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

A Taco Bell restaurant chain spokesperson has confirmed in an interview with Food Poisoning Bulletin that Taco Bell is "Restaurant Chain A,'' the business associated by CDC with an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis that sickened 68 people in 10 states. The outbreak happened in October and November, hitting hardest in Oklahoma and Texas.

The CDC refused to say what Mexican-style restaurant chain was tied to the outbreak, partly because the illnesses stopped occurring by the time a link was made. The CDC rationalized that releasing the restaurant's name would not help anyone to avoid getting sick. The Oklahoma Department of Health broke the silence this week under public pressure and Taco Bell confirmed the news.

Investigators believe the outbreak possibly was caused by a line of produce distributed by suppliers, but traceback efforts were not successful in determing what item of produce was to blame.

Further investigation is being conducted by national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A.., where claims from victims can be addressed by attorneys who practice extensively in the complex area of foodborne illness litigation. Contact a Salmonella lawyer at PritzkerOlsen or call the firm and an attorney will answer your questions. Consultations are free and you pay nothing to the firm until a claim is paid by the company or its insurance company .

More than 31 percent of patients in the Taco Bell outbreak were hospitalized. Here is the company's statement:

“The CDC has stated the public health is not at any risk and this incident is completely over. They have not identified the food source of the foodborne illness that occurred in October and November of 2011. The CDC indicated that some of the people who were ill ate at Taco Bell, while others did not. They believe that the problem likely occurred at the supplier level before it was delivered to any restaurant or food outlet. We take food quality and safety very seriously.” 

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Solving the Salmonella outbreak linked to Mexican-style, fast food "Restaurant Chain A" in Texas, Oklahoma and eight other states took a classic, collaborative approach by a combination of federal, state and local public health agencies. Authorities have refused to identify the name of this fast-food chain to citizens.

This outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis sickened at least 68 people and now appears to be over, but any Restaurant A Salmonella lawsuit will depend on the epidemiology that convinced the FDA and CDC to conclude that some item of produce from a common source was the likely cause. National food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is accepting cases from this outbreak and has represented victims of past restaurant outbreaks, collecting millions of dollars to compensate them for the harms they suffered.  Free consultations for this Mexican-style fast food outbreak are available at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or individuals can leave contact information here and a Salmonella lawyer from the firm will call you.

Mexican fast food Salmonella investigation

Among 52 ill persons for whom information was available, 60 percent reported eating at Restaurant Chain A in the week before illness onset. Ill persons reported eating at 18 different locations of the chain in the week before becoming ill. Three locations were identified where more than one ill person reported eating in the week before becoming ill. This finding indicates that contamination likely occurred before the contaminated food product reached chain locations.

Further epidemiologic study based on interviews with 48 ill people and 103 who were not sick indicated that 62 percent were more likely to report eating at Restaurant Chain A in the week before illness. Only 17 percent of well respondents said they ate at the chain in the previous week. No specific food item or ingredient was found to be associated with illness due to common ingredients being used together in many menu items such as tacos, burritos, and taco salads, but 90 percent of ill respondents reported eating lettuce, 77 percent reported eating cheese and 35 percent reported eating tomatoes. Ninety four precent reported eating ground beef, but investigators discounted ground beef as a possible source of illness because of the restaurant chain's protocols for safe cooking.

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 A multistate Salmonella outbreak linked to a Mexican-style fast food restaurant chain has sickened 68 people in 10 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Almost one third of those sickened with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis required hospitalization. The number of confirmed cases in each state is as follows: Texas (43), Oklahoma (16), Kansas (2), Iowa (1), Michigan (1), Missouri (1), Nebraska (1), New Mexico (1), Ohio (1), and Tennessee (1).

Among those for whom information was available, 60 percent reported eating at the fast food chain in the week before the onset of illness. Illnesses began on or after October 13, 2011. Patients ranged in age from <1 to 79 years, the median age was 25. Fifty-four percent of patients were female. No deaths were reported.

A collaborative investigation by federal, state and local investigators was unable to identify a specific food associated with illness, but data indicate that contamination likely occurred before the product reached the restaurant locations.

Among the ill who reported eating at the restaurants, 90 percent reported eating lettuce, 94 percent reported eating ground beef, 77 percent reported eating cheese, and 35 percent reported eating tomatoes. This outbreak’s epidemic curve is consistent with produce-related outbreaks, according to the CDC. The restaurant’s meat handling and cooking practices make it unlikely that ground beef was the source.

Salmonella is a bacteria that can cause serious illness if ingested. Symptoms including diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps usually develop 12 to 72 hours after infection. In some cases, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized or the infection may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics. Young children, the elderly and those with impaired immune systems are most at risk.

If you have legal questions about an illness or hospitalization associated with this outbreak, contact the foodborne illness attorneys at PritzkerOlsen P.A. for a free consultation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In the Salmonella egg outbreak, PritzkerOlsen filed the first egg lawsuit in Minnesota on behalf of a woman sickened in June after eating at Mi Rancho, a Bemidji restaurant that served eggs purchased from Hillandale Farms. The case was filed in Beltrami County District Court (no. 04-CV-10-3168). PritzkerOlsen continues to take on new cases related to this outbreak at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or by completing the contact form on the side of this Web page.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Click here to make your Salmonella egg claim.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Salmonella egg  investigations conducted by public health officials in 10 states since April have identified 26 restaurants or event clusters where more than one ill person with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis has eaten.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says in its latest update on the outbreak that shell eggs are a likely source of infections in many of these restaurants or event clusters. Information indicates that Wright County Egg, in Galt, Iowa, was an egg supplier in 15 of these 26 restaurants or event clusters.

The CDC warns that recalled eggs might still be in grocery stores, restaurants, and consumers' homes. Click here to see an updated list of brands, plant numbers and Julian dates included in the recall. 

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DeLauro chairs the House Appropriations agriculture subcommittee.

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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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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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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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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 latest Salmonella egg recall information is provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an outbreak investigation update. The CDC is reporting that a total of nearly 2,000 illnesses are being examined as possbily part of the nationwide Salmonella Enteritidis egg outbreak.

The associated Salmonella egg recall by Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa, has been expanded to cover 380 million eggs, or 32 million egg cartons.

According to the CDC, public health officials in 10 states since April have identified 26 restaurants or events where more than one ill person with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Enteritidis has eaten.

Data from these investigations suggest that shell eggs are a likely source of infections in many of these restaurants or events. Preliminary information indicates that Wright County Egg, in Galt, Iowa, was an egg supplier in 15 of these 26 restaurants or events, the CDC said.

Formal tracebacks conducted by public health officials in California, Colorado, and Minnesota have found that shell eggs from five of these restaurants or events were from a single firm, Wright County Egg in Galt, Iowa. California alone has had more than 200 of these cases so far this year -- far more than normal for the state during this time period.

An extensive federal investigation taking place at Wright County Egg in Iowa is looking for potential sources of contamination, such as feed,  the CDC press release said.

All indications are that this Salmonella Enteritidis egg outbreak could be one of the largest food poisoning episodes of 2010. 

 From May 1 to July 31, 2010, a total of 1,953 Salmonella Enteritidis illnesses were reported on CDC's national molecular subtyping network, PulseNet. The normal count of Salmonella Enteritidis cases over the same period is about 700.

 A key to the investigation is distinguishing the egg cases from non-outbreak background cases.

Law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A. is providing free case consultations to anyone who has eaten eggs and fallen ill. For information about a Salmonella egg lawsuit, call the firm at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or 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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With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) associating a national outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis with eggs from Iowa, there is a solid framework for an egg Salmonella lawsuit.

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

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

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

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

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

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The following was released August 13, 2010:

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

Wright County Egg Lawsuit

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

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

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

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

Determining Victims of an Salmonella Outbreak

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

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

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

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

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

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

Salmonella Lawyer

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

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


 

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The Wright County Egg Salmonella recall is estimated by The Associated Press to cover some 228 million eggs distributed nationwide since May 19, 2010.

A joint field investigation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is ongoing and intended to identify potential sources of Salmonella Enteritidis in these shell eggs, such as feed.

Public health officials in California, Colorado and Minnesota have confirmed outbreaks of Salmonella Enteritidis traced back to Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa. The number of cases in California alone is 266, including 43 in Los Angeles County.

Since May 2010, CDC has identified a nationwide, four-fold increase in the number of Salmonella Enteritidis isolates through PulseNet, the molecular subtyping network made up of state and local public health laboratories and federal food regulatory laboratories. CDC received reports of approximately 200 cases every week during late June and early July compared to an average of 50 per week in that time period over the past five years. 

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