Labels: food poisoning lawyer, food regulation, food safety

Labels: food safety, food safety lawyer

The recent Salmonella outbreak linked to Peanut Corporation of America peanut butter and peanut paste resulted in recalls of thousands of products (3,863 as of March 27, 2009).

In the following opinion piece, food safety attorney Fred Pritzker discusses the responsibility of retailers and others to get recalled products off of the shelves. According to Mr. Pritzker, "To promote food safety, everyone up and down the stream of commerce has to act and bear responsibility and should be held accountable for failing to do so."

Upstream, Downstream: Everyone Has to be Responsible

by Fred Pritzker

The whole point of a food recall is to prevent additional foodborne illness after producers and their adulterated products are identified. That’s why it’s so important for food companies, food distributors, food retailers and federal, state and local authorities to promptly and effectively remove from the marketplace any food known or reasonably certain to cause illness or death.

That’s also why there should be a special place in hell for those companies that knew or should have known a food product was dangerous but continued to sell it anyway.

The ongoing Salmonella outbreak involving Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) is a case in point. It appears from the company’s emails that its officers and employees knowingly shipped adulterated product. If so, the company’s liquidation and the criminal investigation of its principals are both necessary and fair.

But what about the downstream retailers of food products containing adulterated PCA ingredients? Aren’t they just as culpable if they fail to remove contaminated product from their shelves after they knew or should have known of the recall?

This is not an idle musing. Long after the PCA recall was announced and long after the list of adulterated products was known and accessible on a variety of web sites, retailers big and tiny continued to sell these poisonous snacks. I know because I looked.

Many of the recalled products were snack foods with long shelf lives and wide distribution. Many of the retailers who sell them are small outlets with small product stocks and unsophisticated (if any) recall procedures. For many such retailers, there is little economic justification for removing dangerous products and even less risk of public approbation for failing to do so – little consolation for the victims who continue to get sick long after the products should have been removed.

Perversely, the legal system in many states promotes such behavior. So called “pass through statutes” are intended to insulate downstream retailers from lawsuit liability if the upstream producer or manufacturer of the dangerous product is identifiable and solvent. In such cases, the retailer is automatically dismissed from litigation and bears no financial responsibility (dismissals can be avoided if the downstream retailer modified the product or otherwise actively participated in making the product defective).

So what should be done? From the standpoint of efficacy and efficiency, better product traceback and notification systems have to be designed and implemented. However, I have no illusions that any such improvements are really going to rid long lived snacks from the shelves of retailers disinclined to care all that much. What will incentivize such retailers is the threat of criminal sanctions and financial responsibility.

First, create a tight and focused criminal law that makes it a crime to sell a food product that a retailer knows or should know has been recalled. We do it for sales of liquor and cigarettes to minors; there is no reason not to do it for dangerous food products. If criminalizing the behavior is too extreme, create economic penalties by allowing consumers to prove such illegal sales and awarding them attorney fees if they’re successful. Again, there is precedent for such measures in consumer protection statutes on the books in virtually every state.

To promote food safety, everyone up and down the stream of commerce has to act and bear responsibility and should be held accountable for failing to do so.

Labels: food safety, food safety lawyer, press release, Salmonella

Labels: botulism antitoxin, botulism lawyer, food safety, home canning botulism

• 1-pound cans of Wei-Chuan granulated chicken bouillon
• 2.2-pound cans of Wei-Chuan granulated chicken bouillon
• 5-pound plastic pouches of Wei-Chuan granulated chicken bouillon.

Labels: chicken bouillon recall, food safety, food safety attorney

• Keep cream pies, cakes with whipped-cream frosting and other creamy deserts well refrigerated.



• Purchase produce that is not bruised or damaged.



• Do not cross-contaminate, even in the grocery store. Bag meat, poultry and fish separately from fruits, vegetables and other foods that will be eaten uncooked.



• Pre-cut or pre-washed produce, such as lettuce, should be rewashed if taken from an open bag in the fridge.



• Even if produce is peeled first, it is still important to wash it.



• Your refrigerator temperature should be set at 40 degrees, or lower.



• Consider using a separate cutting board for raw meats, poultry and seafood.



• Do not put cooked meat or fish on any unwashed plate that carried raw meat or fish.



• Keep hands washed before and after handling food. Wash with warm water and soap for 20 seconds each time.



• Do not rinse raw meat and poultry before cooking because it makes it more likely for bacteria to be spread on kitchen counters.



• Use a food thermometer to make sure meat, poultry and fish are cooked to a safe internal temperature. For a turkey, that means 165 degrees, and that also goes for stuffing inside the bird.



• When making your own egg nog, use pasteurized egg products or egg substitutes -- not raw eggs.



• Do not feed cookie dough containing raw eggs to yourself or children.



• Don't taste food that looks or smells questionable. When in doubt, throw it out.



• Don't thaw frozen foods on the kitchen counter. They should be thawed in the refrigerator. If you are in a hurry, thaw under cold running water or in the microwave -- but be sure to cook the food right away.

Labels: FDA, food safety, lawyer

Our law firm is one of the few in the nation that practices extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation. We have represented several victims of Listeria outbreaks. Contact us regarding our experience in this area by calling toll-free at 1-888-377-8900.

Labels: food safety, lawyer, Listeria, listeria attorney

Labels: food safety, lawyer

Differences were observed between clades in the frequency and distribution of Shiga toxin genes and in the type of clinical disease reported. Patients with hemolytic uremic syndrome were significantly more likely to be infected with clade 8 strains, which have increased in frequency over the past 5 years. Genome sequencing of a spinach outbreak strain, a member of clade 8, also revealed substantial genomic differences. These findings suggest that an emergent subpopulation of the clade 8 lineage has acquired critical factors that contribute to more severe disease.

Labels: DNA testing, food safety

Sell by/pull by date: This is the date that stores pay attention to. If an item hasn't sold by this date, they're supposed to pull it from the shelves. Don't be afraid to buy something on or right before its 'sell by' date; it'll still be good for a while if it's stored properly. How long? That depends on the item. More on that in a minute.

Best if used before/by: Until this date, your food's guaranteed to be at peak freshness if it's been properly stored. After that date, it'll still be safe to consume for a while but the quality won't be as high. So your OJ won't have that "fresh-squeezed taste" anymore. And if you've ever taken a swig of diet soda after the 'best by' date stamped on the bottle, you're familiar with the unmistakable taste of decomposing artificial sweetener. Yum.

Expiration date: This is your food's last hurrah. If you haven't consumed it by this date, toss it. It could make you sick if you try eating or drinking it.

• Cold Storage Chart
• Foods Purchased Refrigerated Chart

Labels: food safety

Some of the Westland Meat Co. branded products were purchased for Federal food and nutrition programs and, since Jan. 30, 2008, USDA has had an administrative hold on all products from Westland Meat Co. in all of these outlets including, in the National School Lunch Program, the Emergency Food Assistance Program and the Food Assistance Program on Indian Reservations. Based on this Class II recall, officials of the Food and Nutrition Service and Agricultural Marketing Service will work closely with State food and nutrition officials to minimize any disruptions caused by the removal and disposal of recalled Westland Meat Co. products.

Westland shut down operations on February 1 and FSIS issued a Notice of Suspension three days later after investigating the plant after receiving allegations of violations. The practices at Westland directly violated the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.

The Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company must first respond to the Notice of Suspension and submit a corrective action plan to address its failure to properly implement the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and FSIS regulations. FSIS must first verify that the plan they submit fully and completely addresses the findings in the Notice of Suspension to ensure the humane handling and slaughter of animals at the facility.

Negligible. The federal government has an interlocking system of controls to protect the food supply and to prevent animals with signs of central nervous system disorders from entering the food chain. All cattle at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company passed ante-mortem inspection before slaughter.

Labels: Cattle E coli, food safety

Labels: food safety, food safety attorney, food safety study

The categories for establishments are as follows, as stated in the report:

Category 2 establishments are those with sample set results above half but not exceeding the current standard for one or both of their most recent sample sets and Category 3 are those that are exceeding the current standards. Category 1 establishments have the lowest Salmonella rates of the three categories with sample set results at or below half of the current standards.

Labels: beef, food safety, FSIS, poultry, Salmonella

Labels: FDA, food imports, food regulation, food safety, FSIS

UNITE HERE, the largest union for hotel, kitchen, and restaurant workers in North America, has demanded cooking oil manufacturers to stop using the harmful chemical diacetyl, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Diacetyl is a butter-flavor additive which is often found in cooking oils, sprays, and margarine which can be harmful if released as a vapor when heated.

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 California and Washington are already taking action. The two states are working together to develop regulations regarding the use of the chemical and are working on a letter to send to all professional chefs and restaurants to warn of the dangers of diacetyl. Because of the increased publicity of its harmful effects, many companies are already producing diacetyl-free products.

Labels: food regulation, food safety

• Keep an appliance thermometer in the refrigerator and freezer. An appliance thermometer will indicate the temperature in the refrigerator and freezer in case of a power outage and help determine the safety of the food.
• Make sure the freezer is at 0 °F or below and the refrigerator is at 40 °F or below.
• Freeze containers of water for ice to help keep food cold in the freezer, refrigerator or coolers after the power is out.
• Freeze refrigerated items such as leftovers, milk and fresh meat and poultry that you may not need immediately — this helps keep them at a safe temperature longer.
• Plan ahead and know where dry ice and block ice can be purchased.
• Store food on shelves that will be safely out of the way of contaminated water in case of flooding.
• Have coolers on hand to keep refrigerator food cold if the power will be out for more than 4 hours. Purchase or make ice cubes and store in the freezer for use in the refrigerator or in a cooler. Freeze gel packs ahead of time for use in coolers.
• Group food together in the freezer — this helps the food stay cold longer.
  

• Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature.
• The refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about 4 hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will hold the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) and the door remains closed.
• Discard refrigerated perishable food such as meat, poultry, fish, soft cheeses, milk, eggs, leftovers and deli items after 4 hours without power.
• Food may be safely refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is at 40 °F or below when checked with a food thermometer.
• Never taste a food to determine its safety!
• Obtain dry or block ice to keep your refrigerator and freezer as cold as possible if the power is going to be out for a prolonged period of time. Fifty pounds of dry ice should hold an 18-cubic-foot full freezer for 2 days.
  

Labels: Campylobacter, food safety, microwave safety