Personal Injury Law

What the Hell Does Listeria in Cheese have to do with God, Guns and Slavery at the Estrella Family Creamery?

By Bill Marler, Esq.

A few facts first: Listeria can cause fever, headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Healthy individuals may experience only short-term symptoms but those with weakened immune systems, including young children and frail or elderly people, are particularly at risk. Listeria infections can result in miscarriages or stillbirths among pregnant women. The most recent data suggest that about 2,500 illnesses and 500 deaths are attributed to listeriosis in the United States annually.  The incubation period (time between ingestion and the onset of symptoms) for Listeria ranges from three to 70 days and averages 21 days. A few more facts:

• On February 11, 2010, Estrella Family Creamery Recalls Red Darla Cheese Due to Possible Health Risks
• On February 17, 2010, Estrella Family Creamery Expands Recall Of Various Cheeses Because Of Possible Health Risk
• On March 5, 2010, Estrella Family Creamery Recalls Old Apple Tree Tomme Cheese Due to Possible Health Risks
• On September 4, 2010, FDA cautions consumers about Estrella Family Creamery cheeses - All Estrella cheeses put consumers at risk for Listeria monocytogenes

On October 22 Kelli Estrella posted, in part, on the Estrella Family Creamery website:

... Last night at about 5:30 three cars pulled into the yard with FDA and Federal Marshals, alarming our kids. They posted a seizure order that named all cheeses on the property. ...

On the 25th she posted, in part:

... Thinking about how terrible it is that in this great nation we can hardly get something as basic as a simple unadulterated glass of health giving milk. And of course that's not all the freedoms we're losing, can you imagine they're trying to take our guns away. The list goes on. ...

... Am I supposed to keep pouring my heart and soul labors into these cheeses when gestapo like people are allowed to come in here and interrogate me? Pollute my cheese caves with their cameras and their testing tools and just their presence? ...

... What's happening to us isn't just the result of some individual or agency that's greedy and immoral. This is part of what's already happening to our whole nation. …

... This is happening to us because we live in a nation that, as a whole, has rejected God's commandments. Check out the 10 commandments found in Deut. 5:6-21 if you don't know them. What part of "Do not kill" do we not understand? …

I think the question Ms Estrella is the correct one. Listeria can kill, and your products contain it. What part of "Do not kill" do YOU not understand?  And, no one is going to take your guns away.  However, we should take away your right to produce and sell contaminated products.  That is not slavery.  It is common sense.

Full post as published by Marler Blog on October 25, 2010 (boomark / email).