Amalgamated Produce Inc. of Bridgeport, Connecticut, has issued its second consumer recall notice over possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination of raw sprouts.

The latest recall applies to four-ounce plastic containers of Specialty Farms Organic Crunchy Sprouts or Organic Crunchy Pea Mix. The packages have sell-by dates from March 31 to April 27, 2009. The company sells in 11 northeastern states.

Amalgamated's first recall notice happened April 9 after an inspector from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets took a random sample, tested it and found it to be contaminated with Listeria.

The first recall applied to raw sprouts with the following labels:

• Specialty Farms
  
• Vermont Sprout House
  
• Nature's Promise
  
• Brocco Sprouts

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not linked Amalgamated's recall to any outbreak, but the CDC did say in a recent press release that it was investigating an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections linked with eating alfalfa sprouts. The press release did not say what states or areas were involved in the outbreak.

National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen has considerable experience and a reputation for success in representing survivors of foodborne illnesses. The firm is involved in virtually every national outbreak and has collected large sums on behalf of people injured or killed by adulterated food.

To contact a Listeria lawyer at the firm, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or complete one of our free case consultation forms and submit it online.

Labels: listeria attorney, Listeria sprouts lawsuit

A paramedic unit sent to a restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina, called for backup once the crew realized there were too many sick people to handle.

According to a story in the Independent Weekly newspaper, nine rescuers ultimately attended to victims. Now the Wake County Environmental Health and Safety Division is investigating -- but the division's director isn't saying yet which restaurant is involved.

"We don't have any results yet,'' Andre Pearce told the weekly.
But the newspaper checked with the Raleigh-Wake 911 Center and found that an emergency call came shortly before 10 p.m. Friday for paramedics to help someone at Evoo, a Mediterranean style restaurant in Raleigh's Five Points.

The newspaper said some of the ill restaurant patrons were taken to the hospital.

National food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is waiting for the results of the investigation to determine what happened. The firm is involved in virtually every major foodborne illness outbreak and has collected large sums on behalf of people injured or killed by adulterated food.

To contact a food poisoning lawyer at PritzkerOlsen, call 1-800-888-377-8900 (toll free) or complete a free online case consultation form.

Labels: food poisoning lawyer, food regulation, food safety

Torres Hillsdale Country Cheese of Reading, Michigan announced a the recall of Oaxaca soft Mexican-style cheese due to potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

Products were distributed to the following states: Illinois and Minnesota.

The recalled Oaxaca cheese product was distributed to retails stores and delis in 10 pound balls, labeled with the name “Torres Hillsdale Country Cheese LLC.”

The recall was announced on April 22, 2009 and encompasses production dates 3/17/2009, with an expiration date of 5/20/2009.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with the recalled products. However, the incubation period for Listeria can be as long as 70 days. If you have Listeria symptoms, contact your doctor immediately. If you are diagnosed with listeriosis, contact our law firm about a Torres Hillsdale Country Cheese lawsuit: 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our free consultation form.

Labels: cheese recall, Listeria, Listeria lawyer, listeria recall

New Hampshire health officials are investigating what caused more than 50 middle school students to become infected with Salmonella while at an overnight camp near North Conway, New Hampshire.

The Eagle-Tribune newspaper quoted Dr. Jose Montero, the state's director of public health, as saying that a team of investigators has started its probe by reviewing the facility's practices, interviewing workers and interviewing students. But Montero said the cause may never be known.

"Sometimes we don't know,'' he told the newspaper. "If we are looking at a food event and the kids became ill on Thursday, then the food is long gone by now.''

The students sickened in the outbreak attend Woodbury Middle School, part of the Salem School District. Superintendent Michael Delahanty told the Eagle-Tribune that one, and possibly two, of the ill students were hospitalized.

All the students infected attended Stone Environmental School last week, an overnight camp. Students had symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea and high fever. The paper said that at least 69 students who attended the camp were out sick on Tuesday from Woodbury Middle School.

Dave Freese, director of the environmental school, said another group of children from a different school district is scheduled to attend the camp next week.

National food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is representing Salmonella victims around the country and is involved in virtually all major outbreaks of foodborne illness. The firm's clients currently include the families of three women who died separately in the peanut product Salmonella outbreak caused by Peanut Corp. of America. The son of one of the women killed in the outbreak testified before Congress earlier this year about the need to increase food safety.

To contact a Salmonella lawyer at PritzkerOlsen, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or complete a free online case consultation.

Labels: New Hampshire, salmonella lawyer

A collective food poisoning database known as PulseNet contains cases of people made ill from Salmonella that match the strain of Salmonella found in pistachios from Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the keeper of PulseNet, is investigating the matches to determine if contaminated pistachios caused the illnesses. The probe is part of the ongoing state and federal action that stemmed from the discovery by a Setton Pistachio customer that batches of the nuts tested positive for Salmonella.

While no outbreak of Salmonella has yet been confirmed, recalls of pistachio food products continue to be added to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's master list.

The FDA's most recent report on the pistachio investigation notes that three environmental samples of Setton Pistachio nuts and one sample obtained from the plant during inspection tested positive for Salmonella Montevideo, with the same genetic footprint in all four samples.

The latest report also gives the following update:

Some of the DNA fingerprints of the Salmonella strains from the pistachio products match the DNA fingerprints of Salmonella strains from recently ill persons already in the PulseNet database. This particular strain of Salmonella also has been isolated from a stool sample in a child who developed gastroenteritis and who is reported to have consumed pistachios that were sourced from Setton Pistachio. In addition, this specific Salmonella fingerprint matches a number of other clinical isolates in the PulseNet data base. However, it is important to recognize that when a patient’s isolate has a relatively common DNA fingerprint pattern (such as this one) that matches that of a food isolate, it does not necessarily follow that the patient’s illness was related to that food. CDC is investigating whether the other cases infected with this strain of Salmonella have had exposure to pistachios from Setton Pistachio.


National food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., currently represents Salmonella survivors around the country, including the families of three women who died with Salmonella infections after consuming contaminated peanut products. The firm is a prominent advocate for victims of food poisoning and its lawyers have been quoted or featured in such media as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CBS News, Fox News, The Associated Press and CNN.

To contact a salmonella attorney at PritzkerOlsen, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or get a free online case consultation.

Labels: CDC, salmonella attorney, salmonella pistachio lawsuit, setton pistacho

A 55-year-old Minnesota man who became sick on a cruise ship in the Caribbean almost died from a rare form of Salmonella.

The victim is represented by national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., which wants to hear from other passengers who were made ill on the ship by the same Salmonella Oranienburg.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating and the Minnesota Department of Health is certain that at least one other Minnesotan on the same cruise was made ill by the organism.

The cruise ship departed Miami on February 15 and returned there March 1. If you, a friend or a loved one was on the ship and suffered an illness later identified as Salmonella Oranienburg, we would very much like to speak with you. Please contact Fred Pritzker at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or by email at fhp@pritzkerlaw.com.

The Minnesota Department of Health, one of the best public health departments in the United States, first reported the outbreak in its March 23, 2009, edition of Bug Bytes. Here is that report:

Anchors Aweigh

Last week we noticed two Minnesota Salmonella Oranienburg cases that matched by PFGE. As usual, we immediately contacted and interviewed both cases, one being still hospitalized. Both cases had a history of recent travel on the same cruise ship that left a Florida port on February 15 to the Caribbean.

One of the cases is an adult female from the Twin Cities who flew to Florida and boarded the cruise the same day. her onset of illness began the second day of the cruise. She had called the cruise line to report her illness and she was told there were other illnesses reported.

The second case is an adult male from outstate Minnesota. He had bacteremia. He traveled to Minneapolis on February 13, stayed at a hotel near the airport, flew to Florida the next day, stayed at a hotel and then on the next day boarded the same cruise as the first case. He had onset of illness five days into the cruise. He had three travel companions, and two also became ill but no specimens were taken for bacterial culture.

We notified other states and late last Friday night received word from a New England state that they had a PFGE-matched Salmonella Oranienburg case which had been interviewed and had also been on the same cruise; that person also had an ill travel companion.

Labels: minnesota salmonella lawyer, Salmonella Litchfield

Health officials from Rockford, Illinois, are investigating three confirmed cases of Campylobacter jejuni in people who ate illegally manufactured cheese purchased from parking lot vendors.

J. Maichle Bacon, Winnebago County Health Department administrator, said four more cases of illness are being studied in connection with the outbreak. The Illinois Department of Public Health Library also found Listeria and fecal coliform in samples of the cheese -- which was white and sold in rounds that were packaged in unmarked food storage bags.

Bacon told the Rockford Register Star newspaper that authorities are still searching for the sellers.

National food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., currently is representing other victims of Campylobacter jejuni, a bacteria that causes diarrhea, fever and cramping. Most healthy people sickened by Campylobacter do not require treatment, but infections can turn serious, even deadly, in young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.

If you or someone you know has become seriously ill from food poisoning, call a Campylobacter attorney at PritzkerOlsen or fill out a free case consultation form. The firm's phone number is 1-888-377-8900 (toll free).

Labels: campylobacter attorney, illinois campylobacter

On April 10, 2009, the the Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH) issued a consumer advisory regarding sprout products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Distribution of these sprouts included Shaws, Stop & Shop, Whole Foods and IGA in Rhode Island. All sprouts being recalled have a sell-by date code from 03/21/09 through 04/27/09 and are in four ounce plastic containers, with the exception of the 8-ounce Nature’s Promise Organic Alfalfa and the five-pound bag of bulk alfalfa sprouts. There have been no cases of Listeria in Rhode Island in 2009. Anyone who bought an item on the recall list should throw away the product right away or return it to the place of purchase for a refund.

The following items have been recalled: Item UPC Code Specialty Farms Organic Alfalfa Sprouts 8192400052 Specialty Farms Organic Sprout Salad 8192400024 Specialty Farms Organic Spicy Sprouts 8192400058 Specialty Farms Organic Crunchy Sprouts 8192400061 Specialty Farms Organic Crunchy Pea Mix 8192400061 Specialty Farms Organic Clover Sprouts 8192400042 Specialty Farms Lucky Clover Sprouts 8192400091 Vermont Sprout House Organic Alfalfa Sprouts 2213601290 Vermont Sprout House Organic Clover 2213601293 Vermont Sprout House Organic Bean Mix 2213601180 Nature’s Promise Organic Zesty Sprouts 8826703903 Nature’s Promise Organic Alfalfa Spouts 8826704741 Nature’s Promise Organic Alfalfa Sprouts (8 oz) 8826704102 Nature’s Promise Organic Sprouts to Munch 8826704100 BroccoSprouts Broccoli Sprouts 1509800025 BroccoSprouts Salad Blend Broccoli, clover & radish 1509800026 BroccoSprouts Deli Blend Broccoli, clover & mustard 1509800027 BroccoSprouts Organic Broccoli Sprouts 100% organic 1509800118 BroccoSprouts Organic Deli Blend 100% organic broccoli, clover, mustard 1509800120 BroccoSprouts Organic Salad Blend 100% organic broccoli, clover,radish 150980119 5 pound bulk alfalfa, plastic bagged sprouts in a box with sticker identifying 5 pound bulk alfalfa, julien dates 069 through 097.

Symptoms of Listeria include high fever, sever headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Listeria can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

To contact one of out attorneys, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our free consultation form.

Labels: alfalfa sprout recall, alfalfa sprouts recall, Listeria lawyer, listeria recall, Listeria sprouts lawsuit

In response to a new government report on food poisoning, national food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker has written an opinion column. Pritzker is founder and president of PritzkerOlsen, P.A., a firm that is involved in virtually every major outbreak of foodborne illness, representing victims in wrongful death lawsuits and compensation claims. The firm has a toll-free telephone number for reaching a food poisoning lawyer: 1-888-377-8900. PritzkerOlsen also has free case consultation forms available online.

By FRED PRITZKER

The CDC recently issued its report entitled “Preliminary FoodNet Data on the Incidence of Infection with Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food --- 10 States, 2008.” (MMWR April 10, 2009 / 58(13);333-337).

This innocuous sounding document is statistical confirmation of what food safety lawyers already know: our food safety system needs improvement. As the report’s editorial note states:

Despite numerous activities aimed at preventing foodborne human infections, including the initiation of new control measures after the identification of new vehicles of transmission (e.g., peanut butter--containing products), progress toward the national health objectives has plateaued, suggesting that fundamental problems with bacterial and parasitic contamination are not being resolved.

Although significant declines in the incidence of certain pathogens have occurred since establishment of FoodNet, these all occurred before 2004. Of the four pathogens with current Healthy People 2010 targets, Salmonella, with an incidence rate of 16.2 cases per 100,000 in 2008, is farthest from its target for 2010 (6.8).

The lack of recent progress toward the national health objective targets and the occurrence of large multistate outbreaks point to gaps in the current food safety system and the need to continue to develop and evaluate food safety practices as food moves from the farm to the table.

I represent the families of three of the nine fatalities associated with the most recent national Salmonella outbreak involving Peanut Corporation of America. The loss of these three senior citizens (together with the other six deaths and thousands of injured people) is a national tragedy.

Sadly, it is but one of many outbreak before and since (following the peanut recall, there have been other national Salmonella outbreaks including sprouts, pistachio nuts and spices.

What’s truly scary about this merry-go-round of death and illness is the fact of its inadvertence.

No one intended to adulterate and sell Salmonella-laden food. If we cannot prevent and easily detect negligent outbreaks, how in the world are we going to reduce the risk of weaponized foodborne illness?

There are huge gaps in our current food safety system. Like anything else, you get what you pay for. If you want safer food, you have to develop a science-based system and then support it with enough money and manpower to make it work.

Labels: food poisoning lawyer, food safety attorney, salmonella death lawsuit

Colorado health officials have halted distribution of unpasteurized milk from a cow-share dairy after 11 people were sickened with Campylobacter.

The Associated Press reported this week that Kinikin Corner Dairy LLC in Montrose, Colorado, was named by eight victims of the outbreak as the supplier of raw milk that made them sick. The state's order was for Kinikin to stop raw milk distribution "until further notice.''

The small dairy has approximately 200 cow-share customers who like the taste of raw milk and who may believe it to be more wholesome that pasteurized milk.

But the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, PA., and other experts warn against consumption of raw milk.

The CDC has identified it as an important vehicle in the transmission of Campylobacter, a foodborne pathogen that in rare cases can lead to Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a serious illness that can lead to paralysis and death.

For at least the past 20 years, the CDC has flagged raw milk as a carrier of all sorts of pathogens, including Salmonella. And as recently as January 2009, the agency created a special web broadcast, or podcast, about the dangers of raw milk.

Contact our law firm for a free Campylobacter case review. PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is involved in virtually every major outbreak of foodborne illness and has obtained millions for food poisoning victims. To reach a Campylobacter attorney by phone, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free.).

Labels: campylobacter attorney, raw milk campylobacter

Jerry Farrell Jr., Connecticut's Consumer Protection Commissioner, says alfalfa sprouts produced by Amalgamated Produce Inc. were found to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Labels: alfalfa sprouts recall, listeria sprouts, Listeria sprouts lawsuit, salmonella sprouts lawsuit

Colorado Campylobacter Outbreak: On April 7, 2009, the Colorado Dept. of Health has reported 11 cases of Campylobacter (campylobacteriosis) that may be associated with raw milk from Kinikin Corner Dairy in Montrose, Colorado. The Colorado Department of Health is advising consumers not to drink raw milk from Kinikin Corner Dairy at this time. Read about a Kinikin Corner Dairy Campylobacter lawsuit.

Minnesota Campylobacter Outbreak: In March of 2009, The Minnesota Department of Health reported a Minnesota Campylobacter outbreak asociated with Chipotle in Apple Valley. Several people were sickened. We are representing a woman who became seriously ill after eating at the Apple Valley Chipotle. Read about a Minnesota Chipotle Lawsuit.

Labels: Campylobacter, campylobacter lawsuit, food poisoning lawyer, illinois campylobacter, lawyer

Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc. has expanded its recall of products contaminated by Salmonella to include all lots of roasted shelled pistachios and roasted in-shell pistachios from its 2008 crop year.

Labels: pistachio salmonella lawyer, salmonella pistachio lawsuit

Yogurt customers of Stonyfield Farm were complaining about an "off taste'' in quarts of fat free plain yogurt.

When company officials looked into it, they discovered that the offensive ingredient was a cleaning product.

What followed Saturday was a Stonyfield Farm food safety recall of 44,000 quarts of the dairy item.

The company, based in Londonderry, New Hampshire, described the cleaning product as a "food grade sanitizer'' and said no one reported getting sick from the adulteration.

The recall announcement was publicized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"The issue was a result of human error in not following our Company’s standard operating procedures,'' the press release said. "Stonyfield has taken all the necessary corrective action to prevent this from occurring again.''

The 32-ounce containers involved in the recall have one of two product codes printed along the cup bottom that start with the following date codes: May 06 09; time stamped 22:17 through 23:59 and May 07 09; all time stamps.

Labels: food safety, food safety lawyer

A New York company is recalling 114,540 pounds of concentrated chicken base products because they were ineligible for import to the United States from China.

In a news release today by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, the agency said the products distributed nationwide by Perk-up Inc., of White Plains, New York, did not meet inspection requirements and weren't exempt from inspection.

The products being recalled are:

• 5-pound pails of "PANDA BRAND CHICKEN BASE CONCENTRADO DE CALDO DE POLLO." Each container also bears the case code "2700031."
• 5-pound bags of "PANDA BRAND CHICKEN BASE CONCENTRADO DE CALDO DE POLLO." Each package also bears the case code "2700200."

The chicken base products were imported from China on various dates from May 2008 to September 2008. No illnesses have been reported in connection with the food safety recall.

Labels: E coli lawyer, food poisoning lawyer

A major league domino effect of food product recalls is already in play just days after the federal government announced a finding of Salmonella contamination in California-grown pistachios distributed nationwide by a large aggregator.

The roaster and distributor, Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc., will recall about 1 million pounds of pistachios and has shut down its production while state and federal health officials investigate. The company has been a pipeline of pistachios to other companies in the food industry for more than 10 years.

Thus, companies across the United States who repackaged the pistachios or used them as ingredients in other products are notifying consumers of the Salmonella danger that got passed on.

As of late Wednesday, there were at least 65 product entries in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's online master index of recalled pistachio products.

For instance, the Fisher brand of pistachios was added to the list Wednesday after the brand's owner recalled 1.75-ounce packages of dry roasted natural pistachios and 25-pound lots of natural California pistachios sold to fund-raisers, re-baggers and bulk food stores.

The FDA fully expects the list of recalled pistachio products to expand, much like has happened in the 7-month-old Salmonella outbreak related to peanut products sold by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). That's because PCA and Setton sold largely to the wholesale and manufacturing market.

National food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is representing victims of the peanut butter Salmonella outbreak, including the families of three women who died from their illnesses. The firm, which is involved on behalf of victims and survivors in virtually every major outbreak of foodborne illness, is gathering information on the potential pistachio Salmonella outbreak. To contact one of our Salmonella lawyers, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or complete a free case consultation form.

So far, no outbreak of illness has been linked to one of the types of Salmonella bacteria found in Setton's pistachios, but the FDA has said several illnesses reported by consumers may be associated with the contamination. Laboratory analysis of the potential matches is still happening.

Labels: California, pistachio salmonella recall, salmonella lawyer, setton pistacho