The FDA has published the following warning: Consumers worldwide should not use any ByHeart brand infant formula as all ByHeart products are included in this recall. As we know, as of November 26, 2025, a total of 37 infants with suspected or confirmed infant botulism and confirmed exposure to ByHeart Whole Nutrition infant formula (various […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 48 million-foodborne illness cases occur in the United States every year. At least 128,000 Americans are hospitalized, and 3,000 die after eating contaminated food. Here are some of the main players: Botulism is a rare but potentially life-threatening bacterial illness. Clostridium Botulinum bacteria grows on […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 48 million-foodborne illness cases occur in the United States every year. At least 128,000 Americans are hospitalized, and 3,000 die after eating contaminated food. Clearly, the vast majority of people become ill, but not seriously so. However, those that do become ill can in rare […]
When defense counsel for multi-billion dollar Cargill (who I sued on behalf of Stephanie Smith and others in a 2007 E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak – and in earlier outbreaks) paints me as the industry Bogey Man in his presentation before the American Council for Food Safety & Quality: “Lessons Learned from Recent Foodborne Illness Outbreaks […]
On March 22, I’ll be heading to Denver for the Food Defense Summit, a.k.a. “The summit created by food manufacturing executives, for food manufacturing executives” to give my perspective on keeping their businesses out of lawsuits – or as I like to call it: safer food production. 2011 Food Defense Summit: Legal Risks and […]
Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, an Arkansas City, Kan., establishment, is recalling approximately 14,158 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced. The products subject to recall include: • Approx. 40-pound cases of “BEEF FINE GRIND 81/19 NATURAL,” containing […]
My mom and dad were both public employee union teachers. They worked hard all their lives teaching kids and young adults. My brother is a union plumber. In honor of my parents, my brother and Wisconsin and other state union workers who are fighting for their rights, I am closing my law firm early on […]
I had an nice chat a few weeks ago with the folks over at Fruit Grower Magazine on their cover story on the Food Safety Modernization Act – An Opposing View – The nation’s top consumer advocate/attorney on food safety says the bill will benefit many growers. Here is the interview: One of the top […]
Given my job, it is little wonder that I tend to focus on the problems with a product when it actually causes illnesses. There are, however, times when looking at recalls can also make you aware of problems that seem to repeat themselves. March 2011 – Skippy Peanut Butter: Salmonella Unilever United States, Inc. today […]
December 2010 – Multistate DeFranco and Sons In Shell Hazelnuts An outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 was associated with eating DeFanco and Sons in-shell hazelnuts (also known as filberts)that had been purchased from bulk bins in grocery stores or in a repacked form sold from November 2, 2010 to December 22, 2010 in multiple states […]
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) laboratory has confirmed E. coli O157:H7 contamination of in-shell hazelnuts (also known as filberts) collected from the home of an ill Minnesotan. The contaminated hazelnuts are part of a multi-state recall announced last Friday, March 4, by DeFranco and Sons, a California-based nut and produce distributor. The Minnesota Department […]
Routine surveillance activities by health departments in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan identified seven E. coli O157:H7 cases with the same DNA fingerprint with onsets between December 20, 2010 and January 28, 2011. Three have been identified in Wisconsin, three in Minnesota and one in Michigan. Investigations by health officials revealed an association between illnesses and […]
Although it seems like I just landed from Istanbul, I am off this Firday to California to give a talk on Saturday to a meeting of the Northern California American Society for Microbiology on “Separating the Wheat from the Chaff – How we do what we do and use science to do it!” 2011 NCASM […]
Capital Press reporter Mateusz Perkowski got Shaun George to engage his mouth before his brain in today’s story – “Hazelnut packer declines FDA request for grower list.” According to the Press, George “has refused to give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration a list of its farmer suppliers the agency requested as part of an […]
Ryan Newkirk, Craig Hedberg, and Jeff Bender in FOODBORNE PATHOGENS AND DISEASE did a masterful job of explaining how to do an foodborne disease outbreak investigation – from the perspective of a milkborne one Objectives: The main objectives of this study were to establish baseline characteristics for milkborne outbreaks, establish an expected milkborne outbreak profile, […]