What We Do
Foodborne Illness
Previous Posts
- Salami Recall Lawsuit
- HAPPYTOT Baby Food Recall
- Parkers Farm Recall Lawsuit
- Adams Farm Slaughterhouse Beef Recall
- Report Links Milan IL McDonalds to Hepatitis A Out...
- Fairbury Steaks Ground Beef Recall
- South Shore Meats Recall
- MN Petting Zoo E coli HUS Linked to Llama
- Texas Star Meat Beef Brisket Recall
- Culebra Meat Market Beef Recall
Archives
- October 2007
- November 2007
- December 2007
- January 2008
- February 2008
- March 2008
- April 2008
- July 2008
- September 2008
- November 2008
- December 2008
- January 2009
- February 2009
- March 2009
- April 2009
- May 2009
- June 2009
- July 2009
- August 2009
- September 2009
- October 2009
- November 2009
- December 2009
- January 2010
- February 2010
Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]
Pritzker Olsen Law Firm Food Safety Blog
Pritzker Olsen attorneys have appeared on CBS News, Fox news, and numerous local television stations throughout the country. They have recovered millions for victims of food poisoning outbreaks. To contact our law firm, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our free consultation form.
Patrons Sickened While at Restaurant
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
Current Policies and Procedures of the U.S. Food System
In the current system the regulation of food is split between the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency of the Department of Homeland security. FSIS regulates meat, poultry and egg products, FDA regulates everything else, and CBP regulates imports into the country.
Although FSIS regulates a smaller percentage of the nation’s food supply than the FDA, FSIS receives more government funding and handles food safety much differently than the FDA. FSIS creates a list of countries (currently 34) that comply with U.S. safety standards and allows the import of products from firms who are certified by their home nation’s government. The CBP then verifies shipping records when products reach U.S. borders. Once on U.S. soil, FSIS inspects the products in 33 different ports among 135 inspection centers, using a computer system to record vital information. All products must be visually inspected by FSIS officials, while a computer system randomly generates a variety of products to also undergo laboratory testing.
The FDA, on the other hand, utilizes a completely different system. The FDA inspects each foreign firm in order to certify safe producers. This is a difficult task so the agency notes which importing firms are a high or low risk, and does on-site testing on that basis. The FDA can also communicate with the CBP computer systems, while FSIS cannot, to see if the shipments reaching the ports are verified. Because of the lack of funding, the FDA is understaffed and inspections occur far less frequently than FSIS inspections.
Washington has noted the flaws in the procedures of the FDA and FSIS, and has attempted to pass a new strategy to control the safety of our nation’s imported food products. The strategy implements aspects of both systems, calling for more interagency cooperation and for the formation of a single agency to regulate the entire food supply. The reform also includes the certification of countries to import products into America, utilizing import fees and restricting the number of ports available to import products.
The Heritage Foundation, however, sees flaws in the government’s attempt to reform the current system. Rather than imposing penalties on other countries to import food and increasing a government hold on the system, the Heritage Foundation promotes a free market solution to the problem. With simplified government regulations and expanded research into food safety from a scientific standpoint, market forces will promote a safer food supply. Rather than losing money due to bad publicity, companies will voluntarily remove unsafe products from store shelves and competitive forces in the market will favor safer foods. But the Foundation also sees the need for government agencies to have the power to impose mandatory recalls for companies who handle their products irresponsibly.
We respectfully disagree with the Heritage Foundation with regards to a free market solution. This is basically the current federal policy of industry self regulation. As evidenced by the numerous recalls and foodborne outbreaks, this is a failed policy. We do agree that the federal government needs to have the power to impose mandatory recalls on food and other dangerous products.
Labels: FDA, food imports, food regulation, food safety, FSIS
Diacetyl in Cooking Oil Can Cause Bronchiolitis Obliterans
UNITE HERE, the largest union for hotel, kitchen, and restaurant workers in
At least three deaths have been attributed to diacetyl from the formation of bronchiolitis obliterans in the victims. Bronchiolitis obliterans is inflammation in the smaller pathways in the lungs. The highest levels of diacetyl are found in cooking oils used by professional chefs.
Congress is concerned about the prevalence of the chemical and has sent a letter to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. The letter stated that “it is urgent that we finally determine the national scope of exposure and illness related to diacetyl-containing food flavoring.”
The FDA cannot take action because, according to the FDA, diacetyl is only harmful when released as a vapor, not when ingested as a food. Therefore, it is the responsibility of OSHA to deal with laws concerning the workplace safety in regards to diacetyl levels. OSHA, however, has been very slow to respond to the growing concern of the chemical and has implemented no new rules to protect workers from potential lung disease.
While scientists and experts are working to figure out the exact effects of diacetyl and at what levels it is most dangerous, states such as
Labels: food regulation, food safety
Sale of Listeria-Contaminated Food Results in 15 Month Sentence
Timothy Delong, former president of Atlantis Foods, Inc., has plead guilty to charges of engaging in a scheme to defraud through the sale of adulterated food (food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes), and a scheme to introduce misbranded food into interstate commerce in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. § 1341, and 21 U.S.C. §§ 331(a), 333(a)(2), and 343. R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, David W. Bourne, Special Agent in Charge, Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, and Lee Huttenbach, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Southeast Region, Office of Inspector General, announce that Mr. Delong was sentenced yesterday to fifteen (15) months in prison.
U. S. District Court Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley imposed the 15-month sentence and also ordered Delong to pay a fine of $5,000 and to pay restitution in the amount of $200,000 to the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences to be used to support its programs in the area of food safety. The sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.
Count 1 of the Information charged Delong with engaging in a scheme to defraud the customers of Atlantis Foods, Inc., where Delong served as president, through the sale of adulterated prepared foods. Delong, through Atlantis, sold chicken salad, Maine lobster dip, salmon cream cheese, salmon spread, chicken salad with almonds and cranberries, and crab stuffing which contained the harmful bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Delong was president of Atlantis Foods, which on six occasions in 2003, allegedly produced and distributed food products containing Listeria monocytogenes. Delong failed to notify his customers after learning of the contamination and did not initiate a recall of the products.
Count 2 of the Information charged Delong with the introduction into interstate commerce of misbranded food, namely "Smoked Rainbow Trout Spread," between January 2002 and December 2003. According to court records, the spread, which listed trout as the first ingredient, was false and misleading in that the product in fact did not contain trout, but instead was made with tuna.
A copy of the press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov/ or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov/.
Mr. Delong's sentence seems light considering that he endangered the lives of thousands of people. Sentencing in these cases should serve to adequately punish the guilty individual and deter similar behavior. This sentence did neither.
Labels: food regulation, Listeria, listeria attorney, sentence
Food Poisoning Lawyer Fred Pritzker has appeared on national television and has been quoted by national publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and Lawyers USA. He has been named a "Super Lawyer" by Law and Politics magazine. He is also listed in the current edition of The Best Lawyers in America. To contact Fred Pritzker about a food poisoning lawsuit or food safety advocacy, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit the firm's free consultation form.
Free Case Consultation
This is attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The result of each case is determined by the specific facts and the applicable law.