Archive for November, 2007
Salmonella contaminated tomatoes are being blamed for the food poisoning outbreak that sickened more than 20 customers and employees at the Quiznos Subs located at 3499 22nd Ave NW, Rochester, Minnesota.
The Olmsted County Public Health Department indicated that the tomatoes were contaminated with Salmonella before they reached the sub shop.
The outbreak occurred this past October, causing the Quiznos to close for one day so the restaurant and equipment could be cleaned.
The Law Firm of Eric Weinberg, along with co-counsel Andrew Childers of Childers, Buck, and Schlueter, currently represents 25 victims of a Salmonella food poisoning outbreak in a lawsuit against an Arby’s located in Valdosta, GA. If you believe that you are a victim of Salmonella food poisoning, and you have a question concerning your legal rights, please call us toll free at 1-877-934-6274, or submit a Free Case Evaluation. To learn more about our law firm please see Salmonella Lawyer.
To learn more about the Arby’s Salmonella outbreak, please see Arby’s Lawsuit and Arby’s Salmonella Food Poisoning.
November 28th, 2007
Americans wait all year for Thanksgiving Dinner, a feast that in many families features turkey and all the trimmings. But a pleasant experience can turn into a health nightmare if food poisoning results from improper handling of holiday dishes and their ingredients. Whether you are feeding three or 30, preparing everything from scratch or purchasing dishes readymade, doing all the cooking yourself or hosting a potluck, it’s important to remember these food safety tips (with thanks to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture):
Clean: Wash hands and food-contact surfaces often.
Always wash hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds before and after handling food. Bacteria can spread throughout the kitchen and get onto cutting boards and other preparation surfaces, utensils, sponges, and counter tops, so they should also be washed with soap and water.
Separate: Don’t cross-contaminate.
Keep bacteria from spreading from one food product to another, especially if you are cooking with raw meat, poultry and seafood. Keep these foods and their juices away from ready-to-eat foods. Use different cutting boards for raw meat or poultry and other foods that will not be cooked, such as vegetables. Be sure to keep raw turkey separate from side dishes.
Cook: Cook food to proper temperatures.
Foods are properly cooked when they are heated for a long enough time and at a high enough temperature to kill the harmful bacteria that cause foodborne illness. Use a food thermometer to determine temperature. In the case of turkey, every part and the center of the stuffing should reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165° F.
Chill: Refrigerate food promptly.
Refrigerating foods quickly keeps most harmful bacteria from growing and multiplying. Refrigerators should be set at 40° F and freezers at 0° F, and the accuracy of the settings should be checked occasionally with a thermometer. Perishable foods should not be left sitting out at room temperature longer than two hours, and should be discarded after that time.
The food safety tips provided above should be followed all year round, but on Thanksgiving it’s also important to remember these precautions:
- Make sure to buy only government-inspected turkeys and always check the “sell by” date.
- Do not thaw frozen turkey at room temperature; thaw turkey in cold water, in the refrigerator or in the microwave. If thawing in water or microwave, cook immediately after thawing.
- Leftover turkey meat should be refrigerated promptly, apart from stuffing, and eaten within three to four days; turkey meat can be frozen. Remember to reheat leftovers thoroughly to 165° F.
- Never eat anything that looks or smells strange: When in doubt, throw it out!
For more information about proper turkey handling and cooking, please see the following Fact Sheet put together by the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the USDA: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Countdown_to_the_Holiday/index.asp.
The Law Offices of Eric H. Weinberg wish one and all a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday! For more information about our firm, please visit Food Poisoning Lawyer.
For information on recent food poisoning outbreaks, please see New Jersey Food Poisoning Lawyer, and Ohio Food Poisoning Lawyer.
November 21st, 2007
Dr. Damon T. Arnold, state public health director with the Illinois Department of Public Health, warned consumers yesterday that they should check their freezers for ConAgra pot pies subject to the October 11 recall. Consumers should not eat the recalled pot pies.
The recall was issued following a CDC investigation that linked the pot pies to a multistate Salmonella food poisoning outbreak. Salmonella was later cultured from samples of recalled pot pies.
“If you currently have pot pies in your freezer, even if you bought them a couple months ago, you need to pay attention to this recall. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) continues to receive reports of ill people who have consumed the recalled pot pies within the last month. Salmonellosis can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within eight to 72 hours. Additional symptoms may include chills, headache, nausea and vomiting that can last up to seven days. Consumers should not eat these pot pies,” stated Dr. Arnold.
Illinois was hard hit by Salmonella food poisoning linked to the pot pie recall. To date, there are a total of 15 Illinois cases linked to the contaminated pot pies. Of these cases, 9 were reported after the recall was first announced on October 11.
FoodPoisoning.com Opinion - ConAgra recently resumed pot pie production and has indicated that the pies will be available on store shelves in January, 2008. Since consumers will once again be stocking-up on pot pies for their freezers, it is import that they check their freezers now and dispose of any recalled pot pies to avoid any confusion in the future.
One can only hope that ConAgra has not rushed back to market too quickly, and that 3 months is really enough time to make sure that consumers nationwide have learned about the recall and disposed of any recall products in their freezers.
Consumers are reminded that the following brands of ConAgra frozen pot pie products are under recall: Banquet, Albertson’s, Food Lion, Great Value (Wal-Mart), Hill Country Fare, Kirkwood, Kroger, Meijer, Western Family.
Pot pies subject to recall are stamped “P-9” or “Est. 1059” on the side of the package. The CDC reminds consumers that they should not eat the recalled pot pies and should check their freezers for the recalled products.
The Law Firm of Eric Weinberg currently represents individuals who have been sickened in the current Salmonella food poisoning outbreak linked to ConAgra pot pies and their recall. If you believe that your illness is linked to this recall, please call us toll free at 1-877-934-6274, or see Free Case Evaluation. Our firm currently represents victims of the Arby’s, Peter Pan peanut butter Recall, Veggie Booty Recall, and Taste of Chicago Salmonella food poisoning outbreaks.
November 17th, 2007
Josh Funk, for Business Week recently wrote:
“The USDA allowed ConAgra Foods Inc. to resume making its Banquet and private label pot pies because the company corrected the flaws in its safety plan at its Missouri plant that inspectors found after the pies were linked to a salmonella outbreak.
Those pot pies were recalled last month after hundreds of people who ate them became ill.
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.
ConAgra announced Wednesday that it had resumed making pot pies at the Marshall, Mo., plant, and the company expects the pies to return to stores sometime in January.
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.”
FoodPoisoning.com Opinion - The USDA should be more forthcoming with information regarding the health and safety of American citizens. We place food on our family tables to provide ourselves and our children sustenance; to help our families stay strong and grow strong. “Go file a Freedom Of Information Request” is not an answer that serves and protects the public, and begs the question “Is the USDA covering ConAgra’s shortcomings, or its own?”
Additionally, individuals requesting copies of documents and records under the Freedom Of Information Act have waited longer than four years to have their requests answered. See Judge Sides with Attorney Weinberg – FDA Must Provide Requested Vioxx Documents and Drug, Food Risks Stay Secret as Inquiries to FDA Pile Up.
The Law Firm of Eric Weinberg will be making a “formal Freedom Of Information Act request”, regarding the ConAgra Marshall Mo., plant inspection. Hopefully, there will not be a four year wait for the requested documents.
Eric Weinberg has represented victims of dangerous and defective blood products, medical devices, and food and drug products for over 23 years. To learn more about our practice see Dangerous and Defective Products Lawyer, or contact us at 1-877-934-6274 (toll free).
November 17th, 2007
ConAgra Foods announced that it has resumed production of its Banquet and generic label pot pies, which were part of a nationwide recall begun on October 11, 2007, due to Salmonella contamination.
The Salmonella food poisoning outbreak linked to the pot pies sickened at least 272 people in 35 states, and at least 65 people were hospitalized.
According to a ConAgra news release, the company has not identified the source of the Salmonella contamination; however, enhanced protocols for their ready-to-cook manufacturing plants have been developed, including new and more stringent testing protocols for ingredients coming into plants and further testing of finished products.
ConAgra has been criticized about the amount of time that passed between its knowledge of the link between its pot pies and the food poisoning outbreak and the time it took to issue a recall. The pies were later shown to be contaminated with Salmonella.
On October 9, The United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced a Public Health Alert, warning that although consumers could still purchase the pot pies, they posed a serious health risk, and therefore should not be eaten. While some grocery stores chose to remove the pot pies from their freezer shelves, other stores placed the Salmonella contaminated pies on sale, encouraging consumers that stock their freezers with the dangerous product.
ConAgra finally recalled the contaminated pot pies on October 11. The recall included all Banquet pot pies as well as all varieties sold under the store brands Albertson’s, Hill Country Fare, Food Lion, Great Value (sold at Wal-Mart stores), Kirkwood, Kroger, Meijer and Western Family.
This was the second time this year that ConAgra recalled one of its products due to Salmonella contamination. In February, ConAgra recalled all of its peanut butter products after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) linked its Peter Pan peanut butter to a Salmonella outbreak that sickened at least 625 people in 47 states.
The Law Firm of Eric Weinberg currently represents individuals who have been sickened in the current Salmonella food poisoning outbreak linked to ConAgra pot pies and their recall. If you believe that your illness is linked to this recall, please call us toll free at 1-877-934-6274, or see Free Case Evaluation. Our firm currently represents victims of the Arby’s, Peter Pan peanut butter Recall, Veggie Booty Recall, and Taste of Chicago Salmonella food poisoning outbreaks.
To learn more about recent food poisoning outbreaks and food recalls see Salmonella Newton, NC, Staph Food Poisoning Lawyer, and Claudia Sanders Staph Food Poisoning.
November 15th, 2007
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