Food Poisoning Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark : Food Poison Journal

CDC announced this afternoon that it is investigating two multistate outbreaks of Salmonella infections, each involving a different Salmonella serotype: Hartford and Baildon. Both of these Salmonella serotypes are rare, and ill persons in both outbreaks have a similar age and geographic distribution.

An analysis indicates that eating at a Mexican-style fast food restaurant chain, Restaurant Chain A, is associated with some illnesses. Among persons eating at Restaurant Chain A, no specific food item or ingredient was found to be associated with illness for either outbreak.

An extensive traceback effort was initiated to determine if a common source or supplier could be identified to help focus the epidemiologic investigations. No common food source was identified in either traceback.

Salmonella Hartford Outbreak Investigation

As of August 1, 2010, a total of 75 individuals infected with a matching strain of Salmonella Hartford have been reported from 15 states since April 1, 2010. The number of ill people identified in each state with this strain is as follows: CO (1), GA (1), IL (5), IN (11), KY (23), MA (2), MI (3), MT (1), NC (1), NH (1), NY (1), OH (19), PA (1), SC (1) and WI (4). Among those for whom information is available about when symptoms started, illnesses began between April 30, 2010 and July 18, 2010. Case-patients range in age from <1 to 80 years old, and the median age is 39 years. Fifty-seven percent of patients are female. Among the 47 patients with available hospitalization information, 15 (32 %) were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

Salmonella Baildon Outbreak Investigation

As of August 1, 2010, a total of 80 individuals infected with a matching strain of Salmonella Baildon have been reported from 15 states since May 1, 2010. The number of ill people identified in each state with this strain is as follows: CT (1), GA (1), IA (1), IL (20), IN (4), KY (5), MA (1), MI (4), MN (5), NJ (6), NY (2), OH (6), OR (1), WA (1) and WI (22). Among those for whom information is available about when symptoms started, illnesses began between May 11, 2010 and July 19, 2010. Case-patients range in age from 1 to 82 years old, and the median age is 47 years. Seventy-four percent of patients are female. Among the 68 patients with available hospitalization information, 27 (40 %) were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

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In light of E. coli outbreaks traced to lettuce (Taco John's E. coli outbreak and Taco Bell E. coli outbreak) and spinach in late 2006, the Government Accountability Office listed food safety as a high risk area that needs further attention in a new report that was released this week.  The GAO issued a press release after the report was presented at a bipartisan briefing on Capitol Hill with leaders of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and House Oversight and Government Reform committees.  In the press release, the GAO states that:

David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States and the head of GAO, announced that sufficient progress has been made to remove two items from the list: the U.S. Postal Service’s transformation efforts and long-term outlook, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s single-family mortgage insurance and rental housing assistance programs. At the same time, he said federal oversight of food safety, protection of technologies critical to national security, and transportation financing and capacity have been added to the High Risk List.

An article in today's Baltimore Sun addressed the food safety issues highlighted in the GAO report:

The scares intensified public concern for the safety of the country's food supply, which former government officials say has been jeopardized by years of budget cuts to federal inspection programs.

Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, expressed hope that the new report would encourage Congress to reverse the cuts and put all the agencies responsible for food safety into one department.

"These programs are in critical condition," she said.

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The Orange Bulletin reports that once again, consumers are suffering from an outbreak of foodborne illness. As of Dec. 8, 63 individuals from six -states have developed E. coli 0157:H7 infections from a presumed exposure at the fast food chain, Taco Bell.

There are a number of suspected cases being evaluated in numerous other states, as well. According to William Gerrish, a spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Health, several Connecticut residents, having fallen ill after eating at Taco Bell, are being investigated.

The investigation of the E. coli outbreak is being handled by the Centers for Disease Control, or CDC, and the Food and Drug Administration, in cooperation with Taco Bell. Based on the probe, Taco Bell seems to be the link in this outbreak. 

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Minnesota Public Radio told consumers today not to expect a warning from the federal government on green onions despite an E. coli outbreak that's sickened nearly five dozen people who became ill after eating at Taco Bell restaurants on the East Coast. Investigators are still trying to pinpoint the exact cause of the outbreak, but they're looking at green onions from a California farm.

Over at the University of Minnesota, researchers are working on preventive solutions to foodborne outbreaks of illness, such as new sanitizing equipment. Joellen Feirtag is one of the researchers working on the project and an associate professor at the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota. She told Cathy Wurzer that the new technology is actually very simple.

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Taco Bell has withdrawn green onions from its 5,800 outlets throughout the US after preliminary tests revealed some samples to be infected with a strong strain of E. Coli. The fast food chain, a subsidiary of Yum Brands Inc, took the measure as a precaution, pending further tests on raw fruit and vegetables that will not be concluded until early next week.

Meanwhile it has been reported that health officials are investigating a warehouse in Burlington, New Jersey, as a possible source of the infection. The warehouse ships green onions to Taco Bell restaurants. Tracing the source of an infection like this is a painstaking exercise, since each stage of the supply chain from grower to consumer must be investigated. All non-meat foods are currently under the microscope.

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Authorities in three states are investigating hundreds more cases of food poisoning in the northeastern United States, and federal investigators said yesterday that their prime suspect, green onions, may not have caused the outbreak.

The Food and Drug Administration said tests did not find green onions as the cause. All of the 64 confirmed cases of E. coli poisoning, in five states, are limited to people who ate at Taco Bell restaurants.

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