Food Poisoning Law Firm
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.

AP: Peanut Plant in Texas Wasnt Licensed

State and federal health officials have been focused on the Blakely, Georgia, peanut processing plant of Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) as the cause of a nationwide Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak that may have contributed to eight deaths and more than 100 hospitalizations.
Nothing has changed in that regard, but The Associated Press reported in a recent story that a PCA processing plant in Plainview, Texas, operated for four years without a state license and without government inspection.

According to the AP, PCA opened the peanut processing plant in March 2005. But the facility was never licensed with the Texas Department of Health Services and had never undergone a government inspection, the AP story said.

The investigation of PCA's Georgia plant led investigators to also check out the company's other facilities. That's when the problem in Plainview was discovered. When health officials investigated the plant last month, they found no Salmonella bacteria, the AP said.

Nationwide, the Salmonella peanut butter outbreak has sickened more than 550 people. Victims have begun filing lawsuits, including the heirs of Shirley Mae Almer, 72, of Perham, Minnesota.

Mrs. Almer died December 21 at a Brainerd area hospital with an infection of Salmonella that later was matched to the outbreak strain.

Pritzker Olsen is representing the heirs of Mrs. Almer in her Peanut Corporation of America lawsuit. The national food safety law firm, which is based in Minneapolis, also will file a wrongful death lawsuit for the family of Doris Flatgard, 87, who died in the Salmonella outbreak on January 4.

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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 a Minnesota woman, 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?

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Cub Foods Cookies Recalled in Salmonella Outbreak

Five varieties of cookies made by Cub Foods have been recalled as part of the Peanut Corporation of America peanut product Salmonella recall.
The Stillwater, Minn.,-based food retailer said the Cub Foods-brand cookies were sold at Cub stores in Minnesota and Iowa. They were marked with a sell-by date through and including January 29, 2009.
Cub said the move was precautionary, based on Peanut Corporation of America's (PCA's) recall of Parnell's Pride brand peanut butter, which is used by store bakeries. There have been no reported cases of illness related to the cookies that Cub is recalling.
At least 36 confirmed cases of the outbreak strain of Salmonella have been reported in Minnesota, where three people have died.
PritzkerOlsen Attorneys, a national food safety law firm based in Minneapolis, has filed a Salmonella wrongful death lawsuit in Hennepin County District Court against Peanut Corporation of America and Ohio-based King Nut Companies, a distributor of PCA peanut butter.
PritzkerOlsen plans to file a second wrongful death lawsuit against PCA and King Nut for the family of Doris Flatgard, 87, who also was residing in a Brainerd nursing home when she became infected with Salmonella. Mrs. Flatgard died Jan. 4.
PritzkerOlsen 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. In addition, the firm is devoted to educating the public about food safety issues and advocating for badly needed food safety legislation. Contact us for Salmonella peanut butter and peanut paste lawsuit information.
The peanut product Salmonella outbreak has led to one of the biggest product recalls in U.S. food poisoning history. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has established a searchable index for consumers to keep track.
The five Cub cookie varieties being recalled are: Cub Foods Peanut Butter Cookies, 12ct./12 oz, UPC 41303-63070; Cub Foods Peanut Butter Cookies, 24ct./24 oz, 41303-63003; Cub Foods Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies, 18ct/ 11 oz, 41303-67091; Cub Foods Peanut Butter Blossom Tray, 36ct./22 oz, 41303-63056; Cub Foods Iced Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Icing, 12ct/12 oz, 41303-63028.

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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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