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 […]
Saint Cloud Times last week reported: A Cold Spring woman who nearly died after getting E. coli from a tainted hamburger is asking for more than $56 million in her lawsuit against Cargill. Stephanie Smith, 23, was left paralyzed from the waist down and with extensive, long-term injuries that one day will require a kidney […]
Though they are cute and soft and associated with the arrival of spring, baby chicks or ducklings can carry harmful salmonella bacteria, health officials warn. “We strongly discourage giving chicks or ducklings as gifts,” said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County health officer. “To prevent possible infection with salmonella bacteria, give your child a stuffed toy […]
The number of affected people continues to grow as more come forward to report shigella infections after eating at a Lombard Subway restaurant. Dave Hass of the DuPage County Health Department said there are currently 116 confirmed shigella cases linked to the Subway restaurant as of today. Of those cases, 13 people were hospitalized and […]
The Foodborne Illness Outbreak Database should be up and running fully in the next few weeks. We still have a few "bug" to work out. Click on the image below and search for your favorite outbreak or vector. Please feel free to send me comments.
Had an opportunity to speak with Tom Lutey of the Billings Gazette this week between traveling in Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska about recalls and how government and industry could do better. The discussion comes on the heals of the HVP recall: • The FDA Web site, www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/HVPCP, includes this information about each recalled food […]
Doug Powell, master of the “Barf Blog,’ posted on the ongoing “discussion” happening in Wisconsin surrounding raw milk. “We just don’t see that as an issue.” That’s what Kathy Kramer, a so-called nutritionist and office manager at the Weston A. Price Foundation in Washington, D.C., told Mike Nichols of the Wisconsin Journal Sentinel Online when […]
For all my clients who suffered severe illness due to food poisoning, like Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, Guillain-Barre Syndrome or Reiter’s Syndrome, Thank you President Obama and Senate and House Democrats for passing a comprehensive Health Care Bill. My clients facing being dropped from insurance coverage, being excluded for pre-existing medical conditions or facing a life […]
And, I do not even get quoted in "Is raw, unpasteurized milk safe?" The pictures are worth a few millions of words: Interesting article on raw milk risks, politics and emotions. I think what was missing in the article was a longer discussion on the number of the outbreaks that have in fact happened: http://www.marlerblog.com/2009/10/articles/legal-cases/raw-milk-outbreaks-do-happen-despite-what-the-weston-a-price-foundation-and-the-complete-patient-aka-david-gumpert-say/ […]
Looking forward to speaking at the Grocery Manufacturers Association Litigation Conference on April 7 and 8, 2010 in Washington DC.
Awhile ago I posted, "Raw Milk Outbreaks do happen despite what the Weston A. Price Foundation and The Complete Patient (a.k.a. David Gumpert) say," and rightly got slapped for being a bit too harsh. I tend to be remembered, and reviled, by sellers and consumers of raw milk (affectionately, a.k.a "raw milkies’) for suing raw […]
Campylobacter Outbreak in Michigan Linked to Consumption of Raw Milk Products The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) is issuing a public health alert regarding illness from Campylobacter infections among people who have reported consuming raw milk products obtained from the Family Farms Cooperative in Vandalia, Michigan. Family Farms Cooperative operates a cow share program […]
According to Meating Place: USDA plans to propose rules that would mandate test-and-hold practices at meat plants as well as labels alerting consumers when they are buying non-intact meat subjected to mechanical tenderization, according to Deputy Assistant Administrator for USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service Daniel Engeljohn. Engeljohn told participants at a one-day seminar in […]
The House Agricultural Affairs Committee approved a proposal Thursday that would make it clear that anyone owning a cow, goat, or sheep, or sharing ownership of those animals could legally drink or consume its raw milk. Selling raw milk would still be illegal, but dairies could keep seven cows or 15 goats or sheep in […]
The Department of Justice, in an action initiated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is seeking a permanent injunction against A Chau Sprouting Co., a sprout grower in Gretna, La., company owner and manager Quang “Mike” Trinh, and Hue Nguyen, the company production manager. The complaint, filed on March 16, 2010, in the U.S. […]
As DuPage County Health Department spokesman David Hass official announced that a total of 78 people had fallen ill due to a Shigella outbreak at a Subway sandwich shop in the Chicago suburb of Lombard, our phones have been ringing with the calls of 51 of those former customers of Subway. Mr. Hass further reported […]