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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.
Salmonella Tied To PCAs Texas Plant
The Colorado Department of Health and Environment has traced six Salmonella illnesses to peanut ingredients made at the Plainview, Texas, plant of Peanut Corporation of America (PCA).The finding marks the first time that any Salmonella illnesses in the ongoing Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak have been associated with any other plant other than PCA's processing facility in Blakely, Georgia.
"This certainly widens the scope of the investigation,'' Alicia Cronquist, epidemiologist for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, told the Portland Oregonian newspaper.
Cronquist said six of 16 people in Colorado sickened by the outbreak strain of Salmonella ate peanut butter ground at a self-service machine at Vitamin Cottage, a natural foods chain based in Lakewood, Colorado. The peanut ingredients came from PCA's Texas plant. One of the six ill persons had to be hospitalized.
PCA has filed for bankruptcy liquidation and gone out of business. But the bankruptcy filing won't halt a federal criminal investigation of the company, nor will it deter lawsuits, including a Salmonella wrongful death suit filed by national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen Attorneys in Minneapolis.
The firm represents the families of three women -- two in Minnesota and one in Ohio -- who died with Salmonella infections after eating adulterated peanut butter made at the Georgia plant.
The investigation of the peanut butter Salmonella outbreak centered exclusively on PCA's plant in Georgia until Texas health inspectors found unsafe conditions and preliminary signs of Salmonella at the Plainview facility. Texas authorities ordered a recall of all peanut products ever made at the plant.
Labels: PCA Texas plant Salmonella, peanut butter salmonella attorney, Peanut Corporation of America lawsuit, Texas Salmonella cases
Peanut Corporation of America Goes Bankrupt
A lawyer representing Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) informed PritzkerOlsen Attorneys Friday that the Virginia-based peanut processor is going out of business via bankruptcy liquidation.PritzkerOlsen represents clients in PCA's massive Salmonella outbreak, including the families of two Minnesota woman who died after eating contaminated peanut butter at assisted living centers in Brainerd.
Firm founder and president Fred Pritzker told The Associated Press that the development could delay justice for hundreds of people sickened in the national food poisoning scare. The immediate consequence could put lawsuits on hold, but Pritzker said he will attempt to fight through any blockades.
"For all the people whose loved ones have been killed or people who have been out of work or suffered serious injury or who have incurred medical bills, right now they are just left with a lump of uncertainty,'' Pritzker told the AP.In a wrongful death lawsuit that Pritzker has filed on behalf of the heirs of Shirley Mae Almer, one of the Salmonella victims, the two current respondents are PCA and Ohio-based King Nut Companies, distributor of peanut butter made at PCA's contaminated plant in Blakely, Georgia.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 637 people in 44 states have been sickened by peanut butter and peanut paste made by PCA. Much of the product was sold as ingredients to food manufacturers, resulting in more than 2,000 consumer recalls of peanut-containing products across the country.
PCA last month closed its Georgia plant. This week, after signs of Salmonella bacteria were found at PCA's plant in Plainview, Texas, that facility was shut down. On Friday, an inspection by Texas health investigators led to a recall of all products ever made at the plant.
They found rodents, feces and feathers in a crawl space. The plant's air-handling system was sucking debris from the crawl space into a peanut processing area.
We welcome your comments. What do you think of PCA's bankruptcy filing?
Labels: PCA bankruptcy, peanut butter salmonella attorney, Peanut Corporation of America bankruptcy, Peanut Corporation of America lawsuit
$$$$ Swirled in Company Salmonella E-mails
The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Commerce released copies Wednesday of internal company e-mails regarding Salmonella issues at the Blakely, Georgia, plant of Peanut Corporation of America (PCA).
Federal authorities have linked peanut butter and peanut paste made at the plant to a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 600 people in 44 states and may have caused nine deaths.
The e-mails were released the same day that two executives at Virginia-based PCA invoked their rights against self-incrimination in refusing to testify before the subcommittee. The executives were Chief Executive Stewart Parnell and Georgia Plant Manager Sammy Lightsey.
Cornell University food safety professor Joseph Hotchkiss told The Associated Press that what he saw in the e-mails "might be interpreted as reckless disregard for the health of the consuming public.'' He said the documents show "abundant concern for PCA but little regard for the health and well-being of the people.''
On Sept. 29, 2008, for example, Lightsey e-mailed Parnell to note a positive test result for Salmonella in a lot of 441 cases of peanut granules produced four days earlier. They were being retested, but results weren't expected for another four days. Parnell responded: "We need to discuss this... the time lapse, besides the cost is costing us huge $$$$$ and causing obviously a huge lapse in time from the time we pick up peanuts until the time we can invoice.''
An e-mail from Lightsey to Parnell on Aug. 11 talked about a previous positive test result for Salmonella in products at the Blakely plant. Another firm retested the products and when they were deemed "clean'' on Aug. 21,' Parnell wrote an e-mail the same day saying, "Okay, let's turn them loose then.''
Despite the obvious dealings with Salmonella in 2008, Parnell wrote an e-mail on Jan. 12, 2009, that was circulated widely to company personnel. "As you probably know, we send hourly PB samples to an independent lab to test for Salmonella during production of peanut butter, and we have never found any Salmonella at all.''
By then, Minnesota health officials had taken samples of peanut butter produced by PCA and found Salmonella bacteria that was a genetic match to the outbreak strain. But Parnell wrote in his e-mail that the open container of peanut butter must have been cross-contaminated somewhere else, long after leaving the plant.
"Don't worry,'' the e-mail said. "We are well positioned to deal with this event no matter what happens... we were not the cause of this outbreak.''
Federal authorities have linked peanut butter and peanut paste made at the plant to a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 600 people in 44 states and may have caused nine deaths.
The e-mails were released the same day that two executives at Virginia-based PCA invoked their rights against self-incrimination in refusing to testify before the subcommittee. The executives were Chief Executive Stewart Parnell and Georgia Plant Manager Sammy Lightsey.
Cornell University food safety professor Joseph Hotchkiss told The Associated Press that what he saw in the e-mails "might be interpreted as reckless disregard for the health of the consuming public.'' He said the documents show "abundant concern for PCA but little regard for the health and well-being of the people.''
On Sept. 29, 2008, for example, Lightsey e-mailed Parnell to note a positive test result for Salmonella in a lot of 441 cases of peanut granules produced four days earlier. They were being retested, but results weren't expected for another four days. Parnell responded: "We need to discuss this... the time lapse, besides the cost is costing us huge $$$$$ and causing obviously a huge lapse in time from the time we pick up peanuts until the time we can invoice.''
An e-mail from Lightsey to Parnell on Aug. 11 talked about a previous positive test result for Salmonella in products at the Blakely plant. Another firm retested the products and when they were deemed "clean'' on Aug. 21,' Parnell wrote an e-mail the same day saying, "Okay, let's turn them loose then.''
Despite the obvious dealings with Salmonella in 2008, Parnell wrote an e-mail on Jan. 12, 2009, that was circulated widely to company personnel. "As you probably know, we send hourly PB samples to an independent lab to test for Salmonella during production of peanut butter, and we have never found any Salmonella at all.''
By then, Minnesota health officials had taken samples of peanut butter produced by PCA and found Salmonella bacteria that was a genetic match to the outbreak strain. But Parnell wrote in his e-mail that the open container of peanut butter must have been cross-contaminated somewhere else, long after leaving the plant.
"Don't worry,'' the e-mail said. "We are well positioned to deal with this event no matter what happens... we were not the cause of this outbreak.''
Labels: peanut butter salmonella attorney, peanut butter salmonella lawyer, peanut corporation of america wrongful death, salmonella death lawsuit
Almer Testimony Captivates Hearing
Passionate testimony from Jeffrey Almer, whose mother died of Salmonella poisoning after eating contaminated peanut butter, captivated a congressional subcommittee on the same day that two executives of the peanut butter company refused to answer questions."Their behavior is criminal in my opinion,'' Jeffrey Almer said of the manufacturer, Virginia-based Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). "I want to see jail time and I want to see them served nothing but the putrid sludge they've been troweling out.''
Almer told the committee his mother had survived lung and brain cancer in 2007 and 2008. She was recovering nicely from a urinary tract infection and talking about getting a new puppy when she was suddenly sickened with Salmonella. She died December 21 at a hospital in Brainerd with family gathered around her.
"Cancer couldn't claim her, but peanut butter did,'' Jeffrey Almer said. "Our family feels cheated. My mom should be with us today.''
Almer's testimony, which was streamed live over the Internet on Wednesday, came before the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. He and his siblings are clients of national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen Attorneys, which has filed a Salmonella wrongful death lawsuit against PCA and distributor King Nut Companies in Hennepin County District Court in Minneapolis.
PritzkerOlsen also represents the family of Doris Flatgard, 87, who died January 4 with a Salmonella infection after eating the same brand of peanut butter consumed by Mrs. Almer.
Jeffrey Almer told the subcommittee that his mother was a proud American businesswoman who had a lot of "Sisu,'' which is what Finnish people call a person with spunk, fortitude and determination.
Just after New Year's Day, the Minnesota Department of Health informed the family that Shirley Almer had a positive test for Salmonella that matched the outbreak strain.
"She had unknowingly consumed Salmonella-laced peanut butter while in her immune compromised state of health,'' Almer told the subcommittee. "Our grief was replaced by anger as we struggled to accept this very preventable tragedy.''
Almer told the subcommittee that PCA "appears to be more concerned with squeezing every dollar possible at the expense of sanitary conditions and sound food manufacturing processes.''
He continued: "PCA now has the blood of eight victims on their hands, along with the shattered health of a known 600 others'' who were sickened by the outbreak stain of Salmonella. He said PCA's legacy "is now that of a company that did what it could get away with until their shoddy practices led to one of the nation's largest recalls.''
"She had unknowingly consumed Salmonella-laced peanut butter while in her immune compromised state of health,'' Almer told the subcommittee. "Our grief was replaced by anger as we struggled to accept this very preventable tragedy.''
Almer told the subcommittee that PCA "appears to be more concerned with squeezing every dollar possible at the expense of sanitary conditions and sound food manufacturing processes.''
He continued: "PCA now has the blood of eight victims on their hands, along with the shattered health of a known 600 others'' who were sickened by the outbreak stain of Salmonella. He said PCA's legacy "is now that of a company that did what it could get away with until their shoddy practices led to one of the nation's largest recalls.''
What he didn't realize is that officials in Ohio were confirming on Wednesday that a ninth death may have been caused by the outbreak strain of Salmonella.
Mr. Almer closed his testimony by railing against America's underfunded food regulatory safety net.
"Shirley Almer loved this country but was terribly let down by a broken and ineffective food safety system. She was let down in the worst possible way by the very government whose responsibility it is to protect its citizens,'' he said. "We need strong laws, regulations and effective enforcement enacted to protect our families.''
Mr. Almer closed his testimony by railing against America's underfunded food regulatory safety net.
"Shirley Almer loved this country but was terribly let down by a broken and ineffective food safety system. She was let down in the worst possible way by the very government whose responsibility it is to protect its citizens,'' he said. "We need strong laws, regulations and effective enforcement enacted to protect our families.''
Labels: peanut butter salmonella attorney, Peanut Corporation of America lawsuit, salmonella death lawsuit, salmonella peanut butter lawsuit
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.
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