Ohio E. coli Outbreak Victim Hires Lawyer

Posted on May 11, 2010 by PritzkerLaw
An 18-year-old Ohio woman who nearly died from an E. coli infection she contracted from adulterated steak recalled by National Steak and Poultry has been retained by attorney Fred Pritzker.
The young woman from Ashtabula, Ohio, suffered E. coli O157:H7 poisoning and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) matched by public health investigation to an outbreak late last year. The illnesses were associated with National Steak and Poultry of Owasso, Oklahoma.
 
According to a press release today by law firm Pritzker Olsen, the victim was hospitalized for weeks and almost died. She was on dialysis for months and now suffers from decreased kidney function and hypertension.
 
She faces a lifetime of medical problems and medical bills that should have been prevented.
Because of the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in Ohio and other states, National Steak and Poultry recalled 248,000 pounds of beef products on December 24, 2009.
 
The recalled beef products, so-called “non-intact beef products,” were mechanically tenderized. This usually involves putting rougher cuts of beef through a machine that utilizes a set of needles or blades which pierce the meat and break down connective tissue.
 
Unfortunately, this process is also known to push E. coli O157:H7 on the surface of the raw meat into its center (so-called “translocation”).  If the meat is then served rare or medium rare, its center is not heated sufficiently to kill off the E. coli.

According to Fred Pritzker, this was at least the fourth E. coli O157:H7 outbreak associated with mechanically tenderized beef.

“Meat companies and restaurants don’t warn consumers about mechanical tenderization and the dangers that go with it,” Pritzker said.  “They don’t want consumers to be able to make informed choices because they’re afraid it will hurt sales.”

According to Pritzker, a small number of changes could go a long way to prevent future outbreaks:
  • Requiring producers to use microbiological decontamination technologies on meat products before mechanical tenderization.
  • Requiring labeling changes that alert consumers to the existence of and dangers associated with mechanical tenderization.
  • Creating and mandating public outreach programs alerting consumers to this practice.
Food safety attorney Fred Pritzker represents E. coli victims nationwide. He can be reached at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or by completing the contact form on the side of this Web page.  His offices are in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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Steak E. coli Recall Hits Applebees Olive Garden

Posted on January 7, 2010 by PritzkerLaw

 Applebee's was one of at least five restaurant chains affected by the December 24th recall of 248,000 pounds of steak and other beef products potentially contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, a spokeswoman for Applebee's told Nation's Restaurant News. 

“As a customer of NSP (National Steak and Poultry) we took immediate action when learning of this recall,'' Applebee's spokeswoman Nancy Mays said.

The trade publication also is quoting an official from Darden restaurants saying that the Olive Garden chain was similarly a customer affected by the National Steak and Poultry E. coli recall. 

California-based Applebee's has more than 2000 locations nationwide, but National Steak and Poultry omitted Applebee's and Olive Garden in its official announcement of the potential contamination. The problem at the company's Owasso, Oklahoma, plant has been tied by state and federal health investigators to an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 that has sickened at least 21 people in 16 states, including nine patients hospitalized and one stricken with life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).

The CDC has said in interviews that E. coli cases have been confirmed in California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Washington.

The recall announcement on December 24th said the steak E. coli recall primarily affected only three restaurant chains: Moe's Southwest Grill, Carino's Italian and KRM restaurants, parent of 54th Street Grill and Bar restaurants. That lack of complete disclosure was not corrected by USDA, even though it was an announcement that the agency issued.

Neither the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nor the USDA has clarified which restaurants received meat recalled for potential contamination in this outbreak. The USDA has said quietly that it is prohibited from publishing such lists when it comes to restaurants. Meanwhile, it is a matter of urgency for the agency to name retail grocery chains when there is a similarly high-risk, pathogen-related recall related to meat destined for home consumption.

The confusion and lack of transparency has angered the food safety community, including lawyer Fred Pritzker, whose firm in Minneapolis was the first food safety organization in the country to announce that health investigators were probing an E. coli outbreak associated with mechanically tenderized steak sold at restaurants.

Pritzker said the information blackout amounts to a gag order on USDA and must be lifted to infuse greater transparency into the supply chain that we all rely on for our nutrition. “People have a right to know if the steak they ate at a restaurant was potentially laced with bacteria that could make them seriously ill or even kill them,”  he said.

If you or a loved one has information on this outbreak or questions about restaurant liability for E. coli illnesses, contact an E. coli lawyer at Pritzker Olsen at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete our free consultation form on the side of this Web page.

We are one of the few law firms in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation and we have collected millions for our clients. We have been in touch with one of the victims of this outbreak and are accepting new cases. This outbreak could have been prevented and our firm actively supports a variety of efforts to wipe out food poisoning through scientific innovation, best practices and stronger government regulation.

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Fight Continues for a Complete List of Restaurant Steak E coli Recipients

Posted on December 29, 2009 by PritzkerLaw

National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys is continuing to fight for the release of a detailed and complete accounting of which restaurants in the United States received beef products from National Steak and Poultry that were potentially contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

The Oklahoma meat processor recently recalled 248,000 pounds of steak, beef tips, medallions, boneless trim and other beef products after health officials determined there was an “association” between blade tenderized steaks and an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in six states. Days later the company announced that the recalled meat was sold primarily to three companies with restaurants in Michigan, Iowa, Colorado, South Dakota, Kansas and Washington -- the same six states that are home to the steak E. coli outbreak.

The three named recipients are Moe’s Southwest Grill, Carino’s Italian Grill and KRM restaurants, parent company of the 54th Street Grill & Bar chain.

As we have stated previously, announcing a recall without promptly identifying the public purveyors of the adulterated product is ludicrous and unsafe. It’s the equivalent of announcing a recall of flammable pajamas without identifying the brand and where they were sold. Consumers cannot protect themselves if they have no information about the source that threatens their safety. This is a failure of regulation and food ethics and it raises questions about whether our food safety agencies are more interested in protecting producers of unsafe products or safeguarding the public’s health.

But this may be only part of the story. National Steak and Poultry claims the implicated steaks were primarily sold to only three restaurant companies. Yet the company states on its web site that “As beef and poultry marination innovators since 1980, NSP has proved the popularity and profitability of our marinated, pre-portioned beef and poultry – both cooked and fresh frozen – at some of America’s best known chains.”

What about those chains? What about the tons of similar products the company sells to companies far bigger and more familiar than Moe’s, Carino’s and KRM restaurants? Did “some of America’s best known chains” also receive adulterated product from NSP? If so, why haven’t those companies been named?

Let’s hope the implicated product is limited to those three companies. Meanwhile, USDA has yet to publish the retail distribution list for this outbreak and recall -- a disclosure that is customary in major events. Why not this one? An official with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been quoted by the Tulsa World newspaper as saying at least 19 people have been sickened.

If you have information about this outbreak or wish to speak to an E. coli lawyer about a victim's legal rights, call Pritzker Olsen at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete our contact and information form on the side of this web page. We were the first food safety organization to publicly announce that officials were investigating an E. coli outbreak linked to mechanically tenderized steaks and we have been in contact with at least one potential victim.

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E coli Recall Steaks Went to Moes, Carinos, KRM restaurants in CO MI KS IA SD WA

Posted on December 28, 2009 by PritzkerLaw

Contrary to an earlier announcement by USDA that said an E. coli steak recall included distribution to restaurants "nationwide,'' the meat processor involved in the recall said Monday that the recall is limited to beef products sold primarily to the Moe’s, Carino’s Italian Grill, and KRM restaurants in six states.

The supplier -- National Steak and Poultry -- said the six states (Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota and Washington) are the same states were the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has determined there is an outbreak of E. coli infections associated with contaminated steaks that were blade tenderized prior to further processing. The agency has not said how many people have been sickened, but the outbreak is considered active and under investigation.

If you or a loved one has symptoms of E. coli O157:H7 infection, contact a physician immediately. For answers to legal questions about this outbreak, contact Pritzker Olsen Attorneys at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete our contact and information form on the side of this web page. AnE. coli lawyer with experience in this highly technical area of law will provide you with a free case consultation. If we agree to take your case, you will owe us nothing until you win compensation. 

Our national food safety law firm was the first organization to publicly announce that health officials were investigating a multi-state outbreak of E. coli related to mechanically tenderized steak. National Steak and Poultry now says Moe's, Carino's and KRM restaurants were the primary recipients of 248,000 pounds of steaks recalled for possible E. coli contamination.

Under federal law that was created in 1999, non-intact beef that is mechanically tenderized is “adulterated” if it is contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.  This means that someone who contracts an E. coli infection from a non-intact steak product can sue the manufacturer of that steak product and the restaurant where it was served. The  victim does not have to prove negligence on anyone’s part to recover medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering and other damages under strict liability laws.

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USDA's Steak E coli Recall Is Useless Without Restaurant Names

Posted on December 26, 2009 by PritzkerLaw

In a ground-breaking post that appeared on this web site a full week before the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced a recall of  contaminated beef produced by National Steak and Poultry company, we were the first to forewarn the public of a blade-tenderized steak E. coli outbreak related to restaurants.

The NSP recall December 24th of 248,000 pounds of boneless steaks in connection with a cluster of  E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in six states is proof of the outbreak, but the government's recall notice is essentially useless since it fails to identify the restaurants at which the adulterated steaks were served. Without confirmation of that crucial information, the millions of consumers who eat steak at U.S. restaurants are left with no practical information about whether they were exposed to  this potentially deadly pathogen.

E. coli O157:H7 is an organism that produces a powerful toxin in humans, initially making them sick with extremely painful diarrhea that is often bloody. In more than 5 percent of cases, infections lead to a life-threatening condition known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is the leading cause of kidney failure in children. Another disease associated with E. coli O157:H7 is thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). 

To any person of reasonable intelligence, the decision to withhold restaurant names smacks of favoritism: Protecting the “good name” of national restaurant chains at the expense of vulnerable people who eat at them. Our law firm calls upon FSIS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to end their silence on this outbreak and promptly inform the American public of all the names of all the restaurants at which this recalled beef was served. 
The E. coli steak recall applies to beef packaged by Oklahoma-based National Steak and Poultry on October 12, 13, 14 and 21 and shipped to restaurants nationwide. Illnesses associated with blade-tenderized steak have been confirmed in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota and Washington, but more states could be added to the outbreak before it is officially over.
 
Federal health officials are warning people with symptoms of E. coli O157:H7 to immediately see a physician. For legal information about this oubreak and to receive a free case consultation, call Pritzker Olsen at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete the contact and information form on the side of this web site.
 
As acknowledged by Dr. Doug Powell in his excellent food safety column known as Barfblog, our firm has been involved in its own investigation of the NSP steak E. coli outbreak.  We are one of the few law firms in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation and we have collected tens of millions of dollars for victims while also actively supporting efforts to prevent dangerous contamination of food.
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Restaurant Steak E coli Outbreak Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota, Washington

Posted on December 25, 2009 by PritzkerLaw

 A multi-state restaurant steak E. coli outbreak has been associated with steaks distributed in restaurants nationwide made by National Steak and Poultry of Owasso, Oklahoma.

The company on Thursday recalled 248,000 pounds of steak products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, a virulent pathogen that can lead to life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) ,

The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced in a news release that it has been investigating the problem with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with state health officials, and has determined there is an association between blade-tenderized, non-intact steaks and a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota and Washington.

FSIS said National Steak and Poultry packaged the recalled steaks on October 12, 13, 14 and 21 and shipped them to restaurants nationwide. The news release did not identify the restaurants, nor did it say how many people have been infected with the outbreak strain of HUS E. coli from steak.

Anyone with signs of illness should immediately see a physician. For answers to legal questions, call national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen at 1-888-377-8900 or by completing our online contact and information form on the side of this web page. We have been investigating this outbreak for more than a week and already have been contacted by at least one potential victim.

Our law firm is involved in practically all major outbreaks of foodborne illness and we have recovered tens of millions of dollars for clients, including patients who have contracted E. coli O157:H7 from eating mechanically tenderized steak served by national restaurant chains.

In these cases, victims have special rights under the law because it is illegal to sell non-intact cuts of beef -- those that have been pierced with blade tenderizers or injected with flavoring such as brine -- if the meat is contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. Studies have shown the processes can drive surface E. coli that is normally killed in the grilling process into the center of the cut, where it can survive if the steak is served rare or medium rare (under 140 degrees Fahrenheit).

For a complete view of the National Steak and Poultry recall list, click here.

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