Food Poisoning Law Blog

A 13-year-old girl became seriously ill after eating homemade ice cream at a Relay for Life event at Roughrider Stadium in Center, Texas. The ice cream was reportedly made by a Center church. 

The girl was diagnosed with Salmonella. According to a report on KTRE, an East Texas news station:

Courtney Johnson, the child's mother said Ashlyn's kidney's were failing so she was lifeflighted to a Shreveport hospital Tuesday night. She came home Friday, exactly one week after eating one scoop of some homemade ice cream that was sold at the event.  Her mother said her daughter ate only the homemade ice cream that was made and served by a Center church.

Liability in food poisoning cases can be complex. Both epidemiological and microbiological evidence is used to determine the source of the illness. That evidence is used to determine the liability of a number of parties, from a specific farm to the party that ultimately provided the contaminated food.

We are lawyers who represent Salmonella victims throughout the United States. As such, we are concerned about food safety. Given that the sickened girl only ate the homemade ice cream, it is likely that eggs used to make the ice cream were contaminated with Salmonella. To prevent Salmonella poisoning associated with eggs and products containing eggs, pasteurized eggs should be used. Given the history of Salmonella outbreaks associated with eggs, states should require pasteurized eggs to be used by restaurants, church groups, event organizers and any party that plans on providing food to the public.

To contact one of our lawyers with Salmonella litigation experience, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free), e-mail our lawyers, or submit our free case consultation form.

Alamosa County health officials have reported one death related to the Salmonella outbreak linked to the Alamosa water supply.  According to health officials, the genetic pattern of the person's Salmonella matched the pattern found in the city's water supply before it was disinfected.

This is the first death associated with the Alamosa Salmonella outbreak, which health officials uncovered in early March after several people were sickened after drinking water from Alamosa's city water supply.

Health officials have received at least 411 reports of Salmonella cases.  112 of those cases are laboratory-confirmed.

The Illinois Department of Health has reported one case of Salmonella in a person who reported eating cereal that is part of the Malt-O-Meal recall, which involves Malt-O-Meal unsweetened Puffed Rice and unsweetened Puffed Wheat with “best if used by” dates ranging from APR0808 (April 8, 2008) to MAR2909 (March 29, 2009) sold under the Malt-O-Meal brand and several other brands, including  Acme, America’s Choice, Food Club, Giant, Hannaford, Jewel, Laura Lynn, Pathmark, Shaw’s, Shoprite, Tops and Weis Quality.  Tests are still pending.

Dr. Damon T. Arnold, state public health director, is warning consumers not to eat  the recalled puffed rice and puffed wheat cereal due to possible Salmonella contamination. Malt-O-Meal recalled the cereal after the company’s internal routine food safety testing found Salmonella. A link between the cereal and Salmonella cases has not yet been confirmed.

“I want people to check their shelves for the recalled puffed rice or puffed wheat cereals and get rid of them. Although it has not yet been confirmed that this cereal has caused people to become ill, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Either take the cereal back to the store where you bought it for a refund or throw it out, but just make sure you don’t eat it,” said Dr. Arnold.

If you are experiencing symptoms of Salmonella poisoning, please get medical attention.  If you are diagnosed with Salmonella, do not throw away or return the bag of cereal until you contact a Salmonella lawyer.  To contact our law firm regarding Salmonella poisoning, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free), e-mail our attorneys, or submit our free case consultation form. 

Symptoms of Salmonella, which last from 24 hours to 12 days, include headache, muscle aches, diarrhea, vomiting, rumblings in the bowels, chills, fever, nausea and dehydration. Symptoms usually appear 6 hours to 72 hours after ingestion.

Minnesota health and agriculture officials are investigating cases of illness in Minnesota that may be linked to puffed rice and puffed wheat cereal involved  in a Malt-O-Meal recall. At least 21 cases of Salmonella agona have been identified as associated with the Malt-O-Meal recall involving several brands, including Malt-O-Meal, Acme, America's Choice, Food Club, Giant, Hannaford, Jewel, Laura Lynn, Pathmark, Shaw’s, ShopRite, Tops and Weis Quality.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has identified one laboratory-confirmed case of Salmonella agona in the state that matches the genetic fingerprint of strain of Salmonella found in the cereal that was recalled April 5. 12 other state health departments have identified cases of the outbreak-strain of Salmonella agona.

On April 5, the Malt-O-Meal company issued a recall due to Salmonella contamination of unsweetened Puffed Rice cereals and unsweetened Puffed Wheat Cereals produced during the past 12 months at its plant in Northfield. The recalled products have “Best If Used By” codes between April 8, 2008 (coded as APR0808) and March 18, 2009 (coded as MAR1809). Malt-O-Meal initiated the recall after its routine food safety testing detected the presence of Salmonella in a product produced on March 24. The recalled cereal was distributed nationally and marketed under the Malt-O-Meal label as well as a variety of private labels, including Malt-O-Meal, Acme, America's Choice, Food Club, Giant, Hannaford, Jewel, Laura Lynn, Pathmark, Shaw's, ShopRite, Tops, and Weis Quality.

The nationwide outbreak of Salmonella Litchfield has sickened at least 50 people in 16 different states, leading to ban of imported cantaloupe from Honduras, the product implicated in the outbreak. The cantaloupe in this outbreak has been traced back to its producer in Honduras, Agropecuaria Montelibano.  Shippers and distributors of the product have recalled the cantaloupe, including Dole (Dole cantaloupe recall) and Chiquita (Chiquita cantaloupe recall). The same cantaloupe has led to an outbreak in Canada as well.

An outbreak of this scale is not new to cantaloupe. Multiple outbreaks in the past have linked various Salmonella contaminations to cantaloupe. In this decade alone, there were 47 cases in a 2000 outbreak, 50 cases in 2001, and 58 cases in 2002, all involving cantaloupe contaminated with Salmonella. These cases were linked to S. Poona, possibly through water contaminated by reptiles that carry the rare serotype.  All the melons involved were from Mexico, which spurred a banning of cantaloupe from the Mexican farm that produced the melons.

2006 saw an outbreak of S. Oranienburg in the Northeastern region of the United States and parts of Canada, affecting 41 individuals. From 1973-2003, 11 outbreaks of Salmonella in cantaloupe were reported to the CDC. There are many other documented outbreaks in cantaloupe, including the following:

• 2001 – Salmonella Poona, 46 cases (including 2 deaths) in 14 states
• 2000 - Salmonella Poona, 43 cases in 7 states
• 1998 - Salmonella Oranienburg, 22 cases in Ontario, Canada
• 1997 - Salmonella Saphra, 24 cases in California
• 1991 - Salmonella Poona, >400 cases in 23 states and Canada
• 1990 - Salmonella Chester, 245 cases in 30 states

Cantaloupe and Salmonella have a long history together in causing massive outbreaks in the United States in Canada.  The CDC and FDA are well aware of the dangers associated with cantaloupe, but history seems to repeat itself over and over again.  2005 research addressed the three outbreaks from 2000-2002 to discover why Salmonella seems so attracted to cantaloupe.  The research showed that the Salmonella bacteria form what is called a “biofilm” which are colonies of the bacteria that covered in polymers.  Most sanitizers are ineffective at getting rid of the biofilm from the cantaloupe surface, especially water-based sanitizers.

Even if Agropecuaria Montelibano had washed the cantaloupe, there is still a very good chance that biofilms of Salmonella were still present on the cantaloupe surface.  Even after purchase of the melons and washing them in water, cutting into the melon could easily have spread the bacteria into the fruit that was on the surface.

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya ate a cantaloupe on public television as a display of his confidence in the safety of his country’s fruit.  The urge for U.S. consumers not to eat Honduran fruit has led to the laying off of almost 2000 workers and criticism that the warning from the FDA is tied to President Zelaya’s close relationship with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.  These allegations have been denied.

No matter what the motivations for the recall are, it is important that consumers are informed of the risks associated with the product. This outbreak is just another on a long list of cantaloupe-related Salmonella outbreaks.  Perhaps this outbreak will lead to more research so that cantaloupe outbreaks can be prevented in the future.

Click here to learn more about the current Salmonella Litchfield outbreak.

All information in this article was compiled using the following links:

http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?SEQ_NO_115=172325

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15083723

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5146a2.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/enterics/publications/439-Olson2007.pdf

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01808.html

An Arizona State Health Department report confirmed that cases of Salmonella in Yuma County were caused by beef tri-tip served at the Hospice of Yuma roping roundup, barbecue and western dance at the Yuma County Fairgrounds on February 2. According to the report, 2,100 pounds of the beef tri-tip were cooked at the event

The investigation by the Arizona Department of Health Services showed that 2,100 pounds of beef were cooked at the event and that 30 pounds of leftover meat were later donated to Crossroads Mission.

State health investigators found the outbreak strain of Salmonella on a meat slicer that Crossroads had submitted for testing.

19 people tested positive for Salmonella after eating the beef tri-tip either at the Hospice of Yuma event or at the Crossroads Mission between February 2-9, 2008.

According to the Arizona report, seven people were hospitalized due to the outbreak, but there were no fatalities.

The FDA has announced a Dole cantaloupe recall due to possible contamination with Salmonella Litchfield.  Dole Fresh Fruit Company, a subsidiary of Dole Food Company, Inc., has voluntarily recalled all Honduran Cantaloupes grown, packed and shipped by an independent third-party grower, Agropecuaria Montelibano of San Lorenzo Valle, Honduras.

This recall has been initiated based on current information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that fruit from this company appears to be associated with a Salmonella Litchfield outbreak in the United States and Canada, which has sickened over 50 people.

The cantaloupes were distributed for sale throughout the United States and parts of Canada in cardboard cartons with the brand "Dole" and "PRODUCT OF HONDURAS" printed on each of the side panels of the carton.

The FDA advises consumers who have recently bought cantaloupes to check with the place of purchase to determine if the fruit came from this specific grower and packer. If so, consumers should throw away the cantaloupes. If someone was sickened by the Dole cantaloupe, do not throw it away until you have had a consultation with a Salmonella lawyer.

Salmonella infection is never pleasant, but for most healthy people who are exposed to the bacteria suffer from gastroenteritis and recover.  For patients with AIDS, however, the same bacteria that result in uncomfortable food poisoning for most is often fatal.  Scientists from the UC Davis Medical School have discovered what mechanisms the HIV virus uses that allow for the lethal aspects of Salmonella.

According to Science Daily,

The results of the study, which will be published online by Nature Medicine March 23, revealed that viral infection of the intestine results in the depletion of a type of white blood cell, called Th-17, in the gut mucosa. This T helper lymphocyte produces IL-17, a cytokine or chemical messenger that plays a crucial role in the inflammatory response, recruiting other immune system cells to the site of infection.

In healthy patients, the bacterial infection is defeated in the gut, but with AIDS patients, this battle is lost and the infection spreads into the bloodstream.  When the Salmonella spreads to the bloodstream, it is known as NTS bacteremia.

The scientist tested their theory by examining rhesus macaques infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), a model for HIV.  The animals that were not infected with SIV were able to combat infection by producing Th-17 cells in huge amounts, whereas those with SIV were unable to do so.

The team of researchers also used mice that lacked the IL-17 receptor, an arm of the mucosal immune response, to confirm that IL-17 deficiency leads to increased systemic dissemination of Salmonella.

By narrowing down the mechanisms and pathways and understanding how Salmonella can become in fatal in the growing number of individuals who have AIDS, scientists will hopefully be able to curb the number of fatalities.  Future research will examine more specifically how healthy patients are able to get rid of Salmonella infection in the gut and apply what they learn to decrease the mortality rate from Salmonella poisoning in AIDS patients.

Tropifresh, Inc. of Los Angeles, CA has recalled Agrolibano’s Produce Brand whole Cantaloupes because they may be contaminated with  Salmonella Litchfield.

Whole cantaloupe fruits subject to this recall carry a “Mike’s Melons” sticker or may be unlabeled because this sticker has fallen off. Whole cantaloupe subject to this recall were sold in approximately 1100 pound cardboard bin containers and were distributed to wholesalers in Southern California, Pennsylvania and Canada.

No illnesses have been reported to Tropifresh, Inc. to date.  However, the recalled Tropifresh cantaloupe was supplied by Agropecuaria Montelibano, a Honduran grower and packer, to Tropifresh. This recall was initiated when the FDA  issued an import alert regarding cantaloupe from Agropecuaria Montelibano, because, based on current information, fruit from this company appears to be associated with a Salmonella Litchfield outbreak in the United States and Canada.  There are 50 laboratory-confirmed Salmonella Litchfield cases in the United States.  According to the CDC  the following states have reported laboratory-confirmed cases of Salmonella Litchfield:

Arizona (1 person), California (10), Colorado (1), Georgia (2), Illinois (1), Missouri (1), New Jersey (2), New Mexico (1), New York (5), Ohio (1), Oklahoma (2), Oregon (5), Tennessee (1), Utah (5), Washington (9), and Wisconsin (3).

We have been contacted by persons who were sickened in the Salmonella outbreak associated with Honduran cantaloupe grown and packed by Agropecuaria Montelibano.  For more information, please contact attorney Fred Pritzker toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or email Fred.

According to the Washington State Department of Health,cantaloupe from Honduras grown by Agropecuaria Montelibano has been implicated in dozens of Salmonella Litchfield illnesses across 16 states, including nine cases of salmonellosis in Washington.

The outbreak of Salmonella Litchfield illnesses has affected families in King, Lewis, Thurston, Pierce, and Spokane counties. Five of the nine Washington cases were hospitalized. There have been no deaths reported associated with the outbreak.

The FDA issued an import alert on Saturday for Agropecuaria Montelibano brand cantaloupe.  Although FDA recommended retailers and others not to sell this Honduran brand of cantaloupe, consumers should be wary and ask if the cantaloupe is this Honduran brand.  If you have cantaloupe at home and are not sure if it is this brand that may be contaminated with Salmonella Litchfield, contact the store where you purchased it.

The Washington State Department of Health is recommending:

Anyone that has cantaloupe under that brand name should not eat it; if it’s not possible to identify the brand or determine if it came from Honduras, cantaloupe should be thrown away.

It is thought that most melon contamination is on the rind and is transferred to the inside when a knife cuts through it. The state Department of Health recommends scrubbing the rinds of melons before cutting them up to eat. Rinse the rind with cool water and scrub the outside. Melon that has been cut-up should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours. Cantaloupe and other melons can grow bacteria on cut surfaces, so the cut melon should always be refrigerated and kept cool.

Symptoms of Salmonella Litchfield illness (salmonelllosis) include severe diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, fever, chills, abdominal discomfort, and occasionally vomiting. The symptoms generally appear one to three days after exposure. Salmonellosis can be very serious for the young or elderly. Anyone with serious symptoms should consult a health care provider.

The 2008 International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases discussed the growing number of foodborne illnesses related to vegetables, mainly leafy greens. It has been thought that the increase of leafy greens in the average American’s diet has led to the increase in disease related to those foods; however, data analyzed at the conference suggests something entirely different.

Michael Lynch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said, according to EurekAlert!,

“During the 1986-1995 period U.S. leafy green consumption increased 17% from the previous decade. During the same period, the proportion of all foodborne disease outbreaks due to leafy greens increased 60%. Likewise during 1996-2005 leafy green consumption increased 9% and leafy green-associated outbreaks increased 39%,” says Lynch.

Outbreaks recently have been located in E. coli contaminated spinach and lettuce and other various greens. Only 9% of all outbreaks related to leafy were greens, however, were due to E. coli. Salmonella was responsible for 10% of outbreaks, but the major contributor, norovirus, accounted for 60% of leafy green outbreaks.

Although the data shows that the increase of foodborne outbreaks related to leafy greens is not caused solely by the increased consumption of that type of food, researchers and officials still cannot account for the increase.

“The proportion of outbreaks due to leafy greens has increased beyond what can be explained by increased consumption. Contamination can occur anywhere along the chain from the farm to the table. Efforts by local, state and federal agencies to control leafy green outbreaks should span from the point of harvest to the point of preparation,” says Lynch.

The California Department of Public Health has warned consumers not to eat alfalfa sprouts manufactured by Salad Cosmo and J.H. Caldwell and Sons due to possible Salmonella contamination.  Routine testing discovered the possible contamination and the companies have voluntarily recalled their products.

According to CDPH,

Salad Cosmo USA Corp. of Dixon, Calif., has recalled Salad Cosmo Alfalfa Sprouts distributed to retail stores, including SaveMart Supermarket and wholesale distributors throughout California and Washington.  

The Salad Cosmorecalled alfalfa sprouts are packaged in 2.5-ounce plastic containers with white and green labels and clear 1-pound bags with blue labeling.  Both packages are labeled Salad Cosmo Alfalfa Sprouts. The products have “Use By” codes: 0219, 0220, 0221, 0222, 0223, 0224, 0226, 0227, 0228, 0229, 0302 and 0303.  The codes are located on the front label of the 2.5-ounce packages and on the left side of the 1-pound bags near the product name.

J.H. Caldwell and Sons Inc. of Maywood, Calif., has recalled Always Fresh and Alfa One alfalfa sprouts distributed to wholesale distributors and retail grocery stores in California, including Beach Market, KV Mart and Superior Warehouse, and to Trader Joes grocery stores in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.  

The J.H. Caldwell and Sons recalled alfalfa sprouts are labeled Always Fresh and Alfa One. The products are packaged in 4 ounce  and 5 ounce containers and in plastic bags.  The recalled product codes are 202182, 202192, 202202, 202212, 202222, 202232, 202242, 202252, 202262 and 202272.  The code is printed on the side of the containers and on the back of the plastic bag.

Alfalfa sprouts are especially dangerous when it comes to bacterial contamination because optimal conditions for growing the sprouts also allows for rapid bacterial growth. Because sprouts are also most often eaten raw, consumers are at greater risk to contracting infections from the bacteria, in this case Salmonella.  No illnesses have been reported due to these recalls.

Health officials from the Yuma County Health District (Arizona) have issued a warning concerning a contamination of Salmonella in beef tri-tip cuts.  According to the Yuma Sun,

Becky Brooks, director of the Yuma County Health District, is urging anyone who took home some of the meat from the Hospice of Yuma roping roundup, barbecue and western dance at the Yuma County Fairgrounds to dispose of it.

Leftover meat from the event was also donated to the Crossroads Mission. An investigation was launched after the Yuma Regional Medical Center, the mission, and other individuals notified the health department of 92 cases of gastrointestinal illness. The health department tested 20 individuals, 10 of which tested positive for Salmonella, the other 10 still pending.

The International Association for Food Protection has released a series of presentations dealing with a growing concern among the frozen food industry to address the risks of microwavable foods.  Frozen foods have been the target of many recent foodborne illness outbreaks, including the Jeno’s and Totino’s frozen pizza E. coli outbreak and the Banquet Pot Pie Salmonella outbreak.

At the forefront of addressing the issue of microwavable foods is the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI), which has undertaken various measures to eliminate risks associated with frozen foods.  (Lawsuit prevention is most likely the reason for the AFFIs renewed interest in educating consumers about microwave safety.  Interestingly, food manufacturers commonly defend foodborne illness claims by arguing that it was the consumer's fault for not cooking the product correctly.)

AFFI has developed a guide entitled “Cooking with Microwave Ovens, Nutrition and Food Safety Considerations” which offers consumers ways to prepare nutritious meals with a microwave oven.  AFFI has also been working with microwave manufacturers and various organizations to develop better labeling for microwavable products to account for various power ratings and options on the ovens.

Not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) foods pose one of the biggest concerns to safe microwaving, because if not cooked properly, they are not completely safe to consume and may contain foodborne pathogens.  A group from the Grocery Manufacturers Association has developed guidelines to validate cooking instructions on NRTE foods to make sure that when cooked following the instructions, the food is safe to eat.

The greatest concern about providing the safest cooking instructions revolves around issues with microwave technology itself, and its incapacity to provide uniform heating throughout food.  Uneven cooking allows for hot and cold spots within the food.  It also allows for the failure to inactivate certain pathogens in the food.  Most research shows that heating in microwaves is the primary mode for the inactivation of pathogens, so it is quite important to solve the problem of uneven cooking.

The presentations address a variety of areas that affect uneven heating:

• Non-uniform distribution of dipolar molecules and ionic materials within the food.

• Differences in microwave absorption of frozen/thawed areas.

• Product/component edge heating effects.

• Areas of high and low microwave field strength within the oven cavity and product.

• Different food component and thermal properties.

There are many ways to improve the safety of microwavable products, and doing so will greatly reduce the risk of outbreak of foodborne illnesses related to these products.  As is shown, there is much research and thought going into the betterment of these products to ensure safer products for consumers to prepare.

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has recently undergone significant changes in testing and policy to reduce the threat of foodborne illnesses caused by Salmonella. The CDC reported in 2006 that Salmonella was responsible for 38.6% of human foodborne illnesses, the most common among any pathogens. 2006 was also when FSIS introduced a new initiative to combat the presence of Salmonella in raw meat and poultry by categorizing production establishments based on their rates of Salmonella according to current standards.

Categories are divided as follows, according to an FSIS news release:

Category 2 establishments are those with sample set results above half but not exceeding the current standard for one or both of their most recent sample sets and Category 3 are those that are exceeding the current standards. Category 1 establishments have the lowest Salmonella rates of the three categories with sample set results at or below half of the current standards.

Results from the verification sample set results from Categories 2 and 3 will be posted on the FSIS web site on March 28, 2008. The third quarter report from 2007 saw a significant change in the occurrence of Salmonella since the first quarter of 2007.  According the release:

Eighty-four percent of turkey slaughter establishments are now Category 1, the other 16 percent are in Category 2. These numbers represent significant improvement from the first quarter of 2007 where 53 percent of establishments were in Category 1, 38 percent in Category 2 and three percent at Category 3. For broilers, the percentage of establishments in Category 1 is 73 percent and the percentage of establishments in Category 2 is 23 percent. This figure is up by ten percent from the first quarter of 2007. This is compared with only 35.5 percent of broiler establishments performing in Category 1 after the first quarter of 2006.

Not only has FSIS been collecting thorough data on the progress of establishments in controlling the presence of Salmonella, but they have also developed the Salmonella Initiative Program which allows Category 1 establishments to utilize new procedures, equipment, and processing techniques to further improve the control Salmonella control.  The establishments who choose to take part in program collect samples every shift which are sent to FSIS for analysis so that even more data can be collected. 

FSIS is also focusing more on the large establishments that produce most raw beef rather than all of the smaller establishments that produce relatively small amounts of the nation’s raw ground beef supply. FSIS is also making sure that all sub-groups of establishments (i.e. all ratite or religious-exempt operations) are identified and sampled.  This data from all sub-groups is collected and compared to data from the CDC’s PulseNet to discover more information on what products under FSIS jurisdiction are causing foodborne illness.

A relatively rare strain of Salmonella has been linked to the consumption of raw fish and raw ahi on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. About 30 cases have been confirmed since October and a few other cases were reported on the mainland U.S.

The strain of Salmonella responsible is known as Paratyphi B.  Dr. Paul Effler, a state epidemiologist, states that the rarity of the strain “doesn’t necessarily mean it’s serious.  It’s just more uncommon.” According to the Honolulu Star Bulletin,

Hawaii has about 300 cases of salmonella food poisoning from various strains every year, Okubo (Janice Okubo, state Health Department spokeswoman) said. There were 330 last year and 265 in 2006. Usually, only about 10 cases of Paratyphi B occur annually, she said.

Five people in Hawaii were hospitalized and have all since recovered.  Genetic fingerprinting of the strain also connected the cases in Hawaii with two cases in Colorado and a case in California, all of which were related to eating raw fish.

As food safety lawyers, we know that foodborne illnesses can lead to serious health problems that may not manifest themselves until months or years after a person first becomes ill. That is why compensation packages for victims of foodborne outbreaks need to include amounts for future medical expenses and future pain and suffering. 

Delayed health consequences of foodborne illnesses are discussed in one of today's AP stories, “Food Poisoning Can Be Long-Term Problem”:   

It's a dirty little secret of food poisoning: E. coli and certain other foodborne illnesses can sometimes trigger serious health problems months or years after patients survived that initial bout. Scientists only now are unraveling a legacy that has largely gone unnoticed.

What they've spotted so far is troubling. In interviews with The Associated Press, they described high blood pressure, kidney damage, even full kidney failure striking 10 to 20 years later in people who survived severe E. coli infection as children, arthritis after a bout of salmonella or shigella, and a mysterious paralysis that can attack people who just had mild symptoms of campylobacter.

In an effort to document and study some of these health affects, S.T.O.P. (Safe Tables Our Priority) is creating a national registry of foodborne illness survivors with long-term health problems, according to AP. The story quotes Donna Rosenbaum, Executive Director of S.T.O.P., "We're drastically underestimating the burden on society that foodborne illnesses represent."

The AP story discusses some of the long-term health consequences of an E. coli infection that has led to the development of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS):

About 10 percent of E. coli sufferers develop a life-threatening complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, where their kidneys and other organs fail.

Ten to 20 years after they recover, between 30 percent and half of HUS survivors will have some kidney-caused problem, says Dr. Andrew Pavia, the university's pediatric infectious diseases chief. That includes high blood pressure caused by scarred kidneys, slowly failing kidneys, even end-stage kidney failure that requires dialysis.

The story also discusses how many of the nations Guillain-Barre cases are associated with previous Campylobacter infections:

About 1 in 1,000 sufferers of campylobacter, a diarrhea-causing infection spread by raw poultry, develop far more serious Guillain-Barre syndrome a month or so later. Their body attacks their nerves, causing paralysis that usually requires intensive care and a ventilator to breathe. About a third of the nation's Guillain-Barre cases have been linked to previous campylobacter, even if the diarrhea was very mild, and they typically suffer a more severe case than patients who never had food poisoning.

The story points out the connection between reactive arthritis and Salmonella, Shigella and Yersinia:

A small number of people develop what's called reactive arthritis six months or longer after a bout of salmonella. It causes joint pain, eye inflammation, sometimes painful urination, and can lead to chronic arthritis. Certain strains of shigella and yersinia bacteria, far more common abroad than in the U.S., trigger this reactive arthritis, too.

Health officials from Yellowstone County Montana report an infection of Salmonella among several persons which seems to be related to cases reported in Texas and Pennsylvania, according to KULR8. The connection between the cases is currently unknown, but specialists from the Yellowstone County Health Department are working to find how they are related.

The cases in Montana involve the same strain of Salmonella found in Texas and Pennsylvania. Officials in all three states are conducting patient interviews to find any possible connection.  Genetic fingerprinting data on PulseNet alerted health officials to the connection.

Pritzker | Ruohonen, a leading foodborne illness litigation law firm, is investigating cases of Salmonella.  The firm has a national reputation and has recovered millions for victims of foodborne illness.  To contact the firm, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm's free case consultation form.

A few weeks ago, public health officials in Arizona, California, and other western states reported dozens of multi-drug resistant Salmonella infections that had the same "genetic fingerprint" detected through the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention's PulseNet system. However, their epidemiological investigation had not led them to a specific food source, according to an earlier report in the Arizona Republic.

But now 38 illnesses appear to be linked to fresh ground beef products contaminated with multi-drug resistant Salmonella Newport, according to a public health alert just issued by the US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The FSIS said the contaminated meat may have been ground and sold at Safeway supermarkets in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and New Mexico between Sept. 19 and Nov. 5, 2007.

The Salmonella outbreak has sickened 16 people in Arizona, 18 in California, 1 in Idaho, and 3 in Nevada, according to the FSIS alert. No details are available yet on the number of people who were hospitalized with serious infections.

According to the FSIS alert:

"This particular strain of Salmonella is resistant to many commonly prescribed drugs, which can increase the risk of hospitalization or possible treatment failure in infected individuals."

The FSIS said it wasn't able to identify specific establishments, lots, and products that would be targets of a recall. Also, the FSIS said it has no reason to believe that the products are still available to consumers.

This isn't the first time people have gotten sick from eating ground beef that has been contaminated with multi-drug resistant Salmonella Newport. In early 2002, 47 people in five eastern states developed infections with the same strain after eating ground beef, according to a report in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The organism was found in meat from the freezer of one of the patients.

People who develop symptoms of Salmonella infection after eating ground beef should seek medical care. If you or a family member is diagnosed with Salmonella poisoning (salmonellosis), contact a Salmonella lawyer at Pritzker | Ruohonen for a free consultation regarding your legal rights and remedies. To contact the firm, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm’s free case consultation form.