Food Poisoning Lawyer & Attorney : Bill Marler : Marler Clark

Standing in the New Orleans Airport yesterday afternoon, I had a nice chat with Mark Morey of the Yakima Herald about the status of the ConAgra Salmonella Peanut Butter litigation (CDC confirms 714 Illnesses) as well as the filing of yet another suit against ConAgra for manufacturing Salmonella Pot Pies (CDC confirms 272 Illnesses – 27 in Washington State).  His article appeared this morning in the Yakima Herald - Woman sues over tainted pies:

Bill Marler, a Seattle attorney who focuses on food safety cases, said Barnes' case is among 40 that he is handling related to the ConAgra outbreak, which federal health investigators say sickened about 270 people in the United States…. ConAgra said it has improved safety measures, but Marler said Barnes and other victims deserve compensation for their medical treatment…. Marler said the company has not  offered a settlement yet, although he is discussing that possibility as part of other litigation involving tainted ConAgra peanut butter.

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Josh Funk once again reports on how our government, despite finding errors at industrial food facilities, does not feel the necessity to inform the public of its findings. This despite pot pies having been linked to at least 272 cases of salmonella (65 hospitalized) in 35 states. Mr. Funk’s story follows:

USDA inspectors found flaws in the safety plan ConAgra Foods Inc. used at the Missouri plant where it makes the Banquet and private label pot pies that were linked to a salmonella outbreak… A spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said Thursday that ConAgra took action to correct the problems inspectors found after the Oct. 11 recall, so the government did not have a problem with the company's plan to resume production… USDA spokeswoman Amanda Eamich said details of the inspectors' findings at the plant would be released only through a formal Freedom Of Information Act request.

Eamich would say only that there was a record-keeping problem and an issue with ConAgra's Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point plan that spells out what the company does to ensure its products are safe.

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CNN Money reported this afternoon that food maker giant, ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG) Inc., said that it has resumed producing Banquet and private label pot pies a month after they were recalled after being linked to salmonella illnesses. The pot pies made by ConAgra have been linked to at least 272 cases of salmonella in 35 states. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at least 65 people were hospitalized as part of the outbreak.

Conagra said shipments to retail customers are expected to begin in December and consumers can expect to see the pies in retail stores by January (I can not wait). The company belatedly recalled all pies produced at its Marshall, Missouri plant (which we have a Court Order to enter) October 11 after the products were linked to cases of salmonella. ConAgra faces several lawsuits (actually, five) related to the recall, which was the second ConAgra recall this year due to salmonella (remember Peter Pan). ConAgra said it expects the pot pie recall to cost about $30 million, or 4 cents per share.

Hmmm, I bet ConAgra wishes it would have spent that money on upgrades of the plants instead of potential settlements on behalf of injured people.  I also spoke with Joe Ruff of the Omaha World Herald about ConAgra resuming production and the lawsuit we filed against it in its home state:

ConAgra's menu again has pot pies


Full Article Below:
ConAgra Foods Inc. said Wednesday that it had enhanced its food safety procedures and resumed making frozen Banquet and private-label pot pies, which the company recalled last month after they were linked to salmonella illnesses.

The company said it would ship the pot pies to stores beginning in December, and they should be back on store shelves as soon as January.

"We apologize to any consumer who became ill from eating any of our pot pies," Chief Executive Gary Rodkin said in a statement. "I would like to assure our consumers, customers and investors that the food safety conditions and operating processes throughout our manufacturing network are strong."

Product testing indicates the salmonella contamination was isolated to Banquet turkey pot pies produced on July 13 and July 31, ConAgra officials said. No salmonella contamination was found in the Marshall, Mo., plant were the pot pies were made, the company said.

ConAgra recalled all turkey, chicken and beef pot pies on Oct. 11. The company had issued an advisory Oct. 9 warning people against eating turkey and chicken pot pies while the investigation continued.

Bill Marler, a Seattle attorney who specializes in cases of foodborne illnesses, said he did not take issue with ConAgra resuming production.

It might be too early to determine exactly which production dates were involved in any contamination, however, Marler said.

"As more health departments come in, we might get a better sense of the breadth of period of time contamination was in the plant," Marler said.

Marler's firm has filed several lawsuits against ConAgra on behalf of people who said they became ill after eating Banquet or private-label pot pies made by the company.

One lawsuit was filed in Nebraska on behalf of Amy Eberle of Minden, who said her son became ill after eating a Great Value-brand chicken pot pie that she purchased from a store in Kearney.

The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said a specific strain of salmonella had sickened more than 270 people in 35 states, and interviews with people who had become ill pointed to Banquet pot pies as the likely source.

At least three Banquet pot pies taken from the homes of people had tested positive for the salmonella bacteria found in the outbreak, the federal agency said.

ConAgra said it has developed new and more stringent testing for ingredients coming into all its ready-to-cook manufacturing plants, as well as more testing of finished products. It worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture at the Marshall plant on the new procedures before resuming production , the company said.

Cooking instructions on pot pies also have been revamped to eliminate potential confusion regarding cooking times, ConAgra officials said.

Before the recall, people may have undercooked the pot pies, particularly in microwave ovens that have varying power levels, company officials had said.

The recall could cost ConAgra about $30 million, or 4 cents per share, most of which will be recorded in the fiscal second quarter, the company said.

Stronger-than-expected earnings from trading and merchandising will help offset the recall costs for the full year, ConAgra said. Full-year guidance will be provided when the second-quarter report is issued Dec. 20, the company said.

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Leaving ConAgra no room to deny the obvious, according to the CDC, at least 272 isolates of Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:- with an indistinguishable genetic fingerprint have been collected from ill persons in 35 states. To date, three of these patients’ pot pies have yielded Salmonella I4,[5],12:i:- isolates with a genetic fingerprint indistinguishable from the outbreak pattern. I guess that is more than a “smoking gun,” but a smoking pot pie.

Most people infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12–72 hours after infection. Infection is usually diagnosed by culture of a stool sample. The illness usually lasts 4 – 7 days. Although most people recover without treatment, severe infections may occur. Infants, elderly persons, and people with impaired immune systems are more likely than others to develop severe illness. In severe infection, Salmonella spreads from the intestines to the bloodstream and then to other body sites, and death can occur if the person is not treated promptly with antibiotics.

To date we have been contacted by over 100 people who believe they have become ill as a result of eating ConAgra Banquet Pot Pies.  Of those thus far we have been able to confirm nearly 20 as suffering from a Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:- infection.  Three lawsuits have been filed to date.

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When they are mixed together at ConAgra?* (hopefully, people recall the TV ads of a few years ago - "you have chocolate in my peanut butter.")



UPDATE - Between January 1, 2007 and October 29, 2007, at least 272 isolates of Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:- with an indistinguishable genetic fingerprint have been collected from ill persons in 35 states.  Illnesses began January 2007 and have continued through at least October 2007.

Investigation of Outbreak of Human Infections Caused by Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:-

Ill persons whose Salmonella strain has this genetic fingerprint have been reported from Arizona (1 person), Arkansas (4), California (16), Colorado (7), Connecticut (6), Delaware (5), Florida (2), Georgia (2), Idaho (8), Illinois (6), Indiana (3), Kansas (3), Kentucky (8), Massachusetts (6), Maryland (7), Maine (1), Michigan (3), Minnesota (7), Missouri (16), Montana (4), Nevada (6), New York (10), Ohio (10), Oklahoma (1), Oregon (3), Pennsylvania (17), Tennessee (6), Texas (4), Utah (12), Virginia (9), Vermont (2), Washington (17), Wisconsin (23), Wyoming (3). Their ages range from <1 to 87 years with a median age of 20 years; 51% of ill persons are female. At least 50 people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.  State health departments are collecting and testing pot pie products recovered from patients’ homes. To date, one pot pie yielded Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:- isolates with a genetic fingerprint indistinguishable from the outbreak pattern.



So far, the CDC has reported that the other ConAgra Salmonella outbreak has held fast at 628 cases in 47 States.

Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Serotype Tennessee Infections Associated with Peanut Butter --- United States, 2006--2007

In November 2006, public health officials at CDC and state health departments detected a substantial increase in the reported incidence of isolates of Salmonella serotype Tennessee. In a multistate case-control study conducted during February 5--13, 2007, illness was strongly associated with consumption of either of two brands (Peter Pan or Great Value) of peanut butter produced at the same plant. Based on these findings, the plant ceased production and recalled both products on February 14, 2007. The outbreak strain of Salmonella Tennessee subsequently was isolated from several opened and unopened jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter and from two environmental samples obtained from the plant. As of May 22, 2007, a total of 628 persons infected with an outbreak strain of Salmonella serotype Tennessee had been reported from 47 states since August 1, 2006. on February 13, 2007.  Subsequent laboratory testing of leftover peanut butter from patients was performed at state public health laboratories and CDC. Salmonella Tennessee with a PFGE pattern matching one of the outbreak strains was isolated from 21 opened and unopened peanut butter jars with production dates ranging from July 2006 to December 2006.


I am not an owner or stockholder of ConAgra (yet, anyways).  However, if I was, here are a few questions I would ask:

1.  What the hell is going on with food safety and quality assurance?

2.  Why to date have no Salmonella culture positive cases from either outbreak been settled despite spending millions of dollars on legal defense fees?

One other thing, it is clear that the numbers the CDC cites as cases related to Pot Pies (238) and to Peanut Butter (628) are gross undercounts.  According to AC Voetsch, “FoodNet estimate of the burden of illness caused by nontyphoidal Salmonella infections in the United States,”Clinical Infectious Diseases 2004;38 (Suppl 3):S127-34.  The real numbers are some 38.6 times higher, or 9,187 ill in Pot Pies and 24,241 ill in Peanut Butter.

*  I am not implying that Reese's Peanut Butter has anything to do with ConAgra's mess.

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CDC confirms Salmonella Pot Pie outbreak has been ongoing since January 2007 - a month before the Salmonella outbreak tied to ConAgra peanut butter was announced in February 2007.



Investigation of Outbreak of Human Infections Caused by Salmonella I,4,[5],12:i:-

CDC is collaborating with public health officials in multiple states across the United States and with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety Inspection Service to investigate an ongoing multi-state outbreak of Salmonella I,4,[5],12:i:- (pronounced “four five twelve eye minus”) infections in humans. An investigation that used interviews comparing foods eaten by ill and well persons is showing that eating Banquet brand pot pies produced by the ConAgra Foods company is the likely source of the illness.

Between January 1, 2007 and October 9, 2007, at least 152 isolates of Salmonella I,4,[5],12:i:- with an indistinguishable genetic fingerprint have been collected from ill persons in 31 states. Ill persons whose Salmonella strain has this genetic fingerprint have been reported from Arizona (1), California (6), Connecticut (3), Delaware (5), Georgia (2), Idaho (6), Illinois (3), Indiana (3), Kansas (2), Kentucky (8), Massachusetts (5), Maryland (5), Maine (1), Michigan (3), Minnesota (6), Missouri (11), Montana (4), Nevada (6), New York (6), Ohio (8), Oklahoma (1), Oregon (2), Pennsylvania (13), Tennessee (5), Texas (4), Utah (2), Virginia (6), Vermont (2), Washington (2), Wisconsin (19), Wyoming (2). Their ages range from <1 to 87 years with a median age of 20 years; 49% of ill persons are female. At least 20 people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

So, why recall peanut butter, but not pot pies?

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