Personal Injury Law

Stanford bites Raw Milk in the Udder

Posted on November 02, 2010
The Stanford raw milk lactose intolerance study was touted (and funded) by raw milk proponents in the belief that it would prove a benefit of raw milk over pasteurized milk.  However, that was before the study's results: These results, collected under standardized and controlled conditions, do not support the widespread anecdotal claims by proponents that raw milk has benefits over pasteurized milk regarding the symptoms of lactose intolerance...

Health Alert issued for Gourmet Salads Meat and Poultry

Posted on October 31, 2010
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service is issuing a 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., a Brooklyn, NY establishment...

Missouri Attorney General seeks destruction of Morningland Dairy cheese

Posted on October 31, 2010
Attorney General Chris Koster has asked the Howell County Circuit Court to require Morningland Dairy, located in Mountain View, to destroy contaminated cheese products that were produced at the facility between January 1 and August 26, 2010. Morningland Dairy makes cheese products and sells them nationwide...

Outbreaks, illnesses and recalls linked to raw (unpasteurized) and pasteurized dairy products, United States, 2010 through October 31, 2010

Posted on October 31, 2010
Summary 10 raw dairy outbreaks with 105 illnesses 1 pasteurized dairy outbreak with 23 illnesses 1 queso fresco Mexican-style cheese outbreak with 5 illnesses 3 sporadic illnesses from illegal Mexican-style cheese Recalls 5 raw dairy recalls (3 raw milk, 2 raw cheese) 3 queso fresco cheese recalls Click to download table with citations.

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Should the States and/or the FDA (a.k.a Taxpayers) pay when food is recalled, quarantined or destroyed?

Posted on October 31, 2010
The firestorm of comments on my blog that have surrounded the recall, quarantine and destruction of cheese at Estrella and Morningland got me thinking once again of the 2006 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to Organic Pastures in California. I have posted about that outbreak often (some would argue too often): Organic Pastures Dairy E...

QA Magazine links Cockroaches to Unsafe Food

Posted on October 31, 2010
Lisa Lupo of QA Magazine gives the lowdown on the 'loathsome cockroach.' • According to a University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) publication, 'Cockroaches have been found to be the cause of Salmonella food poisoning that can be life-threatening.' Noting that other pathogenic bacteria, including Staphylococcus, Streptococcus and coliforms, have been found in cockroaches, UNL explains, 'This is because after feeding on contaminated food, disease bacteria can remain in the cockroach digestive system for a month or more...

Oklahoma E. coli O111 Victims to Share $4 Million, not $3 Million as Insurers Argued

Posted on October 29, 2010
In a blow to Republic Underwriters and Southern Insurance Companies (and to insurers everywhere), the Federal Magistrate in Oklahoma sided with the 341 victims of the largest E. coli O111 outbreak in United States history. The court ruled that the 341 victims may share in the insurance proceeds of $4,000,000 as opposed to the $3,000,000 argued by the insurance companies...

Off to Arkansas - Food Illness - From Soup to Nuts

Posted on October 29, 2010
I always enjoy teaching at law school when I can.  Next week I get to spend a few days with some graduate students at the University of Arkansas School of Law.

Kosher First LLC. Issues Alert on Listeria in Tuv Taam Salads Nova Lox Salad

Posted on October 29, 2010
KOSHER FIRST LLC. 502 FLUSHING AVE. is recalling TUV TAAM SALADS NOVA LOX SALAD due to Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The problem was discovered after routine sampling by New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Inspectors and subsequent analysis of the product by Food Laboratory personnel found the product to be positive for Listeria monocytogenes...

Possible Listeria Risk Causes 54,000 Pound Pork Recall

Posted on October 28, 2010
Autentico Foods, a Hawaiian Gardens, Calif., firm, is recalling approximately 54,000 pounds of ready-to-eat pork products that were not produced in accordance with its food safety plan for its Listeria prerequisite program, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Oct...

Minnesota Links Campylobacter and Cryptosporidium illnesses to Hartmann Dairy

Posted on October 28, 2010
Minnesota state health officials reported today that routine disease surveillance has detected additional illnesses linked to consumption of raw dairy products from the Hartmann dairy farm in Sibley County. According to epidemiologists with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the illnesses include three people infected with a bacterium called Campylobacter jejuni, and four people infected with a parasite called Cryptosporidium parvum...

Valley Farm Meats Recalls Product Due to Listeria Risk

Posted on October 28, 2010
Valley Farm Meats, also known as Strasburg Provision, has expanded a voluntary recall of ready-to-eat meat items, bringing the total recall to 3,600 pounds of product that may be contaminated. The recalled products include: trail style bologna, smoked snack sticks, smoked ham varieties, smoked pork loin, smoked bacon varieties, wieners, cooked pulled chicken, cooked pulled beef, cooked pulled pork, head cheese, hot head cheese, scrapple, dutch brand loaf, bologna or big bologna or bung bologna, old country hungarian sausage, garlic knockies, smoked kolbassi, smoked sausage, smoked pork spare ribs, smoked pork hocks, smoked pork jowls, smoked pork neck bones and smoked pork tails...

Listeria Recall - Small Raw Milk Cheese Producers must be treated equally

Posted on October 28, 2010
Boy, have I heard it from the raw milik, locavore, anti-government folks over the last few days.  I now agree with them.  Big agribusiness and small local farmers should be treated the same.  Any company with several months of Listeria problems and an inspection report like this, should be shut down...

Should Estrella Family Creamery be treated differently than Sangar when it comes to Listeria?

Posted on October 26, 2010
Yesterday I hammered away on what seems to me to be Estrella Family Creamery's inconsistent position between fetal death by abortion and the possibility of fetal death by Listeria. Some of the commentators see that as being unfair given that there are no reported fetal or other deaths linked to Estrella cheeses...

Wright County Egg Sued by Three-year-old Hospitalized by Salmonella Enteritidis

Posted on October 26, 2010
We filed another lawsuit today against Wright County Egg in Federal Court in Iowa. This time on behalf of J.T. On or about July 7, 2010, the minor plaintiff, J.T., began to suffer from severe fevers, including abdominal cramps, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting...

The face of E. coli O157:H7 and Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome - The Stahl Family

Posted on October 26, 2010
The Greene County Daily World reports that Bailey and Abby Stahl, the 13-month-old twin daughters of Chris and Nicole Stahl of rural Bloomfield, have been patients at Riley Children's Hospital for about two weeks. The twins suffer from hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a disease that destroys red blood cells...

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

Posted on October 25, 2010
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...

Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation Receives $25,000 Donation for Science Scholarship

Posted on October 25, 2010
From a Press Release from Rock Island High School:  A new scholarship is being offered to students at Rock Island High School who are interested in pursuing a college degree in a science field. Seattle-based food safety law firm Marler Clark made a $25,000 contribution to the Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation in October to foster student interest in a career in science...

Why the Tea Party is going to make me even richer

Posted on October 24, 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...

Where in the world will I be November 2 - 12?

Posted on October 24, 2010
After my trip to Chicago this week for the ACI Foodborne Illness Litigation Conference, I am home for a few days and then off again on a seemingly worldwide tour.   I am proud to be a major sponsor of the 5th International Conference for Food Safety and Quality ?on November 2-3, 2010, as well as being the opening speaker...

Report on Outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis at Casa Lopez in Athens County, Ohio - May, 2010

Posted on October 23, 2010
Athens City County Health Department has released its preliminary report on the Salmonella Enteritidis Outbreak that sickened 56 linked to Casa Lopez Mexican Restaurant. Of those case patients entered into the Ohio Disease Reporting System (ODRS), 47 reside in Athens County, including some with temporary Athens County Residence *83...

SanGar's Chopped Celery Linked to Listeria Outbreak in Bexar, Guadalupe, Travis and Hidalgo Counties Takes Last Stand

Posted on October 23, 2010
Perhaps SanGar has been too long in the shadow of the last stand at the Alamo, or the owners believe the Tea Party mantra of blaming the government for all that is bad will work to deflect that SanGar may well be responsible for the deaths of at least 4 and perhaps 5 and sickening of 6 to 10...

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...

Food Safety in America - "Pain, Death and Anger" - In Pictures

Posted on October 22, 2010
Generally, you hear from the food industry, politicians and the media: "We have the safest food supply in the world."  Lena Sun's article this morning in the Washington Post shows another side and is worth a read, 'Conflicts of interest mar food producers' independent inspections...

Quality Egg - Wright County Egg Sued by Texan in Iowa for Salmonella Illness

Posted on October 22, 2010
We filed yet another lawsuit against Quality Egg – Wright County Egg in Federal District Court in Iowa this afternoon. Here are some of the details: On or about June 25, 2010, the plaintiff, Jim Bussey of Brookshire, Texas, purchased and consumed an egg and sausage breakfast taco in Sealy, Texas...

Texas orders Sangar Produce Shut after Listeria sickens and possibly kills six

Posted on October 21, 2010
The Texas Department of State Health Services today ordered Sangar Fresh Cut Produce in San Antonio to stop processing food and recall all products shipped from the plant since January. The order was issued after laboratory tests of chopped celery from the plant indicated the presence of Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that can cause severe illness...

Settlement Reached in Listeria Death

Posted on October 21, 2010
A confidential settlement was reached yesterday between the family of 87-year old John Powers and Whittier Farms stemming from an outbreak of Listeria linked to contaminated milk. The outbreak was responsible for the death of at least four. A. News of the Outbreak On November 27, 2007, a health department officer in central Massachusetts contacted the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) to report a Listeria infection in an 87-year-old man, later identified as John Powers...

Marler Clark Potluck - A Meal from Hell

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...

Texas now links 6 illnesses, including 4 Deaths, to Sangar

Posted on October 21, 2010
The Texas Department of Health has shut down the Sangar food processing plant, saying it was contaminated by bacteria linked to the deaths of four people. In addition to chopped celery testing positive, inspectors found a condensation leak above a food product area, dirt on a food-preparation table, and hand-washing problems at the San Antonio plant...

Illinois Department of Health Releases Subway Salmonella Hvittingfoss Report

Posted on October 21, 2010
Illinois state health officials have traced a widespread Salmonella outbreak at Subway restaurants to one Central Illinois food distributor. But, in a final report on the incident issued Thursday, the Illinois Department of Public Health said it could not identify the exact source of the problem, which led to 109 confirmed cases and another 90-plus probable or suspect cases of the illness between late April and June...

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