Cherry Hill, New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyer - Salmonella

FDA Warns of Possible Salmonella in Pistachios

Camryn Hansen — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:58:37 GMT

According to the FDA, consumers should not eat two brands of pistachios that are associated with a salmonella-related recall because they may have been repackaged before being sold in airports and hotels.

The brands to avoid are California Prime Produce and Orange County Orchards, both of which were repackaged by Orca Distribution. (Anaheim, CA).

"The company (Orca) did not publicly announce its recall. We are warning consumers not to eat these brands of pistachio," FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Kwisnek said on Tuesday in a telephone interview. -Reuters

The salmonella pistachios originally came from Setton Pistachio (Terra Bella, CA), which recalled its products nationwide in March after the bacteria had been found in some of the nuts.

Symptoms of salmonella infection generally begin with nausea and vomiting, and progress to abdominal pains, cramps, and diarrhea which can last anywhere from two days to a week. Typically, patients can recover without treatment, but young children, seniors, and those with weakened immune systems can require hospitalization for dehydration and other complications.

Earlier this year, more than 500 people were sickened and at least seven died of food poisoning from salmonella-tainted peanut butter manufactured by the Peanut Corporation of America.

If you have been sickened by pistachios or any other contaminated consumer product, contact The Ferrara Law Firm to find out more about your right to compensation.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Camryn Hansen

A Little Late, FDA Issues New Safety Guidelines for Companies Using Peanuts

Mike Ferrara — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:59:24 GMT

In the wake of a salmonella outbreak in peanut products from the now bankrupt Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), which, according the CDC, sickened at least 683 people and killed 9, the FDA issued safety guidelines this week to all companies using peanut products. It said that it may begin to seize whose products which test positive for salmonella bacteria.

The FDA advises that although salmonella bacteria are generally heat-sensitive, they can become heat-resistant in high-fat environments such as peanut butter. Salmonella can also survive in products like peanut butter or peanut paste when the peanuts used to make them are not roasted properly. Baking peanut butter into cookies and crackers can be insufficient to kill the bacteria if the temperature is too low, or is not kept constant. And products like ice cream, which are both frozen and high in fat, actually protect salmonella bacteria.

In light of these facts, the FDA is urging food manufacturers to buy peanut products “only from suppliers with validated processes in place to adequately reduce the presence of Salmonella species.” It’s also urging companies to check for salmonella in the products they manufacture.

We have to ask ourselves: why only now is the FDA recommending that manufacturers pay attention to where their products come from and whether or not they’re tainted with life-threatening bacteria? They should have been doing this already. We trust them (with our lives—literally) to do it. Because they did not, a total of 3,235 products have been recalled, and a full two months after the discovery of salmonella in PCA’s products, consumers are still reporting serious illness from salmonella complications. It’s unconscionable that it should take these kinds of events for the FDA to “urge” companies to take responsibility for the safety of their products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Ferrara

Proposed FDA Globalization Act Will Help Prevent Salmonella Outbreaks, Preserve Food Safety, and Ensure Consumer Rights

Camryn Hansen — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:49:24 GMT

Last week, Congressman John Dingell (D-MI) introduced a plan to update the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which, according to the American Association for Justice, “would help ensure the safety of the nation’s food, drugs, medical devices and cosmetics and help restore confidence in the safety of the nation’s products.”

The Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act, if approved, would impose registration fees on processing plants to help fund food safety initiatives, would increase the frequency of manufacturing facility inspections to once every four years, would raise the penalties for noncompliance with FDA regulations, and would ensure more widespread safety-testing of imported food products. It would also give the FDA greater authority to recall products it deems potentially harmful to consumers.

Last week, we learned that peanut producers deliberately put consumers at risk by knowingly allowing salmonella-tainted peanut butter to leave their facilities for store shelves all across the country. The resulting salmonella outbreak has already killed at least eight people and sickened hundreds of others. According to the AAJ, the proposed FDA Globalization Act would not only decrease the potential for these kinds of incidents to occur, but would allow for increased accountability for the guilty parties—by ensuring that consumers injured by tainted food maintain their rights to pursue compensation through the courts.

“With the onslaught of reports of contaminated spinach, tomatoes, beef, pet food, and now peanut butter, it is clear increased funding and authority is needed at the FDA like Congressman Dingell’s legislation provides,” said Bill Marler, a food safety attorney and member of the American Association for Justice’s Foodborne Illness Litigation Group.

“However, the revelation the peanut manufacturer responsible for the salmonella outbreak knowingly endangered consumers by selling product they knew was harmful shows why FDA enforcement is not enough,” added Marler. “The increased inspections and civil justice penalties provided by this legislation go hand-in-hand with the right to hold wrongdoers accountable for the food they sell and profit from,” added Marler. “We are glad Congressman Dingell included language to protect the right of consumers to seek justice on these issues in the court system.”-AAJ

It would benefit all of us to throw our support behind the FDA Globalization Act.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Camryn Hansen

History of Health Violations at Georgia Peanut Butter Plant – FDA Let it Ride

Mike Ferrara — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:35:20 GMT

The Georgia plant that produced the salmonella-tainted peanut butter, which to date has killed at least seven people and sickened nearly 500, was cited several times in 2006 and 2007 for health violations including dirty surfaces, grease residue, and dirt buildup in the plant.

According to inspections reports The New York Times received from Georgia officials:

Inspections of the plant in Blakely, Ga., by the State Agriculture Department found areas of rust that could flake into food, gaps in warehouse doors large enough for rodents to get through, unmarked spray bottles and containers and numerous violations of other practices designed to prevent food contamination. The plant, owned by the Peanut Corporation of America of Lynchburg, Va., has been shut down.

A typical entry from an inspection report, dated Aug. 23, 2007, said: “The food-contact surfaces of re-work kettle in the butter room department were not properly cleaned and sanitized.” Additional entries noted: “The food-contact surfaces of the bulk oil roast transfer belt” in a particular room “were not properly cleaned and sanitized. The food-contact surfaces of pan without wheels in the blanching department were not properly cleaned and sanitized.”- Roni Caryn Rabin, The New York Times

In 2008, two inspection reports cited the plant in violation of safety practices ensuring that “food and non-food contact surfaces were cleanable, properly designed, constructed and used.”

According to officials, the state of Georgia had contracted with the FDA to perform plant inspections on the federal agency’s behalf.

Why did it take a salmonella outbreak to close a food processing plant that should have been forced into compliance or shut down by the FDA years ago? The answer may be, as potential FDA head Dr. Steven Nissen has suggested, that the FDA is simply too understaffed and overworked to responsibly handle the enormous tasks involved in food inspection. For the health of all Americans, the new administration can't let this kind of FDA languish in mediocrity any longer.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Ferrara

King Nut Peanut Butter Recalled for Ties to Salmonella Outbreak

Mike Ferrara — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:21:46 GMT

In response to a salmonella outbreak that has infected nearly 400 people in 42 states, Ohio-based King Nut Companies has issued a recall of all the peanut butter it distributes.

The recall came after salmonella was discovered in an open 5-pound tub of King Nut peanut butter at a nursing facility. Now, all peanut butter under the King Nut and Parnell’s Pride labels are being removed from the market until the distributor can ensure that its products are salmonella-free.

"We are very sorry this happened," Martin Kanan, president of King Nut Companies, said in the statement. "We are taking immediate and voluntary action because the health and safety of those who use our products is always our highest priority."

In its statement, King Nut said it distributes peanut butter "only through food service accounts. It is not sold directly to consumers."

The statement added, "King Nut does not supply any of the ingredients for the peanut butter distributed under its label. All other King Nut products are safe and not included in this voluntary recall." -CNN

According to Minnesota public health officials, the salmonella in King Nut peanut butter has already contributed to one death in that state. Fifty five cases of salmonella infection have been reported in California; 53 in Ohio; 39 in Massachusetts; 30 in Minnesota and 20 in Michigan. Other states are reporting fewer than 20. About 18 percent of people infected had to be hospitalized.

Symptoms of salmonella infection generally begin with nausea and vomiting, and progress to abdominal pains, cramps, and diarrhea which can last anywhere from two days to a week. Typically patients can recover without treatment, but young children, seniors, and those with weakened immune systems can require hospitalization for dehydration and other complications.

If you were the victim of this or any other salmonella outbreak, contact attorney Mike Ferrara at info@ferraralawfirm.com to learn more about your right to compensation.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Ferrara

More Salmonella Outbreaks Tied to Dry Dog Food from PA Plant – Simple Steps to Protect Yourself

Mike Ferrara — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 23:02:02 GMT

According to US health officials, eight more cases of people infected with salmonella have been traced to dry dog food.

As of October 31, 79 cases of infection from a specific strain of salmonella, salmonella Schwarzengrund, had been reported across 21 states, with most of the cases involving children 2 or younger.

According to epidemiologist Dr. Casey Barton Behravesh, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has linked the outbreak of this very specific strain of bacteria to pet food produced at a single Mars Petcare U.S. plant in Everson, PA. In September, the plant recalled over 23,000 tons of dry dog and cat food sold under 105 brand names for being tainted with salmonella, and on October 1, it permanently closed.

Despite the plant’s closing, Barton Behravesh says, the threat salmonella infection still exists because “since dry pet food has a one-year shelf life, it is possible that contaminated products…could still be in the homes of ill persons and could lead to additional illness.”

Pet owners should check their dry pet food to see if it was manufactured by Mars Petcare U.S. If so, they should check the company's website to see if it was included in the September recall.

Young children are particularly vulnerable to salmonella because they're smaller, and thus more likely to get sick from small doses. According to the CDC, most infections were caused by simply feeding a pet.

So far, no animals have been reported infected by the outbreak.

Some very simple steps can be taken to protect yourself and your family against pet food borne salmonella. These include regularly washing your pet feeding bowls to prevent the growth of bacteria; thoroughly washing your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or more after handling dry pet food, including treats; and being careful to keep dry pet food from touching your food preparation surfaces.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Mike Ferrara