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At 6:41 AM, on January 20, 2009, Minnie Borden was pronounced dead.  It was a stunning end to an illness that came about all because of an invisible collection of bacteria contained in a package of peanut butter crackers.

Minnie Borden was born in 1926, in the town of Lanett, Alabama.  Although she stopped attending school after the fifth grade, her education certainly did not cease to carry on.  In the words of her only daughter, Earlene Carter, “She was educated through her life experiences.”

Starting around age 16, she began perfecting her notorious work ethic, one that carried her through life until her retirement at the age of 70.  For many of those years she worked tirelessly as a housekeeper for local families, eventually segueing into the food service industry.  She continued in this field, ultimately working at the Sinclair Community College as a cook until she decided the time had arrived to retire.  The year was 1996.

Refuting the notion that retirees ease into an idle existence, Minnie continued to be a spitfire of independence.  She suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, a condition she was diagnosed with in the 1960s.  But despite the sometimes debilitating pain pulsating in her fingers, knees, and hips, she continued to be mobile, doing her own shopping and upkeep around the house without assistance.  By 2002, she was still as active as ever, but with a trusty cane planted firmly at her side.  Living by herself in Dayton, Ohio, Minnie stuck faithfully to her daily morning routine, rising from her bed, then making her way to the bathroom to clean up before heading to the kitchen for some breakfast.  Her days were peppered with a few favorite TV shows, some light chores, and chats with family and neighbors.

In late 2007, Earlene noticed that her mom’s joint pain had became very severe, making it more difficult for her to remain mobile.  Earlene purchased a wheelchair for her to use in the house.  She took to her new wheeled companion well, and continued living independently and generally caring for herself along with some assistance from Earlene, who lived a quick five miles down the road.

By fall of 2008, other than arthritis and poor hearing, her health was excellent.  It was quite unusual then, when in November, Minnie mentioned to Earlene that her appetite was lacking and her stomach hurt.  There was nothing unusual about her diet at that time.  In fact, she continued to enjoy one of her favorite snacks on a regular basis, Little Debbie’s Peanut Butter Cheese sandwich crackers.  Speaking daily and seeing each other nearly as often, Earlene took note of her mother’s new discomfort, but other than mentioning the abdominal pains, Minnie did her best to keep the escalating situation to herself.

On November 24, Earlene picked up Minnie for an appointment with an arthritis specialist, Dr. Mujeeb A. Ranginwala.  Again, she mentioned the stomach pain, but was not overly vocal about her discomfort.  He had a blood sample collected and sent to the lab for testing, but nothing unusual was uncovered.  They left the appointment and Earlene took Minnie back to the comfort of her home.

As the days continued, and November turned into December, Minnie’s gastrointestinal issues worsened and she became undeniably weaker.  Earlene started going over to her mother’s house early each morning, motivating her out of bed and providing some assistance for her to make it to the bathroom.  Earlene washed her up and even helped her dress, though Minnie increasingly stated that she would rather remain in her robe.

By December 10, Minnie was no longer able to keep quiet about her intensifying stomach cramps and distress.  That morning started off typical—Earlene came over and helped Minnie up, then took care of some cleaning chores around the house.  After she was done, Earlene returned home.  About an hour after she arrived home, the phone rang.  It was Minnie, with notable distress in her voice, stating that the stomach pain was worsening and was now in her chest too—she needed to go to the hospital.

Earlene hustled over to Minnie’s house, helped her to the car using the wheelchair, and together they headed off to the Miami Valley Hospital Emergency Room (ER).  As soon as the nurses and doctors were told that Minnie was having pain in her chest, their immediate concern was a potential heart attack.  An EKG machine was connected to Minnie’s frail body to monitor her heart functions, and a blood sample was obtained and sent to the lab for testing.  After preliminary results indicated she was not suffering from a heart attack, the treating physicians decided it was prudent to admit her for further observation and testing.  It took a number of hours before a room was ready and she was transferred from the ER.  Over the next two days, she was carefully observed and her blood test results were monitored.  A heart attack was ultimately ruled out and the causes of her abdominal and chest pains were left unanswered.

Earlene was at the hospital with her mother at the time of discharge.  The treating physician discussed the recommendations for physical/occupational therapy—preferably in a skilled nursing facility—to help with Minnie’s weakened state.  Moving Minnie to a nursing home was out of the question for Earlene.  The strengthening therapy she needed could be provided with in-home treatment visits, and if needed, Earlene agreed to have Minnie move in with her.  “I have been by her side and she has been by mine.  We walked that walk together for many years.  Whatever she needed, I could do and did, and whatever I needed that she could do, she did.  We cared for each other deeply.”

After being discharged, Minnie was driven home.  Earlene again used the wheelchair to move her from the car to the house, making it to the bedroom where she could rest.  Once home, however, Minnie’s gastrointestinal complaints only worsened.  By now, Minnie’s failing strength made it necessary for Earlene to help her mother out of bed to use the bedside toilet during the night, several times a night.  Earlene also had to help Minnie dress and groom herself every day, something she had not previously had to do.

Earlene also noticed that Minnie’s stools had turned loose and black.  When pressed, Minnie stated that she passed similar black stools recently.  Earlene continued to provide her with as much water as she could consume, aware of the importance of staying hydrated.  The downhill decline only continued.  As Earlene recalls, “I treated her like she was a little baby that I took care of, cleaning her up, powdering her down, and sanitizing her bottom.”

When her black, loose stools failed to resolve, Earlene became worried and decided a visit to the doctor was necessary—an appointment was set for December 18.  Earlene drove Minnie to the appointment and went into the examination room with her, bringing a sample of the stool along in an adult diaper that she had begun putting on Minnie.  Dr. Chitanya Kadakia, her primary care physician, took one look at the sample and said “there’s blood in that stool.”  The tone and words of Dr. Kadakia sent chills up Earlene’s spine as he explained that she must go immediately to the ER.  He agreed to call the hospital in advance to notify them that Minnie was on her way.  A short time later, they arrived at the Good Samaritan Hospital ER.

She was examined and noted to be very weak and pale, with bright red blood discharging from her rectum and black tarry stools.  Her abdomen was tender to the touch, with pain described as achy.

Minnie’s stay at Good Samaritan Hospital lasted from December 18 until her discharge on December 29.  While in the hospital, Minnie endured repeated procedures while the doctors attempted to diagnose her illness.

On Friday, December 19, Minnie was given a transfusion with packed red blood cells (PRBCs).  She continued to have frequent watery diarrhea and was in constant pain.  The next day, an esophagogastroduodenoscopy was performed, which revealed a benign gastric ulcer without any active bleeding.  The doctors remained stumped.

By Monday, December 22, her stools were described alternately as “greenish liquid” and “reddish brown,” indicating continued infection and bleeding.  A peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line was placed in her right arm, with Minnie wincing and struggling to maintain her composure throughout the procedure.  Later that evening, she passed another large green liquid stool.

Finally, on Wednesday, December 24, Christmas Eve, a sample of Minnie’s bloody liquid stool was obtained and sent to the lab to be cultured for pathogens.  Why this was not done sooner remains a mystery.  The results were alarming, and provided an explanation for her continued suffering—she was infected with Salmonella Group B.  The Ohio Department of Health was notified, and conducted further testing on the sample, revealing that she was infected with Salmonella Typhimurium, the same strain later identified as part of the nationwide PCA Salmonella outbreak.Continue Reading Another Salmonella Death Linked to Peanut Corporation of America

Three-year-old Jacob consumed Salmonella-contaminated Austin Toasty Crackers with peanut butter. Jacob’s parents purchased the crackers at Costco Wholesale in Wilsonville, Oregon.

Jacob’s stool sample collected on January 7, 2009 was positive for Salmonella, serotype Group B, Typhimurium. PFGE testing conducted on the Salmonella isolate was a genetic “match” to the national outbreak pattern associated with…

As of July 14, 2014, a total of 25 ill persons infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Newport (16 persons),Salmonella Hartford (7 persons), or Salmonella Oranienburg (2 persons) have been reported from 15 states. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Arizona (1), California (3), Colorado (1), Connecticut…

FSIS announced this evening to further clarify and correct “Use or Freeze by” and “Best by” date ranges, as well as to provide an updated product list. The product list remains the same and the recall is not expanded.

Foster Farms, a Livingston, Calif., based establishment, is recalling an undetermined amount of chicken products that…

Bobby Ray Hullett, known to friends and family as Pete, and his wife Shirley lived in Maiden, North Carolina.  The Hulletts were married for forty-five years and worked together at the Southern Glove mill for thirty years.  Pete was a soft spoken man who worked all his life. Early in his career at Southern Glove a huge press crushed one of his hands leaving him with one functional hand.  Despite his hand injury, Pete continued to work uninterrupted at Southern Glove until his retirement shortly before his death.

Pete was also able to take care of the house, garden, and car, which he loved to tinker with.  A man of quiet pride, Pete never complained about his misfortune, and taught his sons to never make excuses for themselves.  Pete liked football, bowling, and wrestling, but he loved NASCAR.  Pete and Shirley were also devoted to their church, which they attended three times a week, and they especially enjoyed the gospel choir.  Pete always provided for his family and was Shirley’s constant companion throughout the decades of their marriage.

Shirley Hulett had two young boys from a prior marriage when she married Pete.  Pete helped raise the boys, Tony and Dale, and was the only father they knew.  When Dale was only seventeen he had a son himself.  Dale turned to Shirley and Pete to be surrogate parents.  And so Shirley and Pete also raised Dale’s son Bobbie who is now thirty-five and remains devoted to his grandmother.  Dale passed away from complications from chronic liver disease in his early 50’s.

At the time of his illness and death, though on high blood pressure and cholesterol medications, Pete was a very healthy person.  He was also a frequent consumer of Austin-brand peanut butter crackers.  In fact, in the days leading up to the illness that would take his life, Pete ate the crackers as a snack two or three times a day.Continue Reading Bobby Ray – Another Salmonella Death Linked to PCA

Food Safety News editor Dan Flynn and reporter Dallas Carter, reported yesterday that The trial of the three former Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) executives that was to begin Monday morning is being delayed two weeks to give defense attorneys more time to review late-arriving documents from prosecutors.

Jury selection is now scheduled to begin…

The criminal trial of Stewart and Michael Parnell, the former PCA chief executive officer and peanut broker for PCA, respectively and Mary Wilkerson, PCA’s former quality control manager is set to begin next Monday morning in Georgia.

The 2009 Salmonella outbreak that forms the basis of the criminal prosecution sickened 714 and killed nine.

Over the last five years there has been much focus on whether a prosecution would happen and perhaps less focus on the people behind the statistics.  I have not forgotten.

Clifford Frederick Tousignant (Cliff) was born in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1930, to Violet and Clifford Tousignant, Sr.  He was an adventurous and fearless young man, known for his introspective nature and generous heart.  At the age of 16, Cliff joined the Army in the Civil Air Patrol.  He loved the military and serving his country, a duty he maintained for 22 years.

During that time, he fought in the Korean War and earned three purple hearts.  The only thing Cliff loved more than his country was his family.  He had six children—Paul, Marshall, Susan, Calvin, Jane, and Lou, and eventually became a grandfather to fifteen children, and a great-grandfather to fourteen children.  As his family recalls, “He could often be seen with them crawling all over him.  He loved every minute of it and loved being in photos with them as well.”

In addition to his loving nature, Cliff was also known for his generosity.  One family story that is told often:

The night of his death I sat and spoke with my brother-in-law, Dan Herrick.  He shared a story with me.  When he and my sister, Jane, were first married, like many Americans times were tight.  My dad would make up reasons to come over and fix things that were never even broken.  He would give them money as a way to help them get by.  He helped out many of us over the years, including his own parents when he joined the army as a teenager.  As long as he had a few dollars in his pocket, he was willing to help others as best he could.

After leaving the armed forces, Cliff entered the security field, working for Frasier Shipyards in Superior, Wisconsin until his retirement.

When Cliff was diagnosed with diabetes, he took it seriously, and did his best to care for himself, but despite his best efforts he lost his right leg to the disease when it was amputated in 1985.  He also lost four toes on his left foot.  But ever the fighter, he did not let the loss of his leg and toes slow him down.  After he purchased a motorized wheelchair, Cliff was as mobile as ever.

For those who knew him best, Cliff could usually be found enjoying a good football game or sharing stories about his past experiences with friends.  As his brother, Robert, recalls, he was a “gentle, soft, loving person.  That’s not to say that he was a push-over.  Although he did not rile easily, when he did he could be very vocal.”  Cliff had no qualms about standing up for what he believed to be right.

The memories and stories of those he left behind after his untimely death are the only true way to explain what an extraordinary man, father, grandfather, brother, and friend Clifford Tousignant was to those who knew and loved him.  What follows are some of those family memories:

Continue Reading Remembering the Salmonella Victims of Stewart Parnell and PCA

Reuter’s P.J. Huffstutter reported this evening that U.S. military bases and military commissaries in five states that supply food to personnel and their families are among the outlets believed to have received Salmonella Heidelberg-tainted chicken produced by Foster Farms, the USDA/FSIS said on Tuesday.

U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine bases in the states of…

Two months ago Foster Farms filed suit against Orkin pest control for allegedly failing to control cockroaches at one Foster Farms processing plant. The FSIS suspended operations at that Foster Farms plant because the bugs were found on four occasions.  The finding of the cockroaches resulted in a three-day shutdown of the plant in January…