Food Poisoning Lawyer & Attorney : Bill Marler : Marler Clark

As of two weeks ago, at least 21 isolates of E. coli O157:H7 with an indistinguishable genetic fingerprint have been collected from ill persons in 10 states: Illinois (1 person), Kentucky (3), Missouri (2), New York (2), Ohio (1), Pennsylvania (1), South Dakota (1), Tennessee (8), Virginia (1), and Wisconsin (1).

Persons became ill between July 20, 2007, and October 10, 2007. The age of ill persons ranges from 1 to 65 years with a median age of 9 - 53% of ill persons are female. At least 8 people have been hospitalized, and 4 have developed a type of kidney failure known as hemolytic-uremic syndrome, or HUS.

The Tennessee State Department of Health, working with CDC and health officials in several other states, coordinated a study to identify the source of these infections. Eating a Totino's or Jeno's brand frozen pizza-containing pepperoni was significantly associated with illness.

Since the announcement by the CDC and the recall by General Mills, we have been contacted by 16 people who believe that their illnesses are linked to consuming contaminated pizza. We are in the process of investigating those cases by ordering relevant medical records and health department records.

My favorite headline and quote is from the Trinidad Express:

Toss out your Totino pizza

If you have a Totino's frozen pizza in your refrigerator, throw it out because it could be contaminated with a deadly strain of the E. coli bacteria.

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Ashley Rowland of Stars and Stripes reported this evening on the ongoing failure of business and government to protect consumers, even military families, from dangerous, recalled products. She wrote from Korea that military officials are urging shoppers at Pacific bases to make sure they don’t have recalled frozen pizzas and cat vitamins in their homes. The products, recalled on November 1, include Jeno’s and Totino’s frozen meat pizzas, produced by General Mills, which were contaminated with E. coli; and Vitamin Care for Cats, produced by Hartz Mountain Corp. and contaminated with Salmonella.

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It was a good day to be a lawyer.  I got this email from Carol of Bonfield, IL:

Hi, just wanted to tell you I saw your picture and article in the November issue of the Prairie Farmer. Yes, it would be nice to put you out of business, but it is still good to know there is someone fighting for the little guy when it comes to food that makes someone so sick or dead.

I have also been handling emails and phone calls (between kids soccer games, a swim meet and basketball practice) from people who believe that they may have been sickened by the Pizza.  We have been ordering Health Department records to see if these illnesses are linked to the nationwide E. coli recall. 

As all my avid blog readers know, 5 million frozen pizzas sold nationwide under the Totino's and Jeno's labels have been recalled because of E. coli contamination. The problem appears to have come from pepperoni on pizzas produced at a General Mills plant in Ohio. The recall covers pizzas containing pepperoni that have been produced since July (over 120,000,000 pizzas were produced at that plant), when the first of 21 E. coli illnesses emerged.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that eight of the 21 victims have been hospitalized, and four have developed acute kidney failure. Eight of the cases were reported in Tennessee, with the other 11 cases found in Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin and South Dakota.

Expecting General Mills to mount a "you did not cook the E. coli (a.k.a. cow poop) out of it" defense, I went to YouTube to find the answer -  How To Cook A Totinos Pizza In Three Easy Steps?

The specific products in the recall listed by brand, product and SKU number include:

• Totino's ---Party Supreme--42800-10700
• Totino's--Three Meat--42800-10800
• Totino's--Pepperoni--42800-11400
• Totino's--Pepperoni--42800-92114
• Totino's--Classic Pepperoni--42800-11402
• Totino's--Pepperoni Trio--42800-72157
• Totino's--Party Combo--42800-11600
• Totino's--Combo--42800-92116
• Jeno's--Crisp 'n Tasty Supreme--35300-00561
• Jeno's--Crisp 'n Tasty Pepperoni--35300-00572
• Jeno's--Crisp 'n Tasty Combo--35300-0057

I spent a bit of time today researching E. coli O157:H7 cases tied to Salami and Pepperoni. Here is what I found: E. coli O157:H7 in Salami and Pepperoni

Escherichia coli O157:H7 Outbreak Linked to Commercially Distributed Dry-Cured Salami -- Washington and California, 1994

From November 16 through December 21, 1994, a total of 20 laboratory-confirmed cases of diarrhea caused by Escherichia coli O157:H7 were reported to the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health (SKCDPH). In comparison, three cases were reported during October 1994. Epidemiologic investigation linked E. coli O157:H7 infection with consumption of a commercial dry-cured salami product distributed in several western states. Three additional cases subsequently were identified in northern California. This report summarizes preliminary findings from the outbreak investigation.

Illness outbreak associated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Genoa salami

An outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection was identified in the spring of 1998, with a 7-fold increase in the number of laboratory-confirmed E. coli O157:H7 cases in southern Ontario. This prompted an intensive investigation by local, provincial and federal public health officials. METHODS: Case interviews of 25 people from southern Ontario were conducted using a broad food history and environmental exposure survey. Laboratory investigations involved both case and food sampling. Specimens of foods sold locally and reportedly consumed by those affected were tested. Common suppliers of suspected foods were identified by cross-referencing suppliers' lists with stores frequented by those who fell ill.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to salami, British Columbia, Canada, 1999

An outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections was identified in November 1999 with a fivefold increase in the occurrence of laboratory-confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 infection. A matched case-control study was conducted. Samples of food from cases and from retailers were analysed for the presence of E. coli O157:H7. A total of 143 cases were identified over a 12-week period with the same pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern. The case-control study found that Company A salami was significantly associated with illness (Mantel-Haenszel matched odds ratio 10.0%, 95% CI 1.4-434, P=0.01). Company A salami tested positive for E. coli O157:H7 and isolates had the same PFGE pattern as case isolates.

A family outbreak of Escherichia coli O157 haemorrhagic colitis caused by pork meat salami 2006

A family outbreak of Escherichia coli O157 infection was microbiologically associated with consumption of dry-fermented salami made with pork meat only and produced in a local plant. E. coli O157 strains isolated from a wife and husband, both hospitalized with bloody diarrhoea, and from the salami carried vt1, vt2 and eae genes and shared the same PFGE pattern. The food vehicle implicated in this outbreak is unusual because of both the animal species from which it originates and the fermentation and drying steps of the manufacturing process. This could be the first report of an outbreak associated with a product containing pork meat only. Even though sources of contamination other than pork meat could not be excluded, pork products should not be neglected in E. coli O157 outbreak investigations.

Deadly E. coli strain traced to Gilde slaughterhouse - 2006

A slaughterhouse partially owned by meat supplier Gilde was contaminated with a virulent strain of the E. coli bacteria that hospitalized about a dozen children and resulted in one death, Norway's food safety authority said yesterday. Since the outbreak in March this year Gilde has been fighting to clear its name. It's was Gilde that produced a private label brand of cured sausages that were eventually linked to E coli outbreak and the death. A month after the outbreak, Gilde was found to have sent nearly 600 kilos of potentially dangerous salami to shops instead of destruction

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To have as my 1000th blog post another story about another recall that is not really a recall is far less amusing than it used to be.  Dana Rebik reported that Recalled Pizza are Still On Store Shelves in Memphis Tennessee.

About 5 million Totino's and Jeno's frozen pizzas with pepperoni are being recalled. The pepperoni may be contaminated with E. coli. Millions of frozen pizzas are being recalled but today we found them still for sale at stores here in Memphis.  We went to a few different grocery stores and found a Totino’s pepperoni pizza still in the freezer at the Save-A-Lot at Jackson and Decatur. We went back into the store to talk to the manager and ask why. He says he thought he had pulled all of them this morning, but must have not seen that one. The manager says he was actually the one who was proactive about pulling these pizzas this morning, after he heard about the recall. He says Save-A-Lot corporate did not send any notice to his store, and he really did think he had gotten them all out.

We have a silly system of food safety in this country.  There should not be poisoned pizzas available for sale.

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General Mills is the “sixth largest food company in the world” with revenues for 2007 estimated to be nearly $12,500,000,000. General Mills announced today that since July 1 of this year, it had distributed more than 120 million Totino's and Jeno's pizzas nationwide. Surprisingly, in light of 21-reported E. coli illnesses tied to these products, General Mills has only recalled 5 million of the 120 million pizzas produced. “General Mills should immediately expand the recall to all 120 million pizzas produced during the time-frame that people were sickened,” said Bill Marler, the Seattle attorney who has dedicated his law practice to representing victims of E. coli outbreaks. According to the CDC, the earliest case was reported on July 20, and the latest was reported on October 10. The ten states reporting illness are, Illinois (1), Kentucky (3), Missouri (2), New York (2), Ohio (1), Pennsylvania (1), South Dakota (1), Tennessee (8), Virginia (1), and Wisconsin (1).

Marler also called on General Mills to immediately pay medical costs for the victims of the E. coli outbreak. “Without assistance in the form of monetary compensation for medical expenses, many of the families with members who were hospitalized will face financial hardship in the coming months when the bills start coming in,” said Marler. “General Mills should do the right thing and begin compensating victims of this outbreak for those most basic needs now,” Marler added.

Marler noted that other companies like Dole, Odwalla, ConAgra and Jack in the Box willingly paid medical bills when their products were identified as the source of E. coli outbreaks. “General Mills knows it’s going to pay those medical expenses in the end in the form of a settlement or jury verdict,” Marler continued. “The question is, since they know their product was the cause of these illnesses, why wait?”

Several times a month Bill speaks to industry and government throughout the United States on why it is important to prevent foodborne illnesses. He is also a frequent commentator on food litigation and safety on www.marlerblog.com. Bill also sponsors several websites related to E. coli, including www.about-ecoli.com, www.about-hus.com and www.ecoliblog.com.  Bill can be reached at bmarler@marlerclark.com or 1-206-346-1890

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According to the General Mills website, it is the “sixth largest food company in the world."  It is also a Fortune 500 company with headquarters in Minnesota, with revenues for 2007 estimated to be nearly $12,500,000,000.  On today's news of poisoned pizzas, General Mills shares were down $1.08, or 1.87 percent, at $56.65 on the New York Stock Exchange.

According to today's new's reports, since July 1 of this year, General Mills said Totino's and Jeno's have distributed more than 120 million pizzas nationwide. The frozen pizza products were produced in the company's Wellston, Ohio, plant and distributed nationwide. Surprisingly, General Mills has only recalled 5 million of the 120 million pizzas produced. One wonders if more will be recalled over the coming days.

According the the CDC, the earliest case was reported on July 20, and the latest was reported on October 10. The ten states reporting illness are, Illinois (1), Kentucky (3), Missouri (2), New York (2), Ohio (1), Pennsylvania (1), South Dakota (1), Tennessee (8), Virginia (1), and Wisconsin (1).  Still no announcement by General Mills that it will take care of the victims by paying medical bills and wage loss.


I'm sure we will hear more about this in the coming days.

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