The CDC reports: Shigellosis is a nationally notifiable diarrheal illness caused by gram-negative bacteria. Shigella infection is spread through fecal-oral transmission and sexual contact. Although most infections are self-limited, antibiotics are indicated for severe illness or to reduce transmission in settings with high risk for spread. Since 2015, a growing proportion of cases has been caused by […]
The CDC reports this week that a total of 23 confirmed and 7 probable E. coli O145 cases related to this outbreak have been reported from 4 states since March 1, 2010. The number of ill persons identified in each state with this strain is: MI (10 confirmed and 3 probable), NY (4 confirmed and […]
It was a fascinating few hours at a meeting with a delegation from China as they listened to former FSIS head, Tom Billy, CSPI Food Safety Director, Caroline Smith DeWaal and yours truly, talk candidly about the state of affairs of food safety in the United States. I spoke primarily about how the civil justice […]
Rumor has it that Governor Jim Doyle told an online agriculture news site he has not made up his mind one way or another on the raw milk bill the Wisconsin legislature passed. The Governor reportedly told Wisconsin Ag Connection a final decision will be made next week. This statement came just one day after […]
I had a chance tonight after landing in Washington D. C., to chat with Dr. Sanjay Gupta about the status of the “leafy green’s industry.” So far in the recent E. coli O145 outbreak there are 23 confirmed illnesses in four states. However, the Romaine Lettuce has been recalled in 23 states. Here is the […]
Joint Press Release Stephanie Smith and Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation announce jointly that they have settled the lawsuit filed by Ms. Smith in December 2009. Ms. Smith, a twenty-two year old former dance instructor from Cold Spring, Minnesota, sued for the severe injuries she suffered as a result of an E. coli O157:H7 infection in […]
In what seems like a near daily article on raw milk, I gave Georgina Gustin of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (my dad was a paper boy for them during the depression) a few choice words: Bill Marler, an attorney who specializes in food-borne illness cases, recently represented two Missouri residents who were sickened by raw […]
From a USDA /FSIS press release: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced new performance standards to reduce Salmonella and Campylobacter in young chickens (broilers) and turkeys, fulfilling another key recommendation of the President’s Food Safety Working Group. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) also released a compliance guide to help the poultry industry address […]
Suzanne Jacobs of the Michigan Daily wrote in her front page story this a.m., “E. coli outbreak at ‘U’ caused by non-USDA regulated strain,” about the failure of most labs, business and health departments to test for pathogenic E. coli other than E. coli O157:H7. I had a long talk with AP on why I […]
A table of 34 previous outbreaks involving E. coli and Salmonella and leafy greens, like lettuce and spinach, courtesy of our friends at Barf Blog: E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks associated with lettuce or spinach, specifically the "pre-washed" and "ready-to-eat" varieties sold under various brand and trade names, are clearly by no means a new phenomenon. […]
It must be the heat – will be over 100 today.
I was reading the Town Talk of Pineville and Alexandria (I visited there once and used to have some friends there), Louisiana this evening and read that State officials are suspecting food poisoning as the cause of the deaths of three patients at Central State Hospital. A total of 40 patients of the behavioral […]
In my work there are cases that haunt you. Some are the cases you work on for years, but cannot figure out the legal source of the poison that killed someone’s child. Then there are other cases, like the senseless death of Abby nearly a year ago, and her grandfather’s death just last Saturday, that […]
BJ’s Wholesale Club agreed to pay $11 million Jane Lerner – White Plains Journal – April 17, 2004 BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. and a meat supplier last week agreed to pay $11 million to the family of a New York girl who became ill with E. coli O157:H7 after eating contaminated hamburgers. Attorneys for K. […]
I was reading the Saratogian and the Poughkeepsie Journal this morning and was struck by the fact that once again consumers of food – this time kids – inform us by getting sick of yet another foodborne illness outbreak – this time E. coli O145 tainted romaine lettuce – Again, AFTER they get sick. Great […]
I was talking with William Newman from the New York Times as he was writing his story on “Tainted Lettuce Linked to Illness in Three States,” when he asked about prior E. coli O145 outbreaks. I was able to pull out of my hat: “William Marler, a lawyer specializing in such cases, said that while […]