Food Poisoning Law Blog

Listeria, an often-fatal foodborne pathogen, may be useful in the fight against cancer. According to research done by Advaxis Inc., a live Listeria cancer vaccine, Lovaxin C, may have helped 15 women with advanced cervical cancer:

“We are using Listeria to deliver tumor-specific antigens to the immune system in a manner that we feel results in maximal immune and tumor-clearing response,” said John Rothman, PhD, vice president of clinical development at Advaxis, which is developing Lovaxin C.

The trial included 15 women with progressive, recurrent or advanced cervical cancer. All patients had failed chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery. The women had metastatic disease and most were stage IVb.

Listeria monocytogenes infects antigen presenting cells (APCs) — “a very special piece of immune real estate,” Rothman said. These cells instruct the immune system what to attack. Listeria thrives within APCs and Advaxis’ Lovaxin vaccines have the ability to direct a strong immune attack against whatever tumor target is bioengineered into the vaccine. Lovaxin C is engineered as a therapy for people who have cancer caused by HPV.

“We bioengineer Listeria both to attenuate it and to cause it to secrete a tumor-specific antigen fused to a listerial protein, which makes it more effective than Listeria that just secretes the tumor antigen,” Rothman said. “By doing this we focus a very strong immune attack against the antigen in question, which is typically specific to a tumor.

“What we’re doing is taking advantage of millennia of evolution that enabled Listeria to infect human immune systems, and an equal amount of evolution that enables humans to get rid of Listeria once this occurs. We are then co-opting and redirecting all of these complex immune responses and targeting them against cancer,” Rothman said.

The above quote is from an Advaxis press release.  At the bottom of the press release it states, "At the time of this writing, 6 of 13 patients evaluable for efficacy are still alive."  (Reality check: Clinical studies aren't about drugs; they are about people.) We hope additional research and development will produce a cure for this deadly cancer.

The Pennsylvania Agriculture Department is urging consumers who purchased raw milk from the following dairy farms anytime after March 10 to discard the milk immediately due to the risk of Listeria monocytogenes:

1. Piney Ridge dairy farm in New Bethlehem, Clarion County
2. Clark and Elaine Duncan's farm in Meadville, Crawford Count

Pennsylvania farms selling raw milk must be permitted and inspected to reduce health risks associated with the unpasteurized products. In 2007, a previous case of Listeria monocytogenes was found at Piney Ridge dairy.

"During routine testing, samples taken at the dairies tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes," said Dennis Wolff, Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary. "If consumers have raw milk from these farms, they should discard it immediately."

If you suspect that someone has been sickened by the recalled Piney Ridge Dairy milk or Duncan Farm milk, you should not discard of the milk until you have contacted an experienced Listeria attorney.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has suspended sales of raw milk at the dairies and is requiring corrective action be taken. Samples were taken from the farms on March 31; they tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes on April 4. Multiple laboratory samples must test negative before sales can resume.

No illnesses have been reported as a result of the potential contamination, but if people who consumed the raw milk become ill, they should consult their physicians.  Symptoms of listeriosis are fever, muscle aches, and sometimes gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea or diarrhea. If infection spreads to the nervous system, symptoms such as headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance or convulsions can occur. Infected pregnant women may experience only a mild, flu-like illness, but infections during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage or stillbirth.

Symptoms of listeriosis can appear in four days to three weeks.  And symptoms can take as long as 70 days to appear in rare cases.  This makes tracking a Listeria outbreak extremely difficult.

The contamination of Discover Cuisine Red Curry Chicken & Jasmine Rice due to Listeria has led to recalls by three major companies.  Costco Wholesale is recalling 10,368 pounds of the frozen entrees, Inovata Foods is recalling 3,780 pounds, and Meijer Distribution Center is recalling 2,184 pounds.

All of the recalled products contain the following information:

12-ounce packages of “Discover Cuisine Red Curry Chicken & Jasmine Rice.” Each package bears the Canadian establishment number “Est. 302” inside the Canadian Food Inspection Agency mark of inspection as well as a “Best By” date of “12 18 08.”

Costco Wholesale, a Washington firm, has recalled approximately 10,368 pounds of frozen chicken entrées that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Costco recall announcement.

The following product is subject to recall:

Four-pack of 12-ounce packages of "Discover Cuisine ™ Red Curry Chicken & Jasmine Rice." Each package bears the Canadian establishment number "Est. 302" inside the Canadian Food Inspection Agency mark of inspection as well as a "Best By" date of "12 18 08." The item number "2880" also appears by the UPC code on the package.

The frozen chicken entrées were produced on Oct. 18, 2007, and were sent to retail establishments in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

The problem was discovered through FSIS microbiological sampling. FSIS has conducted a regulatory microbiological testing program on poultry products since 1983.
When FSIS analysis finds a positive sample, any product represented by that sample must be reprocessed or destroyed. If all product implicated by a positive laboratory result is not under the establishment's control, as in this case, then “steps must be taken by the producing establishment to remove adulterated product from distribution channels and/or commerce, which may entail a voluntary recall” (http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Science/Micro_Testing_RTE/index.asp).

Our question with regard to this recall and the related recall by Meijer Distribution Center, a Michigan firm, is why it over 4 months after the production of the recalled frozen chicken entries for the companies to voluntarily recall the products. Most of these products are conveniently already eaten.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has advised consumers to avoid smoked pork and beef bratwurst produced by J&B Meats of Barnesville, Minnesota, with the lot number PBB30306, and Minnesota State Establishment Number 1198.  The recalled beef and pork bratwurst may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.

The bratwurst was sold at the J&B Meats retail store in Barnesville.  The contamination was found during a routine test, and the Department of Agriculture has not reported any related illnesses.  Because some of the sausages were frozen when sold, it is possible for Listeria cases associated with the recalled bratwurst to surface months from now.

Whittier Farms, source of a widespread Listeria outbreak in Massachusetts, has started to sell milk again at its farm store, but not milk from the dairy.  Wayne Whittier, owner of Whittier Farms has stated that “the milk production and bottling plant, it won’t be a place where Whittier Farms will operate again.”

According to the Worcester Telegram,

He indicated that the family hasn’t decided if it will resume production elsewhere someday. He noted that recipes for Whittier specialties, such as chocolate milk and eggnog, are being kept in a safe place.

The Whittier Farms outbreak has been linked to a contamination of Listeria in coffee-flavored and other specialty milks, occurring after the pasteurization process.  Three men died along with two pregnant women, including one miscarriage due to listeriosis.

The Listeria outbreak linked to pasteurized milk products from Whittier Farms has brought to light the dangers of pasteurized food.  Health officials believe that the contamination of the Whittier Farms milk happened during processing, after pasteurization.  Although pasteurization killed any pathogens in the milk, contamination still occurred during the bottling process. 

Even though post-pasteurization contamination can occur, pasteurized milk is still safer than raw milk.

The pasteurization process effectively kills many pathogens, including Listeria, in milk,  Food safety advocates are generally pro pasteurization and against the sale of raw milk.  The FDA has nothing good to say about raw milk:

Pasteurization, since its adoption in the early 1900s, has been credited with dramatically reducing illness and death caused by contaminated milk. But today, some people are passing up pasteurized milk for what they claim is tastier and healthier "raw milk."

Public health officials couldn't disagree more.

Drinking raw (untreated) milk or eating raw milk products is "like playing Russian roulette with your health," says John Sheehan, director of the Food and Drug Administration's Division of Dairy and Egg Safety. "We see a number of cases of foodborne illness every year related to the consumption of raw milk."

More than 300 people in the United States got sick from drinking raw milk or eating cheese made from raw milk in 2001, and nearly 200 became ill from these products in 2002, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Raw milk may harbor a host of disease-causing organisms (pathogens), such as the bacteria campylobacter, escherichia, listeria, salmonella, yersinia, and brucella. Common symptoms of foodborne illness from many of these types of bacteria include diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, headache, vomiting, and exhaustion.

Proponents of raw milk believe pasteurized milk is unhealthy, as indicated by this passage found on the website BecomeNatural.com:

Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamins C, B12 and B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer.

The raw milk debate has been brought before federal courts. According to Marketwire,

The public health community has been united in stating that consumption of raw milk is not healthful, but, in fact, is harmful. This matter has been litigated and, in the matter of Public Citizen vs. Heckler in 1986, the Federal District Court concluded that the record presents "overwhelming evidence of the risks associated with the consumption of raw milk both certified and otherwise."

Currently, the United States bans any interstate commerce dealing with raw milk.  Some states have banned the sale of raw milk. We stand with the FDA, the courts and legislative bodies on this issue--the consumption of raw milk poses far too many dangers to not be regulated by state and federal food safety agencies.

It has long been known that the pasteurization process effectively kills many pathogenic organisms, including the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, which should make pasteurized milk and other products safe for human consumption.  However, an outbreak of listeriosis in Massachusetts has lequestioned the safety of pasteurized milk.  Pasteurized milk products from Whittier Farms resulted in the deaths of three elderly men and sickened two pregnant women, resulting in one miscarriage. 

Pasteurization is by no means cutting edge technology, developed by Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard in 1862. Listeria outbreaks are also anything but new to Massachusetts. A Listeria outbreak occurred in the state in 1983. The source of the 1983 outbreak was whole and 2% pasteurized milk.

In 1988, the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released a story dealing with the effectiveness of pasteurization to control listeriosis. The CDC evaluated multiple studies testing varying amounts of Listeria contamination in milk and concluded that the process does indeed protect against listeriosis.  The report also quoted the World Health Organization (WHO) Working Group on foodborne listeriosis which stated that "pasteurization is a safe process which reduces the number of L. monocytogenes occurring in raw milk to levels that do not pose an appreciable risk to human health."

The United States and the WHO agree that pasteurization works. Even though the process has been proven to work through scientific experiments, Massachusetts seems to have a problem keeping Listeria out of pasteurized milk, most recently in products from Whittier Farms.

Whittier Farms has undergone intense investigation to get to the source of the contamination. According to an article from the Worcester Telegram:

The findings do not pinpoint where contamination of the milk occurred, according to state officials, but they do suggest that listeria bacteria colonized somewhere in the processing plant, and entered the milk products at some point after pasteurization and during the production process.

The findings show that the pasteurization process is not to blame. There were problems at Whittier with introducing Listeria to the milk after the process had killed the bacteria previously present in the milk. If Listeria is going to find its way into processed milk, why pasteurize it to begin with?

To quote Louis Pasteur, “Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal.  My strength lies solely in my tenacity.” Pasteur invented a process that effectively eliminates bacteria such as Listeria, but to reach the goal of fully preventing the contamination of milk in the nation’s dairies, the government and dairies themselves will require tenacity and determination to protect products after the pasteurization process.

Massachusetts state health officials think they may have pieced together the evidence to explain how milk produced at Whittier Farms became contaminated with a lethal strain of Listeria.  The outbreak has already led to the death of three elderly men and a miscarriage.

Samples taken from the Whittier Farms plant showed that the strain of Listeria found in the five victims was identical to a strain found on the floor of the plant and in equipment used after pasteurization. The same strain was also found in seven unopened containers of milk that were on shelves at the retail store next to the plant. Different strains were also found in the plant, but had no relation to the reported illnesses.

According to the Boston Globe,

State investigators said they were unsure how listeria made its way inside the Whittier plant, which had received good marks in earlier inspection reports. Perhaps workers carried it on their clothing or shoes from elsewhere on the farm, said Suzanne Condon, the top environmental health official at the state Department of Public Health. Another possibility: Spray hoses used for cleaning might have disseminated the germ.

Although it is not known how the events of Listeria entering the plant and then contaminating pasteurized milk occurred, this new evidence gives officials the best idea of what exactly happened at Whittier Farms.  The diary is still under intense investigation until all the pieces of the puzzle are able to be put together.

The continuing investigation into the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak at Whittier Farms leads experts to believe that contamination may be due to cleaning procedures at the dairy. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) took more than 100 environmental and milk samples from the dairy, revealing definite connections between the strains found at the plant and five cases of listeriosis.

According to Medical News Today,

So far nine samples from the plant have tested positive for the same strain of Listeria that was found in four of the five people who fell ill with Listeriosis after consuming products from the plant. No sample was available to test the fifth case, a 31 year old woman who has since made a full recovery and been delivered of a healthy baby.

It is also important to note that three of the cases involved the death of elderly men and a fourth case led to a miscarriage.

No concrete evidence narrows the exact source of contamination, however three of the four positive Listeria tests taking from the dairy were found in sections of the processing plant that dealt with milk after the pasteurization process.

In a recent press release by MDPH it was stated that

The presence of Listeria in the physical plant of the facility is consistent with contamination occurring during post-pasteurizing processing and bottling. One theory under consideration by health officials is that cleaning activities at the plant may have unintentionally caused contamination of the processing equipment allowing bacteria to enter the finished milk products.

Most of the positive samples at the dairy were found in flavored milk products. Public health investigators believe that the sugar content in the flavored milks may have provided an environment conducive to the growth of Listeria.

Other than the five reported cases of listeriosis, no new cases have been reported. Any cases involving the contaminated milk can be used in a lawsuit against Whittier Farms. Food safety attorney Fred Pritzker has recovered millions for victims of foodborne illness outbreaks. He is also an advocate for food safety. To contact Fred, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm’s free case consultation form.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) continues its investigation into the Listeria outbreak linked to contaminated Whittier Farms milk. According to the MDPH, additional samples of milk products and several environmental samples taken at the Whittier Farms milk processing plant have tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

The following is from a MDPH press release regarding this Listeria outbreak.

The processing plant, located in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts remains closed and will not re-open until cleared to do so by the MDPH Food Protection Program and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Regional Milk Specialists.

One environmental swab, one sample of skim milk and seven flavored milk samples tested positive for the same strain of Listeria found in four of the five cases linked to this outbreak. No sample was available to test in the fifth case linked to the outbreak — a 31 year-old pregnant woman from Middlesex County who drank Whittier milk products and was diagnosed with listeriosis, with a positive culture for the bacteria in September. The woman delivered a healthy child, and mother and child are well.

More than 100 environmental and milk samples were taken from the processing plant as part of the investigation. A total of twelve milk samples and four environmental samples tested positive for varying strains of Listeria contamination (see summary below).

The findings do not pinpoint where the contamination of the milk occurred, but they do suggest that Listeria bacteria colonized somewhere in the processing plant and that the bacteria entered the milk products at some point during the production process. Records indicate that the plant’s equipment met federal standards for time, temperature and flow for effective pasteurization, however, pasteurization at the processing plant will be further examined.

The presence of Listeria in the physical plant of the facility is consistent with contamination occurring during post-pasteurizing processing and bottling. One theory under consideration by health officials is that cleaning activities at the plant may have unintentionally caused contamination of the processing equipment allowing bacteria to enter the finished milk products. Three of the four positive environmental tests for Listeria were collected from sections of the plant that are considered part of the post-pasteurization areas of the facility.

Public health investigators are also closely scrutinizing the lab results from Whittier milk products to determine why most of the Listeria positive milk samples were found in flavored milk products. Health officials theorize that the sugar content of the flavored milk products provided an environment that enhanced bacterial growth.

The Listeria outbreak linked to milk products produced at Whittier Farms represents the first such foodborne outbreak connected to a Massachusetts food processing plant in more than 20 years. Five cases have been linked to the outbreak including three elderly men and two pregnant women. The three elderly men have died.  [Read about  Listeria miscarriage ,  Listeria wrongful death, and a Whittier Farms lawsuit.]

No new cases have been identified as part of the outbreak investigation.

Health officials stressed the risk to public health remains low because Whittier Farms halted milk processing operations immediately after being informed by the MDPH about the link to the current outbreak. They also emphasized that an outbreak of Listeria in pasteurized milk products is extremely rare; the source of the outbreak appears to be confined to the Whittier Farms milk processing plant; and they believe the general milk supply is safe.

The MDPH staff continue to work with Whittier Farms on the investigation and will work with the Farm’s management on a recovery plan for the Shrewsbury processing plant. Milk processing will not take place until efforts to eradicate the bacteria at the plant are complete, and testing has confirmed that milk products produced at the facility are safe.

Massachusetts public health officials also continue to work with other agencies, including U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources to complete the investigation and review whether changes are needed in current state regulations or in the federally mandated inspection and testing processes for dairy farms and plants.

Summary of Listeria Positive Laboratory Tests

Sample	Description	Listeria Strain
Coffee flavored milk	Glass, Quart	A*
Coffee flavored milk	Glass, Quart	A*
1% Chocolate flavored milk	Plastic, 8 oz.	A*
Chocolate flavored milk	Plastic, 8 oz.	A*
Chocolate flavored milk	Plastic, Pint	A*
Vanilla flavored milk	Glass, Quart	A*
Strawberry flavored milk	Plastic, 8 oz	A*
Skim milk	Glass, Quart	A*
1% Chocolate flavored milk	Glass, Quart	B**
Coffee flavored milk	Glass, Quart	B**
1% milk	Glass, Quart	B**
2% milk	Glass, Quart	C**
* Denotes Listeria strain consistent with outbreak strain ** Denotes Listeria strain not consistent with outbreak strain or known human cases

Environmental Samples	Description	Listeria Strain
Environmental Swab 1	Floor near homogenizer	A*
Environmental Swab 2	Drain in fill room	D**
Environmental Swab 3	Bottle washer washband	E**
Environmental Swab 4	Empty unwashed bottle	F**
* Denotes Listeria strain consistent with outbreak strain ** Denotes Listeria strain not consistent with outbreak strain or known human cases

Officials report the death of 88-year-old John J. Powers from drinking Listeria contaminated milk from Whittier Farms, according the Metro West Daily News. Born on December 25, 1919, Mr. Powers was an avid Boston Red Sox fan and World War II veteran, the story states.

Powers contracted listeriosis from pasteurized milk produced by Whittier Farms and purchased at Shady Oaks Farms in Medway, Massachusetts. Dr. Alfred DeMaria, director of communicable diseases of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, reports that coffee flavored milk in Powers’ refrigerator tested positive for Listeria.

Mr. Powers became ill right after Thanksgiving, while two other elderly men died from listeriosis in June and October. (Read about  Listeria / listeriosis wrongful death.) Two pregnant women were also sickened in this outbreak; one of them had a miscarriage. (Read about Listeria, listeriosis and miscarriage.) The deaths have halted production at Whittier Farms, including Whittier, Schultz, Balance Rock, Spring Brook, and Maple brand names of whole milk, 1 percent, 2 percent, skim milk and heavy cream, and the low-fat chocolate, coffee, strawberry, vanilla and eggnog flavors.

A third man has died from a Listeria infection (listeriosis) that has been linked to Whittier Farms milk. According to a story in the Boston Globe:

An 87-year-old Norfolk County man has died from a bacterial infection [listeriosis] linked to tainted milk from a mom-and-pop dairy [Whittier Farms in Central Massachusetts], the third death related to the outbreak, state health authorities reported this afternoon.

Two other elderly men died earlier from listeriosis linked to Whittier Farms milk, and an unborn child died when the child’s mother contracted listeriosis. People seriously sickened by Listeria are usually the elderly, people with compromised immune systems, pregnant women and unborn infants. Contact one of our attorneys for information on Listeria cases we have handled involving pregnancy and wrongful death.

This listeriosis outbreak has now sickened at least 5 people, according to the Boston Globe:

State disease investigators also reported today that the total number of cases of listeriosis attributed to the milk has risen by one, to five. A 31-year-old Middlesex County woman was diagnosed with the disease in September while in the hospital to deliver a baby, said Dr. Alfred DeMaria, the state's director of communicable disease control. Investigators connected her to the milk after discovering that she had consumed 2 percent and whole milk made by Whittier.

The 31-year-old woman and her baby are both healthy, as is a 34-year-old woman whose illness was previously linked to the outbreak. That woman, though, suffered a miscarriage after exposure to the bacteria.

Pritzker | Ruohonen, a leading food safety litigation law firm, has extensive experience with Listeria cases.  To contact the firm, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm's free case consultation form.  Read more about the Whittier Farms Listeria outbreak and a possible Whittier Farms lawsuit.

Health officials have found a smoking gun at Whittier Farms, a dairy that has now been linked to 4 cases of listeriosis in Massachusetts, according to The Boston Globe:

Coffee-flavored milk taken from a cooler at a central Massachusetts dairy carried germs identical to bacteria that killed two elderly men and made two other people sick, according to state test results released yesterday that investigators said left little doubt about the dairy being the source of the infections.

Genetic fingerprinting conducted at the state laboratory has indicated that a milk sample collected at Whittier Farms dairy two weeks ago, a sample taken in November from a bottle in a victim's refrigerator, and blood drawn from the four patients all harbored exactly the same type of Listeria, a striking discovery, state disease trackers said.

"The pattern is very unique," said Dr. Alfred DeMaria, the state's director of communicable disease control. "It means there's an outbreak here. There's no question there's an outbreak. And it implies that the dairy is the common source.

State health investigators believe that the Listeria contamination happened after pasteurization, perhaps during the packaging process, the Boston Globe story states. This is typical of almost all cases of Listeria contamination of a food product where there is a kill step during processing. Unless the kill step (here pasteurization) is faulty, it should kill any foodborne pathogens, including Listeria. Contamination usually happens when an unsanitary condition (not washing hands, not cleaning equipment well, etc.) results in Listeria getting on or in the food.

Pritzker | Ruohonen represents victims of Listeria outbreaks and the families of people who have died in Listeria outbreaks. If you would like a free consultation with a Listeria lawyer, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm’s free case consultation form. If you would like to comment on this outbreak, Listeria, listeriosis, Whittier Farms or any food safety topic, please submit the comment form below.

Determining Whether a Cluster of Listeriosis Cases is an Outbreak

In cases where a number of people in an area are diagnosed with listeriosis, health officials can use DNA fingerprinting to determine if the listeriosis cases are part of the same foodborne outbreak. For this purpose, health officials obtain isolates of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria from the people with listeriosis.

These isolates are tested pursuant to PulseNet system protocols using pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), a molecular subtyping technique. PFGE testing provides DNA fingerprints of the isolates. Matching (indistinguishable) DNA fingerprints indicate a listeriosis "outbreak" caused by a common source.

In the case of the listeriosis outbreak associated with Whittier Farms milk, Listeria isolates obtained from 4 people had matching DNA fingerprints. This establishes that these 4 victims of the outbreak were sickened by the same food source.  The four four victims include three elderly residents and a pregnant woman from Worcester county, according to a Massachusetts Department of Public Health press release. Two of the elderly people have died.

The Roll of DNA Fingerprinting in Determining the Source of a Listeriosis Outbreak

To find the source of an outbreak, genetic fingerprinting and epidemiological evidence are used. The people sickened by Listeria bacteria with matching DNA fingerprints are interviewed (and/or their families are interviewed) to determine what they ate in the last 2 months (the incubation period for Listeria can be as long as 70 days). Health investigators (epidemiologists) look for common food sources and investigate all likely sources. Part of that investigation is testing processing plants (drains, equipment, etc.) and food products for Listeria monocytogenes. If Listeria is found, isolates will have PFGE testing done on them to determine if they match the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes. If there is a match, health officials consider the food (food produced at the plant if the bacteria was found in the plant) the source of the outbreak.

If epidemiological evidence (patient interviews, receipts of purchase, etc.) associates a food product with an outbreak but Listeria is not found in the food product or the plant that produced it, that is generally adequate evidence to make a claim for damages against the manufacturer, distributor, and/or retail seller of the food.

In the case of the listeriosis outbreak associated with Whittier Farms milk, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health stated in a press release, “Samples collected showed product contamination.” 

The law firm of Pritzker | Ruohonen has extensive experience with Listeria lawsuits.  To contact the firm, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm’s free case consultation form for review by a Listeria attorney.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) has issued a warning regarding milk products from Whittier Farms in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts due to possible Listeria contamination. Two elderly men have died and two other people have been sickened in a Listeria outbreak that has been associated with Whittier Farms milk, according to a MDPH statement.

According to The Milford Daily News, the cases occurred in June, October and November. Three of the people sickened were elderly residents and one was a pregnant woman from Worcester county.  DNA fingerprinting conducted by the Massachusetts State Laboratory Institute showed that the Listeria bacteria causing these infections came from a common source.  Samples collected from Whittier Farms showed product contamination, according to The Milford Daily News.  

MDPH is recommending that consumers do not consume Whittier Farms milk products. Because the incubation period for Listeria can be as long as 70 days, anyone who has consumed the milk should watch for Listeria symptoms, including fever, muscle aches and sometimes gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea or diarrhea.  In pregnant women, the symptoms may be mild, but an infection can cause miscarriage, stillbirth or early delivery. Learn more about Listeria and pregnancy.  Listeria-related deaths are often caused by Listeria meningitis (inflammation of the membranes and fluid surrounding the brain) or septicemia (blood infection). 

To contact a lawyer at our law firm for a free consultation, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm's free consultation form.

The following is from a North Carolina Division of Public Health press release.

Officials with the North Carolina Division of Public Health (NCDPH) are cautioning pregnant women against consumption of soft cheeses, hot dogs, deli-style meats and prepared salads.  The warning comes after three cases of listeriosis were identified in Moore, Durham and Mecklenburg counties and a probable case was identified in Buncombe County.

The three confirmed cases all involved pregnant women; two of them had miscarriages. All three of the women had consumed soft cheese from a variety of sources. Although the cases occurred close together in time, data from molecular testing conducted at the State Laboratory of Public Health showed that different strains were involved. A single product does not seem to be the source of these cases, prompting public health officials to issue a general Listeria warning.   

Listeriosis is a serious infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes.  The disease affects primarily pregnant women, newborns and people with weakened immune systems. Listeriosis outbreaks have been associated with consumption of unpasteurized (raw) milk and contaminated soft cheeses, vegetables and ready-to-eat meats.  

“This is a tragedy, which could have been avoided,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Jeff Engel.  “Listeriosis can be prevented by avoiding unpasteurized milk and other potentially contaminated food, especially among vulnerable people.” Vulnerable people include pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems. About a third of the people with confirmed cases of listeriosis are pregnant women. Read about Listeria and pregnancy.

According to NCDPH, general recommendations to avoid listeriosis include:

• Avoid unpasteurized (raw) milk or foods made from unpasteurized milk.
• Thoroughly cook raw food from animal sources.
• Wash raw vegetables before eating.
• Wash hands, knives and cutting board after handling uncooked foods.
• Consume perishable and ready-to-eat foods as soon as possible.

NCDPH also recommends that people at high risk, such as pregnant women and persons with weakened immune systems, take the following precautions in addition to those above:

• Do not eat hot dogs, luncheon meats or deli meats, unless they are reheated until steaming hot.
• Avoid getting fluid from hot dog packages on other foods,