Food Poisoning Law Blog

Startling new research contributes more information about the effectiveness of antibiotics to kill bacteria, specifically in livestock.  Researchers from Harvard were trying to find microbes that could be used to convert waste into biofuels when they discovered that bacteria covered in antibiotics were not only unaffected by the drugs, but actually consumed them.

According to Discover, the researchers gathered 11 soil samples that had varying levels of man-made antibiotics to see if more drug-consuming bacteria could be found. They found that in all samples, bacteria, including Shigella and E. coli, existed that lived entirely off of the consumption of antibiotics. Some of the bacteria were thriving in conditions that contained more that 100 times the normal dose of antibiotics given to humans and more than 50 times the amount necessary to consider a bacterium resistant.

This research not only adds fuel to the fiery debate over the use of antibiotics, but suggests that bacteria resistance isn’t the only problem.  If bacteria actually eat the drugs and the genes from these bacteria spread into pathogenic bacteria, standard treatments could become entirely ineffective.

Officials from the Peoria (IL) City/County Health Department report a spike in the number of shigellosis cases.  Caused by the Shigella bacteria, shigellosis affects the intestinal tract and can normally be prevented by proper hand washing.

According to Peoria’s Journal Star,

Randall McClallen, communicable disease coordinator, said the department fields between 20 to 30 reported cases each year. In the past three to four months, however, about 60 cases have been reported, though not all of the cases have been confirmed. So far, no definite connection has been found between the cases.

Shigellosis is usually by spread by persons with the disease when they do not properly wash their hands and come in contact with others.  The infection is also spread by contaminated food. Symptoms of infection include bloody diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and stomach cramps.

Pritzker | Ruohonen has successfully represented people sickened by Shigella. For a free consultation regarding legal representation, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm's free case consultation form.

Article written by Fred Pritzker

We represent people injured by unsafe food products, usually containing foodborne pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7, Listeria, Salmonella, Shigella, or Hepatitis A.

As part of our service to the public, we’re asked to evaluate potential foodborne illness cases. Here is some information about how food safety lawyers prove foodborne illness cases.

In order to prove a case of foodborne illness, the injured person has to prove the following three elements: 1) the food product was defective, 2) the defect caused illness, and, 3) the person suffered damage as a result of that defect.

A food product is defective, according to the definition used in many states, “if an ordinary consumer would not reasonably expect the food product to contain the substance that caused the harm.”

Since food consumers do not expect the food they eat to contain injurious or lethal pathogens, satisfying the first element of foodborne illness proof is usually not difficult.

Some states, however, do not follow the “consumer expectation” test and require proof of food “adulteration.” That term is usually defined as follows:

• It contains an added poisonous or deleterious substance that may make the food injurious to health, or that is not necessary for food production.
• It contains enough of a poisonous or deleterious substance (added or not) to make the food normally injurious to health.
• It contains any added substance that is considered “unsafe” under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, or that is present at levels considered “unsafe” under the federal act. The federal Food and Drug Administration publishes a list of substances “generally recognized as safe” (the GRAS list), but a substance is not necessarily considered “unsafe” merely because it is not included on the GRAS list.
• It contains any diseased, contaminated, filthy, putrid or decomposed substance or is otherwise unfit for food.
• It has been produced, prepared, packed, or held under unsanitary conditions that may have caused it to become contaminated, diseased, unwholesome or injurious to health.
• It is the product of a diseased animal, or an animal that died other than by slaughter.
• Its packaging contains any poisonous or deleterious substance that may make the food injurious to health.
• The seller misrepresents the food contents, directly or by implication.

As a general rule, any food contaminated with a foodborne pathogen (e.g. E. coli O157:H7, Shigella, Listeria, Salmonella, etc.) is considered adulterated.

In foodborne illness litigation, the much more difficult element of proof is “causation”: Is the suspected food product the actual cause of the victim’s illness?

In order to prove causation, the first step is to identify the actual foodborne pathogen responsible for the victim’s symptoms. Put another way, identifying foodborne illness symptoms is not enough; in most cases, one has to prove the specific foodborne pathogen responsible for a client’s symptoms. The following example illustrates the point.

If you were injured in a car accident and wanted to sue the driver responsible for the crash, you would have to prove more than just that a car hit you. You would need to identify the make, model, color, year and serial number of the car as well as the vehicle’s owner. So it is with foodborne pathogens. You first have to nail down the specific foodborne pathogen responsible for your illness. This is done through testing, usually of the victim’s stool, blood or other bodily fluids. Thus, when you are sick enough to require medical treatment, insist that the doctor order appropriate tests to identify the particular foodborne pathogen responsible for your symptoms. This should ideally be done before antibiotics are prescribed. That’s because antibiotics may often kill off the pathogen before it can be identified.

Knowing the exact pathogen responsible for your symptoms also helps us to know when you likely consumed the food that caused your illness. Here’s how: all foodborne pathogens have incubation periods, the time from when you ate the food to the time when your symptoms first appear. By knowing when you ate the food we have a better idea of where it came from.

Foodborne pathogens have different incubation periods – from hours to weeks. For example, in the case of E. coli O157:H7 the incubation period is two to eight days (average of 3-4). Thus, if your testing confirms you have E. coli O157:H7, the food that caused it was probably eaten days, not hours, before your symptoms first appeared.  On the other hand, the incubation period for Hepatitis A is an average of one month.

Pritzker Ruohonen is investigating the Shigella outbreak associated with the Souplantation restaurant on Lake Avenue in Pasadena, California.  At least 30 people who ate at the restaurant from Sunday, July 22 through Tuesday, July 24 have reported illness. Health officials have not determined the source of the outbreak.  In a Shigella outbreak linked to a restaurant, the source can be an infected food handler who has not used good hygiene—the food handler’s feces contaminate food that is then served to restaurant customers.  The source may also be food or water that has been contaminated in other ways. 

In many outbreaks, health officials are not able to conclusively determine the source of the outbreak.  Even if health officials are not able to pinpoint a source of an outbreak associated with a restaurant, victims of the outbreak have a claim against the restaurant. If you have questions about a restaurant's  liability for damages in a Shigella outbreak, please contact Pritzker | Ruohonen for a free consultation, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm’s online consultation form. 

The CDC released a report Thursday on data collected on foodborne illness levels in the United States collected by the agency's Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet).  Campylobacter, Listeria, Shigella and Yersinia (plague) levels have all declined since baseline data was collected from 1996-1998.

FoodNet data showed there has been little change in the number of Salmonella cases while the progress made in 2003 and 2004 reduction of E. coli O157 has been lost.   Vibrio infections, which are  usually related to the consumption of raw shellfish, have increased to the highest level since FoodNet began surveillance.

Dr. Julie Gerberding, the CDC director, had this to say about the results of the study:

As recent outbreaks have shown, too many people in the United States are getting sick each year from foodborne illnesses.  For instance, the outbreaks involving tomatoes, lettuce and spinach underscore the need to more effectively prevent contamination of produce.  We're also working to strengthen our ability to quickly detect and identify foodborne illnesses.  We know the faster we can detect an outbreak, the faster we can take actions that will help protect people.

Officials are unsure why incidences of E. coli O157 have increased, but believe it may be associated with the rise in number of infections cause by foods such as spinach and peanut butter which previously were not associated to infections. 

Fred Pritzker is a nationally leading food poisoning attorney from Minnesota that has recovered millions of dollars for victims of food poisoning, including a recent settlement for $6,425,000.  To contact Pritzker | Ruohonen, please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or e-mail Fred Pritzker

There has been a large increase in the number of shigellosis (Shigella infection) cases in Broward County, Florida so far this year.   Last year at this time there were only 8 incidences, but this year the number of infections has risen to 52.  Officials are unsure of the source.

County Health Department Officials are urging parents, schools, and daycare centers to take precautions.  If a child has symptoms of Shigella such as severe, possibly bloody diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps, a health care provider should be contacted.

Shigella can spread from person to person through any physical contact, so thorough handwashing is recommended as the best way to prevent Shigella infection.  

For valuable information on shigellosis, see www.pritzkerlaw.com/shigella.  Lawyer Fred Pritzker, one of the nation's leading attorneys in the field of foodborne illness, recently obtained the largest recovery for a Shigella case in Minnesota.  To contact Fred Pritzker or another lawyer at Pritzker | Ruohonen, call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or e-mail Fred Pritzker at fhp@pritzkerlaw.com. 

Ten people in the San Diego area have reported symptoms of Shigella poisoning (shigellosis), which include fever, watery or bloody diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. San Diego County health officials have linked the ten illnesses to Filibertos restaurant in San Diego, California. People may have been exposed to Shigella by eating at the establishment between Aug. 24 and Aug. 28. The restaurant was closed by San Diego County health officials on Thursday, August 31, and will remain closed until all violations have been addressed.

Rolette County, North Dakota, reported 13 confirmed cases of shigellosis (Shigella infection) in July 2006. All but one are children under 18, and 6 people were hospitalized. 5 additional people have reported symptoms of shigellosis, which are diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. The diarrhea is often bloody.

Health officials have not found the source of the Shigella bacteria that is behind the shigellosis outbreak. As the investigation continues, the North Dakota Department of Health is urging residents of Rolette County to take measures to prevent shigellosis.

Shigellosis is the foodborne illness associated with a Shigella infection and is transmitted by the fecal-oral route, which means that fecal matter from a person infected with Shigella bacteria finds its way into the mouth of another person. The best way to prevent shigellosis is careful handwashing with soap.

Two children who attend the Family and Children's Education Services (FACES) center in Brunswick, Georgia, have been diagnosed with shigellosis. The 320 students ages 3 to 5 who attend the FACES program in Brunswick, Georgia, are at risk for infection with the Shigella bacteria, which is the cause of shigellosis.

Health officials are still investigating, and parents who have children attending FACES in Brunswick, Georgia, are encouraged to watch for symptoms of shigellosis.

Shigellosis is caused by the Shigella bacteria. Once one is infected with the Shigella bacteria, symptoms may appear within a day. Symptoms of shigellosis are usually mild, but shigellosis may lead to severe illness in young children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

Most who are infected with Shigella develop diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps starting a day or two after they are exposed to the bacterium. The diarrhea is often bloody. Shigellosis usually resolves in 5 to 7 days. In some persons, especially young children and the elderly, the diarrhea can be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. A severe infection with high fever may also be associated with seizures in children less than 2 years old. Some persons who are infected may have no symptoms at all, but may still pass the Shigella bacteria to others.

Attorney Fred Pritzker has had years of food poisoning lawsuit experience. He obtained the largest Shigella recovery in Minnesota history and is currently lead attorney in a major food poisoning case involving victims from several states.