Health Law

Cockroaches and Foodborne Illness

Posted on November 01, 2010
As if humans needed another reason to avoid the scurrying, creepy pests known as cockroaches, with their infamous hissing and generally repulsive appearance, along comes an article in Quality Assurance & Food Safety with one more reason:  foodborne illness transmission...

Help wanted: public relations position for raw dairies

Posted on November 01, 2010
Anybody who pays attention to food safety events has got to be tired of the dogma that attends virtually every discussion on raw milk and raw milk-based products.  I am certainly not above the law in this regard, as www.foodpoisonjournal.com certainly has a bias against raw dairy products that are contaminated with things that kill people...

About Enterobacter Sakazakii (E. Sakazakii)

Posted on October 31, 2010
Enterobacter sakazakii was first described as a new bacterial species in 1980, and over a hundred scientific papers have been written about it. From 1980 to 2007 it was known as Enterobacter sakazakii, but in 2007 there was a proposal to reclassify it into a new genus Cronobacter as Cronobacter sakazakii...

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, BSE, or "Mad Cow" Disease

Posted on October 31, 2010
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), referred to as "mad cow disease," is a chronic degenerative nervous system disease affecting cattle. The disease was first diagnosed in 1986 in Great Britain. BSE is so named because of the spongy appearance of the brain tissue of infected cattle when sections are examined under a microscope...

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About Clostridium difficile

Posted on October 31, 2010
Overview  Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is a spore-forming, gram-positive anaerobic bacillus that produces two toxins: toxin A and toxin B. These toxins typically cause gastrointestinal disease, often with severe complications. In rare cases, C...

What is Cyclosporiasis?

Posted on October 31, 2010
Cyclospora is a parasite composed of one cell, too small to be seen without a microscope. The organism was previously thought to be a blue-green alga or a large form of Cryptosporidium. Cyclospora cayetanensis is the only species of this organism found in humans...

About MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus)

Posted on October 31, 2010
Overview Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), often referred to as "staph," is a bacterium commonly carried on the skin or in the nose of healthy people. S. aureus typically causes a skin infection, but can cause infections in the bloodstream and major organs...

Egg Industry, Regulators Aim to Increase Food Safety

Posted on October 29, 2010
A half a billion eggs and thousands of illnesses later, both regulators and industry are moving towards increasing food safety protections for egg production.  Phillip Brasher of the Des Moines Register reported today on the two groups' separate plans for increased scrutiny...

Two Different Sets of Pork Products Recalled For Listeria

Posted on October 28, 2010
In apparently unrelated matters, two corporations are recalling pork products due to listeria concerns.  To this point, neither recall has been linked to reported illnesses.  Valley Farm Meats, also known as Strasburg Provision, of Wooster Ohio is recalling 3,600 pounds of (primarily) pork products...

Minnesota raw milk woes continue

Posted on October 28, 2010
Early last summer, at least 8 people were infected by E. coli O157:H7 after consuming raw milk produced at the Hartmann dairy farm in Sibley County.  Environmental and animal samples tested positive for the same strain of E. coli O157:H7 as had infected the outbreak victims...

New Research on How Listeria Enters Human Bloodstream

Posted on October 28, 2010
Researchers at Purdue and Michigan are reporting on a new study into how listeria is able to enter the human bloodstream.  Listeria monocytogenes  has been in the news lately following an outbreak, with multiple fatalities, linked by Texas health officials to celery...

Is there reason hidden in the debate over Estrella cheeses?

Posted on October 27, 2010
The Facts: On October 21, 2010, the US Government filed a complaint for forfeiture in rem (meaning, a legal action to seize and condemn violative products) of raw milk-based cheese products manufactured by Estrella Family Creamery in Montesano, Washington...

www.about-irritablebowelsyndrome.com is live; almost finalized

Posted on October 26, 2010
In addition to representing victims of foodpoisoning, part of our mission at Marler Clark is to provide comprehensive analysis of all issues food safety, including some of the life-chanigng effects of being infected by bugs like E. coli O157:H7, Shigella, Campylobacter, hepatitis A, and Salmonella...

More faces of HUS

Posted on October 26, 2010
Hemolytic uremic syndrome is a devastating condition, but if your kids develop it, there is perhaps no better place to do so than in Indiana so that they can be treated by the pediatric nephrologists at Riley Children's Hospital.  That's where 13-month-old twins Bailey and Abby Stahl have spent the last two weeks, receiving cleansing dialysis treatments in a battle against the hemolytic process going on in their bloodstreams...

Marler - Why does the Tea Party want to make me even richer?

Posted on October 25, 2010
Thanks to the folks at Think Progress for passing along the video of GOP House candidate Jesse Kelly, who is running in Arizona's 8th congressional district, at a campaign rally hosted by the Pima County Tea Party Patriots. During a question-and-answer period, a voter asked Kelly about the recent Salmonella outbreak, which led to recall of more than half a billion eggs and sickened 1,800 people...

KSU epidemiologist receives $2 million grant from USDA to study antibiotic resistance in cattle

Posted on October 25, 2010
A Kansas State University epidemiologist will use a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for improving food safety in beef and dairy cattle systems in the U.S. and Canada. H. Morgan Scott, a professor in K-State's department of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, will collaborate on the project with researchers from the University of Guelph, Angelo State University, Texas Tech University, Texas A&M University, Cornell University, Colorado State University and the Public Health Agency of Canada...

Rush Week Takes on New Meaning

Posted on October 25, 2010
Roughly three dozen members of a University of Michigan sorority "became ill over the weekend from an apparent widespread case of food poisoning."  The pathogen causing the outbreak has not yet been identified.   It appears that many of the women fell ill in a very similar time frame: When fire crews and paramedics responded Saturday they found dozens of women vomiting, eight of which were taken to a hospital for care...

More on Salmonella, Salami, and Pepper

Posted on October 25, 2010
Between July 1, 2009 and April 20, 2010, a total of 272 were infected by one of two matching strains of Salmonella Montevideo in 44 states and the District of Columbia.  Ultimately, with some key help from state health agencies like the Rhode Island Department of health, the CDC was able to identify the product responsible for causing these illnesses:  italian salami products produced by Daniele, Inc...

Confronting (and Detecting) the Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli (STEC) Problem

Posted on October 25, 2010
By now readers of this site are well versed in Marler Clark's ongoing efforts to have non-O157 shiga toxin-producing strains of E. coli (STECs) declared 'adulterants' by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). These currently unregulated strains are highly dangerous to humans—severely sickening at tens of thousands of people per year and killing many others...

Listeria: New Study and Texas Celery Outbreak Highlight The Danger

Posted on October 25, 2010
Given the recent SanGar chopped celery listeria outbreak in Texas, in which at least 4 people have died, today's report on new listeria research from a Purdue University study could not be more timely. The study sheds light on how even low doses of listeria, once ingested by humans, can enter into a person's intestinal wall and exit out to the bloodstream, thus causing serious illness...

Sunday Morning Reading on Food Safety

Posted on October 24, 2010
If you have a few minutes this morning, there's a more extensive piece on food safety in the U.S. and around the world in the Christian Science Monitor.  The article begins by reflecting on the drastic move our food supply has made from local to global over the last 70 years...

Sausage recall due to presence of foreign objects

Posted on October 23, 2010
Klement Sausage Company, Inc., a Milwaukee, Wisc., establishment, is recalling approximately 2,740 pounds of beef stick products that may contain foreign materials, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today...

Leading Government Officials and Litigation Counsel to Speak at ACI Foodborne Illness Litigation Conference in Chicago

Posted on October 23, 2010
Wednesday, October 27 to Thursday, October 28, 2010 Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States In the wake of one of the largest national egg recalls in history, now is the time for in-house counsel, regulatory affairs and compliance officers within the food industry to closely evaluate what your company is doing to prepare for the impending E...

Texas foodpoisoning events, this week and next

Posted on October 22, 2010
Unfortunately for Texans, the food safety spotlight is shining bright on Texas this week, and probably next week too.  This week, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) announced that chopped celery sold by Sangar Fresh Cut Produce was the source of a Listeria food poisoning outbreak...

It is time to pass S. 510 BEFORE this is on the Senate Dining Room Menu

Posted on October 22, 2010
Next week I will be co-chairing the ACI Foodborne Illness Litigation Conference in Chicago and co-hosting an evening meal for the speakers. I had to approve the dinner menu, which got me thinking (after nearly 20 years) about what a Marler Clark Potluck would look like...

Sangar celery listeria outbreak: what comes next?

Posted on October 21, 2010
Sangar Fresh Cut Produce's listeria outbreak will surely result in lawsuits, as well it should given that 5 people have apparently died as a result of their listeria infections.  Nevermind that they are reported to have had underlying illnesses.  They were still people with families who will never see them again...

Texas - Bexar, Travis and Hidalgo counties hit with Listeria from Sanger Produce

Posted on October 21, 2010
On October 20, 2010, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) announced that it had determined chopped celery was the source of a Listeria food poisoning outbreak among Texas residents. Texas DSHS had been investigating the source of 10 cases of listeriosis—the illness caused by the ingestion of Listeria baciteria, 5 of which resulted in death, for 8 months when investigators determined that the source of the outbreak was chopped celery sold by Sangar Fresh Cut Produce in San Antonio...

Sangar disputes State of Texas findings of listeria in celery

Posted on October 21, 2010
Sangar Fresh Cut Produce does not want the "Sangar listeria outbreak in Texas" to be called the "Sangar listeria outbreak."  In fact, Sangar says the State of Texas Department of Health got it all wrong when it found listeria in Sangar's products...

Marler Clark Potluck - A Meal from Hell - E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter, Shigella and Hepatitis A

Posted on October 21, 2010
Next week I will be co-chairing the ACI Foodborne Illness Litigation Conference in Chicago and co-hosting an evening meal for the speakers. I had to approve the dinner menu which got me thinking (after nearly 20 years) about what a Marler Clark Potluck would look like: Without much thought here is the meal from hell: Appetizers Soft Cheese Plate with Celery, Cantaloupe and Hummus Salad Spinach Salad with Peanut Dressing, Tomatoes, Sprouts topped with Pistachios Caesar Salad topped with Slices of Beef Tri-Tips Main Orange Shredded Chicken with White and Black Pepper Sauce Bison Burgers with Jalapenos and Green Onions Canned Chili with Parsley Chicken Pot Pies with an Egg Wash Dessert Raw Milk Ice Cream with Shredded Raw Almonds Cookie Dough Ice Cream with Raw Milk Chocolate Colustum Topping Beverage Seasonal Beer from a Recently Cleaned Tap Imported Water from Colorado Frankly, I could go on and on...

Del Monte Cantaloupe Recalled For Salmonella Contamination

Posted on October 21, 2010
Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc ("Del Monte Fresh") announced today the voluntary recall of certain cantaloupes grown in and shipped from Arizona. The affected product was distributed to limited customers in and around Detroit, Michigan and is being recalled because these cantaloupes have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella...

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