Alfalfa sprouts sicken 13 in Washington and Oregon - Again
Washington State health officials believe alfalfa sprouts are connected to an outbreak of Salmonella that’s sickened nine people in Washington and four in Oregon. The outbreak has been tied to alfalfa sprouts from Sprouters Northwest, Inc. in Kent. The company has agreed to voluntarily recall the product and has stopped distributing it. The sprouts are sold in a variety of package sizes labeled “Alfalfa Sprouts,” or as mixed varieties that contain alfalfa sprouts as an ingredient. People should not eat any products from Sprouters Northwest that contain alfalfa sprouts. Discard them immediately or return them to the store.
The first cases of Salmonella Typhimurium were reported in early August. People have been sickened in Clark, Island, King, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston, and Whatcom counties. At least two have required hospitalization.
Sound Familiar? It was reported on June 4, 2004 that Sprouters Northwest Inc. was recalling 2-, 3- and 5-lb. institutional trays of sprouts sent to various food institutions because they may be linked to a recent increase in salmonellosis in Oregon and Washington, the FDA said in a statement. Twelve cases of Salmonella Bovismorbificans, possibly linked to the consumption of raw alfalfa sprouts, have been reported, the FDA said.
We represented victims of two Salmonella outbreaks linked to sprouts produced by Harmony Farms, an Auburn, Washington firm, and Hydro-Harvest and Pacific Coast Sprout Farms of Oregon.
The FDA has long warned about the dangers of sprouts - see links to FDA concerns.
The FDA has announced
The Jalapeno Peppers being recalled were shipped in 35lb. plastic crates and in 50lb. bags with no brand name or label. The recall is a result of sampling by FDA, which revealed that these Jalapeno Peppers were contaminated with the same strain of .jpg)
Why, if the 
Well, the stocking are hung and the presents are all wrapped, and I am surfing the net to see what there is to blog about (my version of the “Night Before Christmas”) when I found this quote:
Public health investigators at Johns Hopkins University estimate that workers in poultry factories in the United States are 32 times more likely to be colonized with E. coli that repels the antibiotic gentamicin than other people. The drug is used to treat both poultry and humans.
Recently, in a new study, 
The NARMS program monitors changes in antimicrobial drug susceptibilities of selected enteric bacterial organisms in humans, animals, and retail meats to a panel of antimicrobial drugs important in human and animal medicine. Animal and human isolates currently monitored in NARMS include 
Some people gamble in Reno, others eat hamburger. Perhaps the odds of winning or loosing are about the same. Steve Timko from the 
Now talk about gambling odds, according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, in 2004, the average American consumed 60.1 pounds of cattle meat, of which about 59% was hamburger. Also, in 2004 there were about 275,000,000 Americans. In the last statistic I could find, a 1987 study tested for the presence of 
Here is a quote of mine form CFO Magazine .jpg)
"From 1993 to 2002, 95 percent of my revenues came from cases involving E. coli tied to hamburger," Marler says. "That has dried up to nearly zero since 2003. Once producers started testing and getting a lot of positives, they began looking at their procedures and processes to figure out how to eliminate the contamination. The fact that they were able to eliminate it to such a degree has put me out of the hamburger business, and I'm happy about that, candidly. I never thought I would say this, but I think the food industry across the board needs to take a really hard look at what the hamburger industry has done."
AP reported that 5,500 pounds of "Green Paradise" brand basil has been recalled. The basil was shipped in sets of 12 one-pound boxes marked with lot No. 1219. The basil grown in Mexico and sold in the United States has been recalled because of fears it may be infected with 
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Dinesh Ramde of Minneapolis Associated Press reported in 
Mr. Ramde also reported that my firm, “Marler Clark, based in Seattle, has filed six other lawsuits against ConAgra in connection with the pot pie recall. The others were filed on behalf of residents of Michigan, Minnesota and Nebraska, as well as three in Washington.” We have been retained by 20 others. 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. Ill persons whose Salmonella strain has this genetic fingerprint have been reported from Arizona (1 person), Arkansas (4), California (18), Colorado (9), Connecticut (7), Delaware (5), Florida (2), Georgia (2), Idaho (11), Illinois (7), Indiana (3), Iowa (1), Kansas (4), Kentucky (9), Massachusetts (7), Maryland (7), Maine (2), Michigan (3), Minnesota (7), Missouri (18), Montana (6), Nevada (6), New York (10), North Carolina (2), Ohio (11), Oklahoma (1), Oregon (4), Pennsylvania (18), Tennessee (6), Texas (4), Utah (12), Virginia (9), Vermont (2), Washington (27), Wisconsin (24), Wyoming (3).
To date, we have filed six lawsuits against ConAgra stemming from this Salmonella outbreak. We presently represent nearly two dozen people throughout the United States. Today we are in the ConAgra Pot Pie Manufacturing Facility in Marshall, Missouri inspecting the plant. As my readers might recall, the CDC has published its preliminary findings on the scope of the outbreak involving ConAgra’s Banquet Pot Pies and other private label brands such as Wal-Mart’s Great Value. The USDA's Inspection Report has yet to be released to the public.
You may already be aware of this but just in case you aren’t I’ll pass this along. I received information yesterday that there has been another illness reported that is associated with product from the ConAgra plant in Marshall, MO. This is a lab-confirmed report of Salmonella is associated with consumption of a Banquet Turkey Meal. There was a previous similar complaint reported in October that was not lab-confirmed. Both previous and present complaints apparently involve the Banquet Turkey Meal with a sell by/use by date of January 2009. The product is a 9.25 oz “Turkey Meal”. I have not seen a label from this product but I am told it says turkey meal, mostly white meat with gravy, dressing, mashed potatoes and peas. The complainant is apparently located in North Carolina and purchased the product at a local supermarket.
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 (.gif){kind=small}
On the same day it was announce that I settled the last of the Salmonella suits against Sheetz, the Post-Bulletin of Rochester reported that 
In 1990, a reported 174 Salmonella javiana illnesses, as part of a four state outbreak, were linked to raw tomatoes. In 1993, 84 reported cases of Salmonella Montevideo were part of a three state outbreak that was linked to raw tomatoes. In January 1999, Salmonella Baildon was recovered from 86 infected persons in eight states. In July 2002, an outbreak of Salmonella javiana occurred associated with attendance at the 2002 U.S. Transplant Games held in Orlando, Florida during late June of that year. Ultimately, the outbreak investigation identified 141 ill persons in 32 states who attended the games. 
I am sitting at home not wanting to head to the airport for a trip to New Orleans (it is Thanksgiving weekend anyway) to meet with lawyers and insurers from ConAgra (sounds fun?). I must admit that I am skeptical of the meeting given that to date ConAgra has resolved no claims of any significance However, there seems to be some recent interest in resolving the thousands of legitimate customer claims. Given that ConAgra is facing legal defense bills of seven figures each month, has incurred some $50-60 million in recall cost - and who knows how much in lost sales - and now faces more of the same in Pot Pies, perhaps it will get serious and take care of its customers..jpg)
So, wish me luck (or a bit of magic) on the flight. More importantly, however, wish ConAgra the wisdom to understand that its future success is tied to taking care of its poisoned customers and in making a serious commitment to food safety. ConAgra needs to remember that it is no "Big" deal, in fact it is "Easy," to do the right thing. If taking care of customers is too hard, ConAgra also needs to remember the FDA inspection of 2005:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reminds consumers to pay special attention to the handling of eggs and preparation of foods that contain eggs during this holiday season. Some holiday favorites, such as cookie dough, homemade eggnog, and some types of stuffing, may contain eggs that are raw or undercooked. Eggs sometimes contain a bacteria called 
National Pasteurized Eggs, Inc. (NPE), producers of Davidson's Safest Choice Pasteurized Shell Eggs, announced today that sales in the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2007, increased 46 percent over 2006, led by sales from hotels and resorts across the country. By using pasteurized shell eggs, hoteliers eliminate the risk of .gif){kind=small}
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As the Indy-Star reports, Marler Clark is representing a Greenwood man in a 
Time has come to begin trying to hammer out financial settlements for hundreds of people who were sickened by a batch of salmonella-tainted tomatoes last summer. Marler Clark represents 98 of the more than 400 people who were sickened in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and six other states after eating Roma tomatoes served at Sheetz stores last year. 
Strong evidence links orange juice produced at Orchid Island Juice Co. in Fort Pierce to an outbreak of 15 cases of illness caused by a strain of salmonella, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday. In addition, at least 16 other states have reported cases of salmonella that match the specific strain of the Salmonella typhimurium bacterium. 
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on July 8, that Orchid Island Juice Co. of Fort Pierce, Florida was recalling unpasteurized orange juice after fifteen cases of Salmonella Typhimurium were t