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

Food safety advocates say a flawed inspection system played a role in cantaloupe Listeria outbreak, one of the deadliest foodborne illness outbreaks in U.S. history.

The outbreak, which was linked to cantaloupe grown on Jensen Farms, in Holly, Colo., sickened 139 people in 28 states over a three-month period beginning July 31. Dozens of those stricken required hospitalization, 29 people died and one woman who was pregnant miscarried.

On October 19, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an environmental assessment of factors that likely contributed to the contamination of melons grown on the farm. The report cited a number of unsanitary conditions including standing water on the floor of the packing facility and used equipment that was hard to clean. Yet just one month the outbreak began, an independent inspection service gave Jensen Farms a “superior” rating.

The FDA has 1,100 inspectors charged with monitoring 421,121 domestic and foreign farms and food processors, Douglas Karas, an agency spokesman, told Bloomberg News. On average, the FDA is able to inspect less than a quarter of all food facilities each year, so third-party auditors step in to fill the gap.

But there is no standardized training or accreditation process. And hired auditors often are usually paid by those they are inspecting, creating conflicts of interest. Food safety advocates, including members of the Make Our Food Safe Coalition are urging the FDA to address these issues as it revamps inspection guidelines under the Food Safety Modernization Act. Make Our Food Safe Coalition members include The American Public Health Association, the Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention, The Pew Charitable Trusts and STOP Foodborne Illness.

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One of our clients, Randy Napier, lobbied for the Food Safety Law that was signed into law on Tuesday. He was featured in an article by Lisa Hlavinka at the Medina-Gazette. Below is an excerpt from the article:

After the death of Nellie Napier in 2009, her son, Randy Napier, made four trips to Washington to urge Congress to pass legislation to give the Food and Drug Administration more authority over the nation’s food supply and greater ability to trace contaminated food.

He was backed by Pew Charitable Trusts in his efforts.

“I would never have guessed in a million years I would have been lobbying in Washington,” he said. “It helped me deal with the loss of my mother and at the same time get something done.”

President Barack Obama signed the Food Safety and Modernization Act into law on Tuesday. It gives the FDA the power to issue mandatory recalls for the first time and calls for increasing government inspections at food-processing facilities to prevent food-borne illness.

“If this had been in effect when the peanut butter first came out, my mom would definitely still be here because it took so long to trace the contamination and the FDA did not have the authority to issue a recall,” Napier said.

Nellie Napier was one of nine people who died in the 2009 salmonella outbreak, which caused more than 700 illnesses nationwide. Results from testing of the peanut butter container served to Napier at a Medina nursing home linked Napier’s death to salmonella-contaminated products that were manufactured by now-bankrupt Peanut Corp. of America.

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The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act as passed by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives this week has been sent to the White House for President Barrack Obama to sign into law.

The Senate unanimously approved the bill on Sunday. Yesterday it passed the House by a vote of 215 to 144. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the legislation includes a sweeping overhaul of our nation’s food safety system and works to more effectively prevent, detect, and respond to food-borne illnesses. 

By  empowering the FDA with more enforcement, inspection and traceback strength in the event of foodborne illness outbreaks, Congress fundamentally has changed the way we protect public health. The bill is meant to prevent contamination before it occurs, steering away from the existing pattern of responding after an outbreak. The bill also improves the government's ability to detect and respond to foodborne illness when outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 and other bacteria happen.  It increases the number of inspections the FDA must conduct, and, for the first time, requires importers of foreign food to verify that products grown and processed overseas meet U.S. safety standards. 

When President Obama signs the bill, the FDA will be able to initiate food recalls and gain access to company records at production centers to help track food-borne illness outbreaks. And the FDA will now set quality standards for imported foods. Needed in future sessions of Congress is authorization to fund more inspectors.

Noted food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker applauded the long-awaited passage of the Act, which he and many of his clients have actively pushed.  Client Randy Napier, for instance, lost his mother to a powerful Salmonella infection that she contracted in the massive 2008-2009 peanut butter and peanut product outbreak that helped convince lawmakers to finally do something about food safety. Randy and his extended family have been an instrumental voice in pressing for the change.

"Every person has the right to purchase and consume nutritious food,'' Pritzker said. "For many of our clients this measure has come too late, but we have every hope that this historic change in law will better protect citizens from deadly and dangerous pathogens that too often are putting us at risk.'' 

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“Tonight we unanimously passed a measure to improve on our current food safety system by giving the FDA the resources it needs to keep up with advances in food production and marketing, without unduly burdening farmers and food producers,” stated Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada), after the Senate passed S.510, the Food Safety and Modernization Act last night for the second time. The Senate had passed the Act on November 30, but the bill was invalidated on technical grounds. The legislation is now expected to sail through the House and land on the President’s desk before the end of the year.

If signed into law, this legislation would:

• Authorize the FDA to recall contaminated food products
• Requiring food manufacturers to implement measures to prevent food contamination and require testing for foodborne pathogens
• Provide more funding for the FDA, which would possibly hire 2000 more food inspectors
• Require better track and trace of raw agricultural commodities
• Require importers of food to verify that it meets U.S. safety standards

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The Senate finally passed the food safety bill, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) that was introduced in March of 2009.  If the provisions of this bill survive through the rest of the legislative process and become law, we anticipate more food recalls and fewer foodborne outbreaks involving dangerous pathogens like Campylobacter, E. coli, Listeria, Salmonella and Shigella.

The Food Safety Modernization Act amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to expand the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to regulate food, including:

• Authorizing the Secretary to: (1) suspend the registration of a food facility; and (2) order a cessation of distribution, or a recall, of food
• Requiring each food facility to evaluate hazards and implement preventive controls
• Directing the Secretary to allocate inspection resources based on the risk profile of food facilities or food
• Requiring the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to prepare the National Agriculture and Food Defense Strategy
• Directing the Secretary to assess and collect fees related to: (1) food facility reinspection; (2) food recalls; and (3) the voluntary qualified importer program
• Requiring the Secretary to: (1) recognize bodies that accredit food testing laboratories; (2) identify preventive programs and practices to promote the safety and security of food; and (3) improve the capacity of the Secretary to track and trace raw agricultural commodities
• Requiring the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to enhance foodborne illness surveillance systems
• Providing for: (1) foreign supplier verification activities; (2) a voluntary qualified importer program; and (3) the inspection of foreign facilities registered to import food.

Many of our clients worked hard to get this bill passed, including Randy Napier, whose mother, Nellie Napier, died after she ate peanut butter contaminated with Salmonella. Earlier this month, we filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family of Nellie Napier.

"The lawsuit is about holding an irresponsible company accountable for the food safety shortcuts it took—shortcuts that cost my mother her life,” said Randy Napier. “There are other companies responsible for other outbreaks too. We need to send a message that this can’t and won’t be tolerated any more. I don’t want to see anybody else go through what we had to go through."

With the passage of this bill, the Senate has also sent a message that companies have to take measures to keep food safe.

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Yesterday, by 57 yeas to 27 nays, the Senate agreed to a motion to proceed to consideration of S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.

We appreciate all of the work Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois has done to get this bill passed.  Yesterday, he had this to say regarding the bill:

Madam President, I would like to say a few words on this legislation because it is something I have worked on for many years. I can't thank Senator Harkin and Senator Enzi and others enough for their hard work in bringing this issue to this moment in time. Several things have been stated during the course of the debate which I would like to address. Most of them were stated by my friend from Oklahoma, Senator Coburn. At this point he is the only Senator holding up this bill from consideration, one Senator.

At this point 89 percent of the American people support food safety reform to make our food safer and to have more inspections of imported food so our children and family members don't get sick; 89 percent support it. The bill has substantial bipartisan support. Twenty Republican and Democratic Senators are committed to this bill. Seventy-four Senators, almost three-fourths of the Senate, voted to move forward on this bill, a strong bipartisan roll call. The House passed a companion bill with the support of 54 Republicans. We know it is a bipartisan issue. This should not be a partisan fight.

Senator Coburn objected to giving the Federal Government the authority to recall a dangerous food product. Most people believe if there is a dangerous food product in stores across America, the Federal Government sends out a notice, and it is brought in. That is not the case. The Federal Government does not have the legal authority to recall any food products. All it can do is publicize that the products are dangerous and hope that grocers and retailers and manufacturers will take them off the shelves. That is it. That is the existing state of law. We give the government that authority.

Senator Coburn said it is not necessary. He claims not one company has ever refused to recall contaminated food. He is just wrong. There are many instances of companies that just flatout refuse to recall their food or delay a recall, and many people get sick and die. That is a fact.

Last year Westco Fruit and Nut Company flatout refused FDA's request to recall contaminated peanut products. A few years ago, GAO released a report entitled ``Actions Needed by FDA to Ensure Companies Carry Out Recalls'' which highlighted six other companies that flatout refused to recall contaminated food when they were told it was dangerous. Even the Bush administration realized how important this was and formally requested mandatory recall authority in the 2007 food protection plan.

Senator Coburn has his facts wrong when he claims the FDA does not need the mandatory recall authority.

Senator Coburn also claims our bill does not address the real problem in our Nation's food safety system.

Once again, he is mistaken. The National Academy of Sciences disagrees. In June, the National Academy released a report entitled ``Enhancing Food Safety, the Role of the FDA.'' The report contained seven critical recommendations for improving food safety. This is not a partisan group. Every single one of the key recommendations from that group is addressed in our bill, including increasing inspections and making them risk related, giving FDA mandatory recall authority, improving registration of food facilities, and giving the FDA the authority to ban contaminated imports. Our bill fills all of the critical gaps in the FDA's food safety authority that have been identified by the National Academy of Sciences.

For Senator Coburn to say it is unnecessary is to ignore science and fact and, I guess, the reality that if we are going to make food safer, we need to do our job better. That is why all the key consumer protection and public health groups support this bill--all of them.

He thinks this bill is not good for business. He says it hurts their profits and their productivity. He is just wrong. The number and diversity of the industry and business groups that support the bill speaks for itself. Listen to the groups that support the food safety bill and tell me they are acting against their best business interests: the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Beverage Association, the American Frozen Food Institute, the Food Marketing Institute, the International Dairy Foods Association, National Restaurant Association, Snack Food Association, National Coffee Association, National Milk Producers Federation, National Confectioners Association, Organic Trade Association, the American Feed Industry Association.

If Senator Coburn is right, every one of these associations' leadership should be removed tomorrow because, under his analysis, they have decided to support a bill that hurts their business. They know better. Safe food is good business. Think about what it costs these companies when they have to recall a product, when it damages their reputation and all the things they will go through to try to clean up their act.

Senator Coburn says there are 10 or 20 deaths per year caused by foodborne illness. The Senator is just wrong. He uses this number to support his assertion that there are not enough victims to justify a bill. Here are the facts. According to the Center for Disease Control, there are not 10 or 20 deaths per year, there are 5,000 deaths in America every single year caused by foodborne illness--5,000. Senator Reid can tell some stories about his State which was hit particularly hard by food illness.

Moreover, every year 76 million Americans contract a foodborne illness; 325,000 are hospitalized. A few weeks ago I told you about one of the victims, a young man named Richard Chatfield from Owasso, OK. At age 15, he was on a camping trip and was diagnosed with E. coli. For 8 years, he suffered pain, migraine headaches, dry heaves, and high blood pressure, and after going on dialysis, kidney failure. When we were last debating this bill, Richard was lying in the hospital and his mother Christine had rushed to be by his side. That hospital turned out to be the scene of Richard's death.

On Monday, October 18, while we were still holding up the food safety bill, Richard Chatfield died from foodborne illness. The complications from an E. coli infection he got 8 years ago proved to be too much for him.

When I hear Senator Coburn on the Senate floor saying there are not enough people dying for us to go to work here, he is just plain wrong. Richard Chatfield of his State is dramatic evidence of that fact.

As we stand here today, one Senator is blocking a bill to protect millions of Americans. Moms and dads across America making dinner tonight, if they happen to have missed the channel they were looking for and ended up on C-SPAN and are following this debate, we are talking about an issue that goes right into their refrigerator and stove and kitchen as to whether the food they are putting on the table is safe for their kids. One Senator from Oklahoma says it is not a big enough problem. It is. It is a problem that is a life-and-death issue.

As attorneys who represent people sickened by foodborne outbreaks, we know how important it is to get this legislation passed.

Yesterday, we filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the family of Nellie Napier.

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The Senate has voted to end a filibuster of S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, that was introduced in March of 2009 in response to a number of national foodborne outbreaks, including the Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut products. That outbreak sickened over 700 people and killed 9. Our law firm is representing three of the families who lost loved ones in that outbreak and several of the victims who survived.

Debate on the bill may start tomorrow, barring any political sparring. We urge readers to contact their U.S. Senators and ask them to support the bill.

Here is a summary of the bill found on THOMAS, legislative information from the Library of Congress:

Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to expand the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to regulate food, including by authorizing the Secretary to: (1) suspend the registration of a food facility; and (2) order a cessation of distribution, or a recall, of food.

Requires each food facility to evaluate hazards and implement preventive controls.

Directs the Secretary to allocate inspection resources based on the risk profile of food facilities or food.

Requires the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to prepare the National Agriculture and Food Defense Strategy.

Directs the Secretary to assess and collect fees related to: (1) food facility reinspection; (2) food recalls; and (3) the voluntary qualified importer program.

Requires the Secretary to: (1) recognize bodies that accredit food testing laboratories; (2) identify preventive programs and practices to promote the safety and security of food; and (3) improve the capacity of the Secretary to track and trace raw agricultural commodities.

Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to enhance foodborne illness surveillance systems.

Provides for: (1) foreign supplier verification activities; (2) a voluntary qualified importer program; and (3) the inspection of foreign facilities registered to import food.

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Below is a summary of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) a bill that the Senate has been sitting on for 13 months while over 500 million eggs have been recalled, thousands of pounds of other foods have been recall and at least 1,850 people have reported being sickened by food.  The key provision in this bill, Section 207, gives federal health officials the authority to recall food that is adulterated with a foodborne pathogen.

Expanded Authority to Inspect Records: (Sec. 101) Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to expand the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to inspect records related to food, including to: (1) allow the inspection of records of food that the Secretary reasonably believes is likely to be affected in a similar manner as an adulterated food; and (2) require that each person (excluding farms and restaurants) who manufactures, processes, packs, distributes, receives, holds, or imports an article of food permit inspection of his or her records if the Secretary believes that there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to such food will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.

Authority to Suspend Registration of a Food Facility: (Sec. 102) Authorizes the Secretary to suspend the registration of a food facility if the food manufactured, processed, packed, or held by a facility has a reasonable probability of causing serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.

Preventive Controls Requirements: (Sec. 103) Requires each owner, operator, or agent in charge of a food facility to: (1) evaluate the hazards that could affect food; (2) identify and implement preventive controls; (3) monitor the performance of those controls; and (4) maintain records of such monitoring. Deems facilities required to comply with certain food-specific standards to be in compliance with this section. Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations to establish science-based minimum standards for conducting a hazard analysis, documenting hazards, implementing preventive controls, and documenting such implementation. This section also prohibits the operation of a facility that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds food for sale in the United States if the owner, operator, or agent in charge of such facility is not in compliance with this section.

Establishment of Minimum Standards of Safety: (Sec. 105) Sets forth provisions related to produce safety, including to require the Secretary to: (1) establish science-based minimum standards for the safe production and harvesting of those types of fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities to minimize the risk of serious adverse health consequences or death; and (2) publish updated good agricultural practices and guidance for the safe production and harvesting of specific types of fresh produce.

Regulations to Prevent Intentional Adulteration of Food: (Sec. 106) Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations to protect against the intentional adulteration of food.

Regulations for Sanitary Transportation of Food: (Sec. 111) Requires the HHS Secretary to promulgate regulations on sanitary transportation practices for the transportation of food.

Inspection of Facilities and Imported Food: (Sec. 201) Requires the Secretary to: (1) allocate resources to inspect facilities and articles of food imported into the United States based on their risk profiles; (2) increase the frequency of inspection of all facilities; and (3) report to the appropriate congressional committees annually on food facility and food import inspections.

Accredited Laboratories and Mandatory Testing: (Sec. 202) Requires the Secretary to: (1) recognize bodies that accredit laboratories with a demonstrated capability to conduct analytical testing of food products; (2) establish a publicly available registry of accreditation bodies; (3) develop model standards that an accreditation body shall require laboratories to meet; and (4) periodically reevaluate accreditation bodies and revoke recognition of any not in compliance with this section. This section also sets forth requirements for mandatory testing, including that: (1) testing be conducted by federal laboratories or accredited nonfederal laboratories; and (2) results of such testing be sent directly to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Requires the Secretary to review results from any sampling and testing that lead to a state or locality issuing a food recall to evaluate the need for a national recall or other compliance and enforcement activities.

Tracking and Tracing of Produce: (Sec. 204) Requires the HHS Secretary to: (1) improve tracking and tracing of fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities in the event of a foodborne illness outbreak; and (2) establish standards for the type of information, format, and timeframe for persons to submit records to aid the Secretary in such tracking and tracing.

Tracking and Tracing of Processed Food: (Sec. 205) Requires the Secretary to establish a pilot project to explore and evaluate methods for rapidly and effectively tracking and tracing processed food so that the Secretary may quickly identify the source of an outbreak involving such a processed food and the recipients of the contaminated food.

Recall Authority: (Sec. 207) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide a responsible party with an opportunity to cease distribution and recall an adulterated or misbranded article of food if the use of or exposure to such article will cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals; (2) order a responsible party to immediately cease distribution and provide notice to relevant persons if the responsible party does not voluntarily cease distribution of or recall such article of food; and (3) order a recall if the Secretary determines that removal of the article from commerce is necessary, but only after providing an opportunity for a hearing.

Improving the Safety of Imported Food - (Sec. 301) Requires U.S. importers to perform risk-based foreign supplier verification activities to verify that imported food is produced in compliance with applicable requirements related to hazard analysis and standards for produce safety and is not adulterated or misbranded. Requires the Secretary to issue guidance to assist U.S. importers in developing foreign supplier verification programs.

(Sec. 302) Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish a program to provide for the expedited review and importation of food offered for importation by U.S. importers who have voluntarily agreed to participate in such program; and (2) issue a guidance document related to participation and compliance with such program.

(Sec. 303) Requires imported food that fails to meet requirements for a certification or other assurance that the food meets applicable FFDCA requirements to be refused admission.

Authorizes the Secretary to require, as a condition of granting admission to an article of food into the United States, that an entity provide a certification or other assurances that the article of food complies with applicable FFDCA requirements.

(Sec. 304) Directs the Secretary to require, prior to importation of an article of food, notice of any country to which such article has been refused entry.

(Sec. 305) Requires the Secretary to determine whether a country can provide reasonable assurances that the food supply of the country meets or exceeds the safety of food manufactured, processed, packed, or held in the United States.

(Sec. 306) Directs the Secretary to develop a comprehensive plan to expand the technical, scientific, and regulatory capacity of foreign governments and food industries from which foods are exported to the United States.

(Sec. 307) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into arrangements and agreements with foreign governments to facilitate the inspection of registered foreign facilities. Requires the Secretary to direct resources to inspections of foreign facilities, supplies, and food types to help ensure the safety and security of the U.S. food supply.

Requires food to be refused admission into the United States if permission to inspect the food facility is denied by the facility owner, operator, or agent or the foreign country.

(Sec. 308) Sets forth provisions governing the establishment of a system to recognize bodies that accredit third-party auditors and audit agents to certify that eligible entities meet applicable FFDCA requirements for importation of food into the United States.

(Sec. 309) Requires the Secretary to establish offices of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in foreign countries to provide assistance to the appropriate governmental entities with respect to measures to provide for the safety of articles of food and other products regulated by the FDA that are exported by such countries to the United States.

(Sec. 310) Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop and implement a strategy to better identify sand prevent entry into the United States of smuggled food; and (2) notify the DHS Secretary not later than ten days after identifying a smuggled food that would cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals. Requires a press release to warn consumers and vendors about a potential threat from smuggled food if certain requirements are met.

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According to a food safety report issued by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, U.S. PIRG (federation of state Public Interest Safety Groups) and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), 85 separate food recalls linked to 1,850 illnesses have occurred since the House passed H.R. 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act, 13 months ago. Yet, the Senate has not passed S. 510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the Senate’s version of the bill.  As lawyers and food safety advocates, Pritzker Olsen attorneys call on the Senate to pass S. 510 and support the FDA and USDA in their efforts to keep our food safe.

Attorney Fred Pritzker represents people sickened in foodborne outbreaks. “I have a client that drank milk contaminated with Campylobacter bacteria and is now paralyzed from Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS),” stated Pritzker. “I have other clients who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) from an E. coli infection and suffered kidney failure, severe hypertension, brain damage and other serious problems. These illnesses were preventable, but food producers seem unwilling to take the measures necessary to make food safe.”

Pritzker Olsen attorneys urge everyone to contact their Senators and tell them the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) should be passed immediately. 

The S. 510 was sponsored in the Senate by Richard Durban of Illinois and co-sponsored by the following 17 Senators:

Lamar Alexander [TN]
Jeff Bingaman [NM]
Richard Burr [NC]
Roland Burris [IL]
Saxby Chambliss [GA]
Christopher Dodd [CT]
Michael Enzi. [WY]
Kirsten Gillibrand [NY]
Judd Gregg [NH]
Tom Harkin [IA]
Orrin Hatch [UT]
Johnny Isakson [GA]
Edward Kennedy [MA] - (co-sponsored in 3/3/2009 and now deceased)
Amy Klobuchar [MN]
Benjamin Nelson [NE]
Tom Udall [NM]
David Vitter [LA]

 Many of these Senators have been leaders in the area of consumer protection.  If they are from your state, we suggest you contact them as a show of support.

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Three consumer interest groups have joined forces to urge Congress to pass meaningful food safety legislation to wipe out antiquated laws and poor enforcement.

In a report released Wednesday, the consumer groups said in Washington that the current Salmonella egg outbreak that has sickened nearly 1,500 people across the county is the latest of many recalls of contaminated food since the U.S. House passed a food safety bill in July 2009.

“Recalls and outbreaks are the most public consequence of our ‘horse and buggy’ food safety system,”  Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) said in a press release.

The three groups calling on the Senate to pass similar legislation when it reconvenes are CSPI, Consumer Federation of America and U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

They issued a report that said 85 separate food recalls linked to 1,850 illnesses have occurred since the House passed H.R. 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act, 13 months ago. According to the report, 36 of those recalls were due to Salmonella contamination of lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, green onions, and ground pepper.

The report noted that hydrolyzed vegetable protein contaminated with Salmonella spurred the recall of a wide variety of soup and dip mixes, dressings, and seasonings. Thirty-two recalls, mostly from contaminated cheeses, were due to dangerous Listeriabacteria. In addition, the report said E. coli bacteria on shredded romaine lettuce sickened at least 26 people in 23 states and the District of Columbia.

The report also details the impact of the recalls on each state. For example, 79 recalls affected products distributed in California, whereas Idaho, Mississippi, and Montana were affected by 44 of the recalls. Click here to see the full food safety report, called Recipe for Disaster.

The consumer groups said that both the House and Senate bills give the FDA a mandate to conduct inspections of food processing facilities, and to conduct microbial testing. Under current law, many facilities go for five or 10 years without an inspection. The Senate bill would require high-risk producers to be inspected more frequently. Both bills give the agency the authority to order companies to recall potentially tainted foods. 

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The Wisconsin state Senate has made the terrible mistake of approving legislation that will legalize sales of unpasteurized milk to the public. The measure passed 25-8 and will go to the Assembly next week for a floor vote.

In approving the bill, the Senate rejected the medical advice of The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, state and county health officials in Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Farm Bureau.

It is a scientific fact that raw milk is unsafe for human consumption because it can contain microscopic pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella,  and Campylobacter. Pasteurization kills these organisms without affecting the nutritional qualities of milk.

Just this week in Pennsylvania, a 67-year-old man is paralyzed and on life support after suffering complications from an infection of Campylobacter from raw milk. The family of the man, James Orchard, has retained national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen to represent them. Pritzker Olsen founder and president Fred Pritzker is preparing a lawsuit against the milk maker, Dean Farms doing business as Pasture Maid, LLC, a creamery located in New Castle, PA.

Mr. Orchard has been diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. One of the most common antecedent events to those who suffer from GBS is prior infection with Campylobacter.

On April 5, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture suspended the permit that allows Dean Farms to sell unpasteurized milk. The action came after testing found Campylobacter in its raw milk samples.

In Wisconsin, raw milk supporters have successfully used the argument of free choice, ignoring dangers that can't be protected against. For instance, the CDC has said that some cows excrete Campylobacter and other dangerous bacteria from their udders. Milk can also be contaminated by the farm environment, where bacteria from manure can spread and cause disease.

Wisconsin Senator Judy Robson, a retired nurse, was one of the few voices of reason:  "We don't appreciate public health until we don't have it,'' she said.

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle has said he would sign a raw milk bill into law under the right circumstances, setting a horrible example for the rest of the country. 

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National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen congratulates reporter Michael Moss and other members of The New York Times Staff for winning a 2010 Pulitzer Prize in journalism for relentless reporting on E. coli O157:H7 in hamburger and other food safety issues.

The Times entered the combined stories for a Pulitzer in investigative reporting, but the Pulitzer board deemed the work more fitting for top prize in the explanatory journalism category.

The crown jewel in Michael's assortment of stories was his lengthy Sunday cover story that traced the meatpacking lineage of a particular batch of ground beef.  When a hamburger from the batch reached the plate of young Minnesota dance instructor Stephanie Smith, it was contaminated with living microbes of E. coli O157:H7 that infected her to the point of paralyzing her.

One of the astonishing findings in the story was that slaughterhouses have unwritten agreements with grinding plants not to perform E. coli  tests on the beef they ship. Tests on the incoming meat -- primarily trimmings and cheap cuts -- are not required.

Instead, the government requires E. coli testing at the grinding plant on finished hamburger. But by then -- because each batch contains meat from multiple suppliers -- there is no way to identify where the pathogen originated. The trick spares slaughterhouses from costly recalls.

The final citation from the Pulitzer Board said the combination of stories is a "distinguished example of explanatory reporting that illuminates a significant and complex subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, lucid writing and clear presentation.''

Click here to see the complete collection of award-winning food safety stories.

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Fifty-six percent of the food facilities subject to FDA inspection were never inspected over a five-year period studied by federal auditors.

The audit also found that the percentage of food facilities inspected annually by FDA dropped from 29 percent in Fiscal 2004 to 24 percent in Fiscal 2008. In the same period, FDA inspectors issued fewer and fewer notices of potential safety violations and didn't always follow up on the problems it did find.

Those are the top findings in an audit report released this week by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG).

The number of facilities that received FDA notices of potential food safety violations dropped from 614 in 2004 to 283 in 2008, even as the number of facilities grew, the OIG found.

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, a key supporter of pending food safety legislation, had this to say about the report:

“This new report shows what we have feared for too long: that that our domestic food facilities are not being adequately inspected and FDA needs additional authorities to keep the food on our tables safe.''

For its part, the FDA said it has already addressed or is addressing many of the concerns raised in the report and needs greater authority and more inspectors to improve food safety.

But the 38-page audit report raises questions about the agency's efficiency. 

• FDA notices of potential food safety violations are called "official action indicated," or OAI. In 2004 the agency issued OAI notices to 614 of the 17,032 facilities inspected (3.6%). By 2008 the number was down to 283 of 14,966 facilities inspected (1.9%). Almost 75% of those facilities had a history of violations.
• Like inspections of food facilities overall, inspections of facilities classified as high-risk declined over the 5 years, from 77% in 2004 to 63% in 2008.. In 2008 there were 8,667 facilities designated as high-risk.

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The Georgia House has passed a tough food safety law that now goes to the Senate for approval of measures that include criminal sanctions for companies that blatantly disregard human health.

The legislation stems from the Peanut Corp. of America Salmonella outbreak that killed nine people and injured more than 700 others in late 2008 and early 2009. The company, which quickly went bankrupt after it was linked to the outbreak, operated its main plant in Blakely, Georgia.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the new bill requires food processing plants to have a written food safety plan, and it subjects those that don’t comply to a $5,000 fine and possible criminal sanctions for subsequent violations.

Other provisions make it a misdemeanor not to report positive test results for problems and a felony to knowingly introduce into a finished food or food ingredients at a plant a tainted substance. Violators could face up to 20 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

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National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen is urging the U.S. Senate to move ahead on law making that would given increased authority and resources to federal regulators in charge of protecting our food supply.

A continued increase in food recalls and an alarming string of illness outbreaks caused by E. coli O157:H7, Samonella infection and other pathogens should have been enough by now to compel action on the Food Safety Modernization Act introduced early last March by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. But nearly a year has gone by without meaningful followup.

• Authorize the FDA to order immediate, mandatory recalls.
• Allocate inspection resources based on the risk profile of food facilities or food.
• Improve the government's capacity to track and trace raw agricultural commodities.
• Empower FDA to suspend a food facility's registration.
• Require the enhancement of foodborne illness surveillance in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Give regulators more access to food company records in an emergency.
• Require new regulations on sanitary food transportation practices.

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