E. coli Filbert Illness Warning in Canada
An E. coli filbert recall that was extended to Canada by the same wholesaler who recalled the hazelnuts in the U.S. has been expanded by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency as officials continue to investigate a pair of cases of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses that match the outbreak strain in the United States.
The E. coli filbert outbreak has sickened at least seven Americans, three in Minnesota, three in Wisconsin and one in Michigan. Three of the seven were hospitalized and no one developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) -- a life-threatening condition that strikes up to 15 percent of people who become infected with E. coli O157:H7.
Canada's two cases are under investigation by the Public Health Agency of Canada to see if victims at in-shell filberts that are part of the recall. The recalled nuts sold by D. DeFranco and Sons of Los Angeles, California, were distributed in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and may have been distributed nationally.
As in the U.S., the recall in Canada involves bulk in-shell filberts and mixed nuts containing filberts that were repackaged by stores or sold in bulk bins. It also involves Cello-bagged Sunripe brand hazelnuts and mixed nuts containing hazelnuts with sell-by date of 6-30-11. The bulk nuts would have been purchased at stores beginning in mid-November. DeFranco's shipments of the filberts in question ended December 22.
E. coli traceback investigations are in progress to determine where in the food chain these filberts were contaminated by E. coli O157:H7, a human pathogen that is banned in the U.S. from ground beef. Hamburger is the most common carrier of the bacteria, but it also attaches to leafy green vegetables, other fresh produce, raw milk, cider, and other food. Oregon dominates U.S. filbert production and it is important in that state for growers to harvest the crop of nuts from the ground before the autumn rainy season. Experts speculate that the hazelnuts involved in the current outbreak came in contact with E. coli on the ground. The pathogenic microbe is expelled into the environment from cattle feces and the feces of other animals.
Families who have questions about a filbert E. coli lawsuit should contact an attorney for an explanation of how E. coli litigation works. Law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) has collected millions of dollars for victims of E. coli and has been representing victims around the country for many years. Our firm is one of the very few attorney groups in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation and our lawyers are actively involved in efforts to clean up the U.S. food supply.
