First Lawsuit Filed in E. coli Raw Cookie-Dough Outbreak
Food litigation lawyer William Marler has apparently filed the first lawsuit against Nestlé USA for injury allegedly caused by E. coli-contaminated cookie dough. The outbreak, which has reportedly infected more than 70 people in 30 states since March 2009, has been linked through food surveys to the consumption of raw refrigerated cookie dough, which has been recalled. According to news sources, a Nestlé facility in Danville, Virginia, has been closed and is being inspected by federal microbiologists and food safety investigators. Samples from batches of the purportedly implicated dough have been tested, and no contamination has apparently been found to date.
E. coli is not typically associated with eggs, which are the only ingredient in the cookie dough that could potentially cause foodborne illness if contaminated with Salmonella and consumed raw. Health officials and food producers are reportedly puzzled over how E. coli, which lives in cattle intestines, could have ended up in cookie dough. They are analyzing all of the ingredients, testing the factory’s equipment and interior, checking the health of Nestlé workers, and also considering whether intentional contamination may have occurred. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has posted information about the outbreak on its website.
Nestlé has reportedly recalled every variety of Nestlé Toll House cookie dough it makes and issued the following statement: “While the E. coli strain implicated in this investigation has not been detected in our product, the health and safety of our consumers is paramount so we are initiating this voluntary recall. We have been and will continue to cooperate fully with the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control in this investigation.” See The Washington Post, June 21, 2009; Businesswire and FoodProductionDaily.com, June 22, 2009.
