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Health Law

Food Poison Blog

Surveillance and analysis on food poison news and outbreaks.
By Marler Clark

Post Frequency: 17.6/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 12:57:03

Food Safety at 40,000 Feet and 10,000 Miles Later

Posted on November 14, 2010
I am finally sitting on a plane (an hour and a half late) heading home to Seattle from Atlanta nearly two weeks after leaving Seattle for Los Angeles and from there to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Shanghai, China and then to Savannah, Georgia. Tired is not quite the right word I feel and I'm not sure I can adequately express my desire to not see the inside of an airport or an airplane - for at least a week or so...

Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada report 37 E. coli cases linked to Bravo Cheese

Posted on November 14, 2010
The CDC has issued an alert to consumers and health professionals about an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in five states: Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. Thirty-seven persons infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 have been reported from five states since mid-October...

37 confirmed illnesses in cheese e coli outbreak; Arizona continues to be hardest hit

Posted on November 14, 2010
37 are now reported ill in five states in the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to Bravo Farms gouda cheese. Illnesses in the cheese E. coli outbreak have occurred in 5 states, with Arizona having most ill people at 19 cases. California has 3, Colorado 10, New Mexico 3, and Nevada 2...

More Listeria fears in Texas

Posted on November 14, 2010
Listeria has reared its ugly head in Texas again (now several weeks after the announcement of a listeria outbreak linked to Sangar celery that killed several people). Today, New Braunfels Smokehouse, from New Braunfels, Texas, recalled approximately 2,609 pounds of fully cooked, ready-to-eat smoked turkey breast products due to positive listeria test results in the meat...

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The cheese industry's black eye gets darker: Gorgonzola cheese also contaminated by E. coli O157:H7

Posted on November 11, 2010
Colorado health departments are apparently at it again, this time detecting E. coli O157:H7 bacteria in Mauri brand Gorgonzola cheese sold by Costco stores in the state. DPI Specialty Foods of Tualatin, Oregon has recalled the potentially contaminated lot of gorgonzola with sell by dates of 01/31/11 and 01/14/11...

Mad Cow Fears Sink US and South Korea Trade Deal

Posted on November 11, 2010
President Obama has failed to overcome obstacles to a free trade agreement with South Korea, as he and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak stumbled Thursday over disputes on American beef. US beef exports to South Korea have been restricted since 2003 amid an outbreak of mad cow disease, though the US still accounted for 37 percent of Korea's beef imports over the first nine months of the year...

West Virginia Dept. of Ag. gets grant to study E. coli in beef

Posted on November 10, 2010
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture has received a $220,000 grant to study the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in raw ground beef in the state. The one-year grant was provided through the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN), a joint venture of federal health, food and agricultural agencies, in cooperation with state and local laboratories throughout the country...

Bravo Farms Gouda Cheese E. coli Outbreak: 25 ill; possibly more

Posted on November 10, 2010
Neither the CDC nor any of the affected states has updated its illness count in the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to Bravo Farms gouda cheese, but they likely will soon. As of today, there are 25 confirmed E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in the outbreak, from California (1), Nevada (2), New Mexico (3) (including 2 children), Colorado (8), and Arizona (11)...

Cheese E. coli outbreak update: 33 confirmed illnesses in 5 states

Posted on November 10, 2010
The CDC just reported that the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to Bravo Farms Dutch Style Gouda Cheese has grown to 33 confirmed illnesses in 5 states. Arizona has 15 confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 in the cheese outbreak, while Colorado has 10...

Chinese Man Sentenced to Prison for Food Safety Activism

Posted on November 10, 2010
I was going to open the post wondering how many years Bill Marler would get for his activisim, but really, it is not a matter for tounge-in-cheek jests. There are reports today that a man who created a support group for victims of melamine poisoning in China has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for his efforts: Zhao Lianhai had pushed for greater official accountability and compensation for victims and their families after the 2008 scandal that shocked China...

Cheese E. coli illnesses in Douglas, Arapahoe, and Boulder Counties; lawsuit to be filed Monday

Posted on November 08, 2010
The State of Colorado and the health department that serves the Tri-County area have advised residents of Douglas, Arapahoe, and Boulder counties who purchased Bravo Farms Dutch Style Gouda Cheese at Costco not to eat the product. 8 residents of Douglas, Arapahoe, and Boulder counties have been sickened in the cheese E...

Orval Kent recalls products that contain cilantro

Posted on November 08, 2010
Orval Kent announced today that it is voluntarily recalling 23 products as a precautionary measure because the products may be contaminated with Salmonella. The Orval Kent products are being recalled because they contain fresh cilantro produced and distributed by EpicVeg, Inc...

Cheese E. coli lawsuit filed; is 60 days enough?

Posted on November 08, 2010
Today we filed suit on behalf of Annette Sutfin against Bravo Farms Cheese, LLC. Annette is an Arizona woman who is 1 of 25 people sickened by E. coli O157:H7 in an outbreak linked to Bravo Farms gouda cheese sold at Costco locations in at least 5 states...

Why does Colorado have so much E. coli?

Posted on November 08, 2010
It seems that every time a new E. coli outbreak hits the news, Colorado reports illnesses. Several major meatpacking plants and slaughterhouses are located there, but they are major producers and their products are distributed nationally; thus, residents of other states are just as likely, most of the time, to be sickened by contaminated meat produced there...

Raw-MIlk Cheese, Listeria, and the FDA

Posted on November 07, 2010
Cheese made with raw-milk has been drawing the wrong kind of attention lately. This past week, at least 25 E. coli O157:H7 infections in the Southwest have been linked to Bravo Farms Dutch Style Gouda cheese. Previously, the ongoing debate concerning raw-milk and raw dairy products had been stoked once again following a listeria incident at Estrella cheese in Washington state...

To age (sufficiently), or not to age (sufficiently): is 60 days enough?

Posted on November 06, 2010
Raw-milk based cheeses, like the gouda made by Bravo Farms that is currently linked to at least 25 E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada, and Colorado, must be aged for a minimum of 60 days. The requirement appears at Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 58...

21 sickened in Arizona and Colorado alone in cheese E. coli outbreak

Posted on November 06, 2010
One notable feature of the cheese E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that has sickened at least 25 in five southwestern states is that the strain of E. coli involved has never been seen before in the Pulsenet database, which is the national repository for DNA information used to track outbreaks of foodborne disease...

CDC update on cheese E. coli O157:H7 outbreak

Posted on November 06, 2010
At least 25 E. coli illnesses in residents of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and California have been linked to Bravo Farms Dutch Style Gouda Cheese sold or offered at Costco during the "cheese road show" between October 5 and November 1...

Maryland Continues to Investigate E. coli - Apple Cider Link

Posted on November 06, 2010
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene continues to investigate the link between E. coli O157:H7 infections and the consumption of apple cider from Westminster's Baugher's Orchard and Farm. According to the Carroll County Times: Frances Phillips, Deputy Secretary for Public Health from the DHMH, said the department has been notified of seven cases of a specific strain of E...

Marler Clark Attorney Colin Caywood Calls on Bravo Farms to Pay E. coli Victims' Medical Bills

Posted on November 05, 2010
Bravo Farms Dutch Style Gouda cheese is source of E. coli outbreak in 5 states. Public health officials and Costco announced yesterday that Gouda cheese sold at the wholesale chain has been identified as the source of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak. As many as 25 people in 5 states have been identified as part of the E...

Companies behaving badly: FDA has warned Baugher before about its processing of unpasteurized juices

Posted on November 05, 2010
A Westminster, Maryland company called Baugher Enterprise Inc has been linked to an outbreak of at least 7 E. coli O157:H7 illnesses associated with the consumption of unpasteurized apple cider. Three of the victims have been hospitalized...

E. coli foodpoisoning illnesses linked to two outbreaks associated with cheese and unpasteurized juice; dozens ill

Posted on November 05, 2010
Two separate E. coli outbreaks were announced today linked to a Costco cheese product and Baugher's unpasteurized apple cider from Maryland: Costco Dutch Style Gouda Cheese E. coli Outbreak: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention join Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco), in warning consumers not to consume Bravo Farms Dutch Style Gouda cheese (Costco item 40654), as this cheese may be associated with an outbreak of E...

Bad stretch for egg producers continues; Cal-Maine recalls more eggs based on positive Salmonella tests

Posted on November 05, 2010
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., one of the country's largest egg distributors, today learned from the FDA that one of its suppliers, Ohio Fresh Eggs, LLC, Croton, Ohio, had a routine environmental study sample that tested positive for Salmonella Enteritidis (SE)...

FDA, CDC, and Costco warn consumers to avoid Bravo Farms Dutch Style Gouda cheese Cheese may be related to outbreak of E.coli infections

Posted on November 04, 2010
Bravo Farms Dutch Style Gouda cheese, (Costco item 40654) offered for sale and in cheese sampling events at Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco) locations is preliminarily linked with an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention join Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco), in warning consumers not to consume Bravo Farms Dutch Style Gouda cheese (Costco item 40654), as this cheese may be associated with an outbreak of E...

Costco Cheese linked to two dozen E. coli cases in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and California

Posted on November 04, 2010
Arizona has confirmed 11 E. coli O157:H7 cases likely tied to cheese sold or tasted at Costco stores in October. Overall, more than two dozen cases of E. coli in five states, also including Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and California, are likely tied to such cheese, the Arizona Department of Health Services said in a news release...

Baugher's Apple Cider Linked to Seven E. coli Illnesses In Maryland

Posted on November 04, 2010
Officials said the potential association exists with the consumption of unpasteurized Baugher's apple cider. Maryland public health officials said a Westminster company has voluntarily recalled call of its apple cider because of its potential to contain the E...

Purdue Study: E. coli thrives in a plant's rhizosphere

Posted on November 03, 2010
The rhizosphere is the narrow region of soil that is directly influenced by root secretions and associated soil microorganisms. A new study by scientists at Purdue University found that E. coli bacteria thrive in this region, critical to plant growth...

Expansion of New York Gourmet Salads, Inc. recall

Posted on November 03, 2010
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is expanding its Oct. 30 public health alert for an undetermined amount of various meat and poultry products produced without the benefit of federal inspection by N.Y. Gourmet Salads Inc...

FDA Confirms Presence of Listeria at SanGar in Texas

Posted on November 03, 2010
The FDA has released new information confirming the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in both finished product, and in environmental samples taken at the plant on October 14,15. The FDA has been cooperating with state health officials in Texas in the investigation of 10 of illnesses, including as many as 5 deaths, linked to Listeria in the past eight months...

Overplaying your hand revisited

Posted on November 03, 2010
In the past, I've been critical of bad PR by companies at the center of outbreaks of foodborne disease. Many times, the bad PR choices and statements come from small-scale producers who, in their defense, are often fighting for the very survival of their businesses...

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