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

BJ's Wholesale Club stores in eight northeastern and eastern states have been identified as retailers that sold Cargill ground beef that was potentially contaminated with E. coli 026.

Cargill's recall of 8,500 pounds of hamburger meat affects BJ's Wholesale Club customers in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and New Jersey.

Public health officials in Maine and New York have traced at least three E. coli 026 infections to the Cargill hamburger, which was produced June 11 for use or freezing by July 1. Two of the illnesses are in Maine and one is in New York. The first infection took hold on June 24.

Maine officials brought the E. coli cluster to the attention of federal authorities, including USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service in early August. The three people sickened in this outbreak fell ill with the identical strain of E. coli 026 -- one of many shiga toxin-producing E. coli types. (The most prevalent is O157:H7). 

Law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is among parties concerned that the outbreak could spread if consumers unknowingly pull tainted meat from their home freezers. Eating ground beef is a well-established mode of shiga toxin E. coli (STEC) transmission, including for serotype 026.

Cargill E. coli lawsuits have been filed in the past and PritzkerOlsen is conducting its own investigation into the current ground beef recall and cluster of E. coli 026 illnesses. To contact our firm call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page. An E. coli lawyer will consult with you at no charge.

Symptoms of E.coli include abdominal cramping followed by diarrhea that progressively worsens and is often bloody. Healthy adults can withstand infections, sometimes without treatment. But young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems are at risk for severe illness.

In 5 to 15 percent of infections, patients develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS is a life-threatening condition in which the body’s blood-clotting mechanisms are altered, causing blocked circulation, kidney failure, bleeding in the brain and other health consequences. Do not make the mistake of taking E. coli 026 lightly, especially in hamburger.

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An E. coli ground beef recall by Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. relates to E. coli 026 illnesses in Maine and New York that have been convincingly associated with the recalled meat. People began getting sick June 24.

This Cargill E. coli ground beef recall is for 8,500 pounds of hamburger products that may be contaminated with E. coli 026 -- a shiga toxin-producing type of E. coli that is potentially lethal. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service believes there is an association with Cargill's recalled ground beef and a cluster of illnesses in Maine and New York.

The same genetic fingerprint has been found in E. coli 026 bacteria that has infected two people in Maine and one person in New York. This indistinguishable E. coli strain in case patients who ate suspect ground beef prompted the recall and will result in further investigation by FSIS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state health officials.

The Cargill E. coli 026 recall and outbreak also is being investigated by law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., a leading food safety law firm that practices extensively in the area of E. coli litigation and other food poisoning lawsuits. If you or a loved one has been sickened in this outbreak or have information that may be pertinent, contact us at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page.

Over the years, PritzkerOlsen has collection millions for E. coli survivors and their families, pressing giant corporations, smaller meatpackers, restaurants, grocery retailers and food companies for accountability.

Cargill E. coli Ground Beef Recall Information for Consumers:

Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. of  Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, is recalling about 8,500 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O26. This includes 42-pound cases of "GROUND BEEF FINE 90/10," containing three chubs weighing  approximately 14 pound each. These products have a "use/freeze by" date of "07/01/10," and an identifying product code of "W69032."

Please note that these Cargill products were repackaged into consumer-size packages and sold under various retail store brand names in supermarket meat cases. The initial retail distribution list includes certain BJ's Wholesale Club stores in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York.

The ground beef products under recall bear the establishment number "EST. 9400" inside the USDA mark of inspection. These products were produced on June 11, 2010, and were shipped to distribution centers in Connecticut and Maryland for further distribution.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that a total of 28 people in 12 states have been sickened by the same strains of E. coli O157:H7 in a ground beef outbreak associated with hamburger meat from Fairbank Farms in Ashville, N.Y.

A cluster of the E. coli O157:H7 illnesses are in the East as previously reported, but Minnesota, South Dakota and California each have confirmed cases -- suggesting a much wider outbreak.

One person in New York and another in New Hampshire have died as a result of the outbreak, according to news reports by USA Today and the Associated Press. The USDA responded to the problem by announcing the recall of a half-million pounds of ground beef made in mid-September by Fairbank Farms.

Grocery chains in eight eastern states initially received the product, including Trader Joes, Shaw's, BJ's Wholesale, ACME, and Giant. By now, any of the recalled meat that was not consumed is in consumers' freezers, where the E. coli organisms do not perish. Consumers should look for packages marked with USDA establishment number EST 492 inside the mark of inspection. Most sell-by dates on the recalled ground beef are September 19-28.

The CDC said investigators found E. coli O157:H7 in an open container of ground beef that was in a patient's home. In advanced, secondary DNA testing so far, E. coli  in the hamburger matched seven of the human isolates. Previously, all 28 human isolates matched each other in DNA fingerprint analysis.

 The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows:  California (1), Connecticut (4), Massachusetts (8), Maryland (1), Maine (2), Minnesota (1), New Hampshire (4), New Jersey (1), New York (1), Pennsylvania (2), South Dakota (2), and Vermont (1).

USA Today reported that 16 of the patients have been hospitalized, including two with hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS.

National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys is accepting cases from this outbreak. We represent victims in practically every major outbreak of foodborne illness in the United States. As one of the few law firms practicing extensively in the area of food poisoning, we have recovered tens of millions of dollars for victims and survivors of E. coli and other pathogens transmitted in contaminated food.

These outbreaks are preventable and the principals of Pritzker Olsen work to diminish the problem by calling for tougher food safety laws and vastly more inspections of our meatpacking facilities and other food plants. Fred Pritzker and Elliot Olsen each spent time this year giving seminars at national food industry conventions on the importance of investing in prevention of E. coli O157:H7, in particular. 

Anyone with E. coli symptoms who has eaten ground beef should immediately contact a physician. If you have legal questions about this outbreak, call Pritzker Olsen at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete our online contact and information form. We will provide a free case consultation and if we agree to accept your case, you owe us nothing until you win.

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