of whom lived in Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area. Three of the victims required hospitalization, but have since recovered.

The problem was discovered during routine testing by state health officials. Larry Schultz Organic Farm is cooperating with the MDA investigation and has issued a voluntary recall of the products. The recalled eggs were distributed to restaurants, grocery stores, food wholesalers and foodservice companies in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. Cartons bearing Plant Number 0630 or a “Sell by” date are not included in this recall.

Grocery stores and co-ops that may have received the recalled eggs include the following:

Minnesota Retailers
Kowalski’s Markets
Lunds
Byerly's
Grass Roots Coop, Anoka
Valley Natural Foods, Burnsville
Lakewoods Natural Foods Chanhassen
Whole Foods Co-op Duluth
Cook County Coop, Grand Marais
Harvest Moon Coop, Long Lake
Bryn Mawr Market, Minneapolis
Eastside Food Co-op, Mpls
Grass Roots, Mpls
Linden Hills Food Co-op, Mpls
Seward Food Co-op, Mpls
The Wedge, Mpls
Whole Foods Minneapolis
Lakewinds Natural Foods, Minnetonka
Whole Foods Minnetonka
Sydney’s Health Market, Moorhead
Bread N’ Honey Pantry, Mora
Just Foods, Northfield
Fresh and Natural, Plymouth
Mazopiya Natural Foods, Prior Lake
Good Food Store Co-op, Rochester
Fresh & Natural Shoreview
Hampden Park Foods, St. Paul
Mississippi Market, Selby Ave., St. Paul
Mississippi Market, Randolph Ave., St. Paul
Whole Foods St. Paul
St. Peter Food Coop, St. Peter
River Market, Stillwater
Bluff County Co-op, Winona

Wisconsin Retailers
Fresh and Natural Hudson
Back to the Best Country Store, Rubicon
Natural Alternative Food Coop, Luck

Michigan Retailer
Marquette Food Coop, Marquette

Salmonella can cause serious, sometimes fatal infections in very young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy people infected with Salmonella may experience diarrhea, fever, and abdominal pain. Those who may have become ill with Salmonella should contact their health care provider. Those with legal questions about an illness associated with this outbreak or recall should contact the nation’s leading foodborne illness lawyers at PritzkerOlsen, P.A. for a free consultation.

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One year after a Salmonella outbreak that sickened 1,900 people and prompted the recall of a half-billion eggs, government inspectors are sill finding that many Iowa egg farms are unsanitary and lack adequate measures to prevent Salmonella from causing illness in egg consumers, according to an investigative report by the Des Moines Register.¹

In fact, many of the state’s major producers aren’t even meeting minimum federal standards designed to protect consumers from illness, the newspaper discovered after filing a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

Furthermore, the egg salmonella outbreak and egg recall apparently have had no affect on reporting regulations or spurred more rigorous enforcement that would include fines and penalties. According to the report, Iowa egg producers are still not required to tell state officials if they find Salmonella on their farms and none of the violations has resulted in fines or penalties from state or federal agencies. 

“The federal Food and Drug Administration says it has never fined or closed down any egg-production facilities in the United States,” the story states.

Key information was blacked out on some of the documents the paper reviewed including: the size of rodent infestations, the brand names under which the eggs are being sold, and the names of diseases documented on farms. 

Among the problems outlined in the story:

• Inspections are announced days in advance, sometimes on dates chosen by the producers.
• Inspections are still based, in part, on the honor system.
• Insepctors do little on-site testing for Salmonella and instead rely on self-reported, in-house test results, even though laboratories performing those tests are not required to be licensed or accredited.
• Penalties for health and safety violations that could lead to Salmonella poisoning are nonexistent at both the state and federal levels.

For the past 10 years, Iowa has been the nation’s biggest egg producer, with 57 million hens producing 14 billion eggs each year, twice the output Ohio, the country’s second-largest producer, the report states. But the state does not lead the country in oversight of egg production. On a state-level, it does almost none, leaving that job to the federal government which is grappling with implementation of the new food-safety guidlelines that took effect last July.

1. http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20110828/NEWS/308280055/Register-investigation-Egg-farms-rack-up-violations?Frontpage 

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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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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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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 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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FDA investigators in the multi-state Salmonella egg outbreak are close to completing a report on their findings after looking for the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis at Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms.

In a preliminary announcement today, FDA officials said they found the outbreak strain of Salmonella in chicken feed used by both Iowa egg producers. The breakthrough is a smoking gun for egg lawsuits, creating a DNA fingerprint trace from ill consumers to the egg producers. 

Dr Jeff Farrar, associate commissioner of food protection in the FDA's Office of Foods, was quoted by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy as saying: "We don't know how, when, or where the feed may have become contaminated. It raises additional questions at this point.''

FDA investigators have been performing environmental assessments of farm conditions and practices including pest and rodent controls, biosecurity plans and controls; environmental monitoring; sanitary controls; and feed and laying hen sources. The investigators are also looking at commonalities between Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms.

The agency says the Salmonella egg outbreak is the largest Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak ever recorded by the federal surveillance system established in the 1970s. The total egg recall has involved more than 500 million eggs distributed directly to 22 states and secondarily to other states.

Law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A. is preparing an egg lawsuit for victims of this outbreak and is continuing to accept cases at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free). To contact the firm online, complete the form on the side of this Web page.

PritzkerOlsen is a leading food safety law firm involved in virtually every foodborne illness outbreak in the United States. 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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The FDA has put out some great information for consumers so that they can determine if the eggs in the refrigerator are part of the egg recall linked to eggs produced by Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, both of Iowa (and run by the same family):

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 (223 in the example).

 

It is important to note that both the plant number and Julian date must match. If the Julian date does not match the affected plant number, then your eggs are not currently involved in the recall.

The following table lists all brands of shell eggs under recall. The recalled eggs originated from Wright County Egg or from Hillandale Farms of Iowa. The brands listed were either recalled by these two firms or were recalled by other firms who received the eggs and repacked them under additional brand names. 

Is the brand that made you sick listed? If not, let us know, and we will add it to the list.

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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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Minnesota Salmonella egg illnesses -- confirmed by the Minnesota Department of Health -- have risen from seven to 14.

The agency said in a press release this weekend that all confirmed Salmonella Enteritidis cases in the state have been connected with the expanded egg recall in Iowa due to Salmonella contamination.

The seven new Minnesota Salmonella egg cases were identified as part of a restaurant outbreak in Bemidji, Minnesota, in May.

"Shell eggs were identified as the likely source of this outbreak and were traced back by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and FDA to Hillandale Farms of New Hampton, Iowa,'' the health department said.

Eggs from Hillandale Farms have now been included in an expanded egg recall that also includes Wright County Egg. Click here for the egg recall update to see brands and plant codes covered by the egg recalls.

Combined, more than half a billion eggs are involved in the egg recall, which involves distribution in many states from California to the Upper Midwest to Mississippi.

Minnesota health officials have said that as a rule of thumb, for every 1 confirmed Salmonella illness there are 38 more in people who have not sought medical attention or who saw a doctor but were not sampled for a stool culture.

If you or a loved one has been sickened in this outbreak, call law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A. about a Minnesota egg lawsuit at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page.

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Egg recall that began with Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa, has now expanded from some 320 million eggs to more than half a billion, according to The Associated Press.

The latest recall was announced by Cal-Maine Foods Inc., the nation's largest egg seller and distributor, with headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi. Iowa is in the company's production network.

Cal-Maine announced it is recalling about 800,000 dozen eggs related to the Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak that federal officials say has sickened thousands of Americans. Many of the confirmed cases stemmed from restaurant outbreaks or clusters of illnesses resulting from food-catered social events.

The Cal-Maine egg recall applies to 32 truckloads of eggs it received from Iowa between April 9 and Aug. 19, the producer has said. The original producer wasn't named.

Besides Wright County Egg recalling 320 million eggs, Iowa's Hillandale Farms said Friday that it was recalling  more than 100 million eggs after laboratory tests confirmed Salmonella contamination. 

FDA spokeswoman Pat El-Hinnawy told the AP the Hillandale Farms and Wright County Egg recalls are related. The strain of Salmonella bacteria causing the poisoning is the same in both cases, Salmonella enteritidis.

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In the nationwide egg recall, the Food and Drug Administration has released an easy-to-read listing of recalled egg packages complete with brand name, plant number and Julian date.

On recalled egg cartons, the numbers are stamped on the outside end. The plant number is preceded by a letter "P" on the package. The Julian date follows.

As compiled by the Egg Safety Center, Here are the egg brands, plant numbers and Julian dates for the Wright County Egg Salmonella and Hillandale Farms egg recalls.

Note: This list will be updated with publicly available information as received. The information is current as of the date indicated. If we learn that any information is not accurate, we will revise the list as soon as possible.

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Hundreds of people have contracted Salmonella enteritidis infections in a national outbreak linked to eggs.  Prompted by this outbreak, on August 13 and August 18, Wright County Egg of Galt Iowa recalled over 300 million eggs because the companies eggs had been implicated as a possible source of the outbreak.  Now, Hillandale Farms of Iowa has recalled over 100 million shell eggs because "there have been laboratory-confirmed Salmonella enteritidis illnesses associated with the shell eggs."

The recalled Hillandale eggs were distributed to grocery distribution centers, retail grocery stores and foodservice companies.  People have contracted Salmonella enteritidis infections after eating at restaurants, events and at home. 

At least 26 restaurant-associated Salmonella enteritidis outbreaks may have been caused by eggs, according to the CDC. 

The recalled Hillandale eggs were distributed under the following brand names:

• Hillandale Farms
• Sunny Farms
• Sunny Meadow

They were distributed in 6-egg cartons, dozen-egg cartons, 18-egg cartons, 30-egg package, and 5-dozen cases.

Loose eggs were packaged under the following brand names: Wholesome Farms and West Creek in 15 and 30-dozen tray packs. The loose eggs may have been repackaged under a different brand..

The only eggs effected by this recall have plant numbers P1860 or P1663 and Julian dates as follows:

• P1860 – Julian dates ranging from 099 to 230
• P1663 – Julian dates ranging from 137 to 230

Only eggs with these plant numbers are effected - even though the brand name may be the same

Julian dates and plant codes can be found stamped on the end of the egg carton or printed on the case label. The plant number begins with the letter P and then the number. The Julian date follows the plant number, for example: P1860 230.

During this outbreak, new federal egg safety rules went into effect.  In addition to other safety measures, these rules require additional testing to prevent Salmonella outbreaks.  Policy makers, regulators and the consuming public have a right to know whether Hillandale Farms was adequately testing for Salmonella and following the most up-to-date safety rules. The public has a right to know why this outbreak happened.

Our law firm has received calls from people throughout the United States with questions about this recall and an egg lawsuit.  To contact an egg recall lawyer, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our free consultation form.

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by Fred Pritzker

Here we go again - another foodborne illness recall – this time involving hundreds of millions of eggs that may be contaminated with Salmonella. According to the CDC, nearly 2,000 people have been sickened so far and the number is inevitably going to rise.

The company, Wright County Egg based in Galt, Iowa, and its owner, Jack DeCoster, are no strangers to food safety and environmental problems. News accounts indicate the company has been fined for insanitary conditions, hiring illegal workers, and – just this year – DeCoster pleaded guilty to numerous counts of animal cruelty. He has also been sued for sexual harassment, according to the news report. A more detailed account of this sorry history may be found at http://abcnews.go.com/m/screen?id=11440513.

I’ve been a food safety lawyer for many years. My firm is involved in just about every major foodborne illness outbreak in the United States. Thus, I’ve litigated cases against big and small operators, those that care about food safety, those that don’t give a damn and everything in between.

There has to be a special place in hell, however, for companies (and their owners) that habitually put profits over people and blithely violate safety laws resulting in human suffering and death.

DeCoster, if the news accounts are true and the outbreak is definitively traced back to his company, joins a rogue’s gallery of pernicious operators that endanger the public.

Every industry and profession (including lawyers, I might add) has a small number of rotten eggs (sorry, it was just too hard to pass up) that habitually violate the rules. Fortunately, in most other businesses, these violators don’t have the ability to sicken and kill large numbers of innocent people. Not so for food processors. And that’s why laws have to be enacted that allow easier criminal prosecution of companies and their owners that willfully and/or repeatedly harm consumers. That’s also why laws have to be enacted to strip companies of their right to do business when it becomes clear their products are unsafe.

This is not such a radical idea. Any professional who commits a serious crime or repeatedly violates professional standards has his/her license revoked. Without a license, a professional cannot work and the public is no longer at risk. Why do food processors have the “right” to repeatedly violate the law and put the health and safety of the public at risk?

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Information on the Egg Recall: Lawyer Fred Pritzker is representing people who contracted Salmonella poisoning as a result of eating or handling eggs produced by the Wright County Egg company. You or a family member may be part of this outbreak if the following applies:

1. You or a family member ate or handled eggs produced by the Wright County Egg company.  This may have been at a restaurant or at home.  Egg brands affected by the egg recall issued by Wright County Egg include the following: Lucerne, Albertsons, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms,  James Farms, Glenview, Pacific Coast and Kemps.
2. You or a family member have or had symptoms of salmonellosis (the disease resulting from Salmonella): fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea beginning 12 to 72 hours after consuming eggs.
3. You or a family member provided a stool (fecal) sample.
4. The stool sample was positive for the type of salmonella involved in this outbreak, Salmonella enteritidis (which is almost exclusively associated with eggs) with the PFGE pattern JEGXX01.0004.
   

Free consultation about the egg recall: Lawyer Fred Pritzker represents Salmonella victims nationwide.  He and his team of attorneys have won millions for people sickened by food.  To contact his law firm about an egg lawsuit, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our free consultation form.

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The announcement regarding this California Salmonella Egg outbreak came the same day that Iowa-based Wright County Egg expanded its Salmonella recall to include 380 million eggs.

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Like the peanut Salmonella outbreak of 2008-2009, the Salmonella Egg outbreak associated with Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa, is triggering secondary recalls.

As a mega-producer, Wright County sells to other packagers. Hence, Los Angeles-based Country Eggs Inc. has announced a recall of shell eggs that it purchased from Wright County Egg.

Country Eggs is recalling specific Julian dates of shell eggs produced by Wright County because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis. 

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Texas Salmonella egg outbreak is under investigation and the Texas Department of State Health Services is advising consumers to heed the Salmonella egg recall from Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa.

Since mid-May in Texas, there have been more than 150 Salmonella Enteritidis infections in more than 40 counties throughout the state. The health department said in a press release: "Investigation is ongoing to determine if Wright County Egg products are linked to the illnesses.''

Wright County Egg company issued a recall on eggs from its facility in Galt, Iowa, on August 13 and then expanded the recall three days later to include 380 million eggs, or 32 million egg cartons. Wright County eggs are shipped to Texas by way of one or more intermediary distributors, the health department said.

Click here for a list of Wright County Egg brand names and other recall information.

Evidence of an association between Wright County Egg and this foodborne diarrheal illness has emerged from restaurant Salmonella outbreaks and clusters of Salmonella case among people who have attended the same social events. Sometimes raw or undercooked eggs are involved as ingredients in salad dressing or meringue.

Nationally, nearly 2,000 Salmonella Enteritidis illnesses are being investigated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), FDA and state health agencies to determine how many were caused by contaminated eggs from Iowa. 

So far, no deaths have been reported. Most health adults survive Salmonella infections with no treatment, but they can be potentially lethal for young children, older adults and others with weakened or under-developed immune systems.

Minnesota, Colorado, California, Nevada, Wisconsin and Illinois are among other possible Salmonella egg hot spots.

Law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A. is conducting its own investigation of the egg Salmonella outbreak and is in contact with victims. A Salmonella lawyer at the firm will provide you with a free case consultation at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or you may complete the contact form on the side of this Web page.

PritzkerOlsen  is a leading food safety law firm involved in virtually every foodborne illness outbreak in the United States. 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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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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