2007 was a record year for hamburger-related food safety recalls – over 20 individual recalls involving over 33 million pounds of meat. Because of the failure of the beef industry and government to protect the public, the law firm of Marler and Clark has approved a project to commission a baseline study to determine the
January 2008
Mao Would Be Proud
I was reading The China Daily (my source of “real news”) and stumbled across this article by Zhu Zhe – “Beijing food, drug safety drive ‘complete success.’” Unlike Food Safety Authorities in every other part of the world, Chinese “[a]uthorities in Beijing Wednesday declared the city’s four-month campaign against unsafe food and drugs a…
Chuy’s Mesquite Broiler Implicated in Hepatitis A Scare – Vaccine Shots to be Available After Shortage
According to the Kern Faculty Medical Group, they expect to have enough hepatitis A vaccine shots after supplies temporarily ran out Saturday. The medical group had given about 90 vaccine shots Saturday morning before supplies ran out, said Dr. Mansukh Ghadiya with the clinic. Public health officials made arrangements with Kern Faculty Medical Group for…
We Don’t Cover Norovirus Enough
I don’t talk about norovirus much on the pages of my blog despite the fact that norovirus is estimated to cause 23 million cases of acute gastroenteritis (commonly called the "stomach flu") in the U.S. each year, and are the leading cause of gastroenteritis. Of viruses, only the common cold is reported more often than…
Raw Milk Legislation Makes Hay on Both Coasts – Is It about Health or Money?
I missed out on the Legislative Hearing in California on Raw Milk bacterial limits. However, one of my crack lawyers was there and the hearing is all of tape for later use (from the video it reminds me of a Grateful Dead concert). The bottom line seems to be that the lawmakers felt the Department…
Another Restaurant Employee Infected with Hepatitis A
It reads like the who’s who of restaurants – Carl’s Jr., Chi-Chi’s, D’Angelo’s, Friendly’s, Houlihan’s, Maple Lawn Dairy, McDonald’s, Quizno’s, Silver Grill Location Catering, Subway, Taco Bell – who we have sued over the last dozen years for allowing either a Hepatitis A infected worker to serve food, or serve food already infected with Hepatitis…
New Era Botulism Beans Recalled – Again
New Era Canning Company of New Era, Michigan is recalling all cans of green beans and garbanzo beans in #10 cans (large cans containing between 6 and 7 pounds) because they may have been processed under conditions which could have led to contamination by Clostridium botulinum bacterium spores, which can cause life-threatening illness or death. The codes on the affected product begin with the numbers “00249,” or the letters “GREEN” or “GARB”. This recall does not include Italian Green Beans because that is a different product. The two earlier recalls:
It is interesting that this new recall notice comes out at 6:00 PM on a Friday night — hmmm, bet they did not think the "Merry Flawger" would be paying attention. I clearly need to find something to do on Friday nights.
The following product labels are affected:Continue Reading New Era Botulism Beans Recalled – Again
Foodborne Outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium Infections Associated with Quiznos Restaurant in Rochester, Minnesota
As part of our investigation on behalf of several clients sickened in this outbreak, we were provided the report by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). The significant parts are below as is the full report.
Background
On October 16, 2007 the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Public Health Laboratory (PHL) identified seven case isolates…
Welcome New Readers – Tony Roma’s and Rochester Meat
Johnny Depp Gives Two Million to Hospital That Saved His Daughters Life from E. coli O157:H7
According to press reports, Johnny Depp donated two million dollars to the London hospital that saved his daughter’s life from E. coli O157:H7. The star wanted to make sure others were helped with his donation and he directed the money to the center for treating eight-year-old Lily-Rose last year. Lily-Rose was admitted to the…