A father has filed a lawsuit alleging that eating Dole Food Co.'s ready-to-eat salad greens caused his son to develop Listeria meningitis, leaving the son with long-term impairment of motor, cognitive and communication skills. Robinson v. Dole Food Co., No. 17-13644 (E.D. Mich., filed November 8, 2017). The complaint alleges that the son was served packaged salads at his group-care facility and developed meningitis, which the Centers for Disease Control and the Michigan Department of Community Health apparently concluded was caused by the same strain of Listeria that infected 30 people in a 2015-2016 outbreak linked to Dole salad greens. The complaint further alleges that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted an inspection of Dole’s Springfield, Illinois, facility where the bagged salads were produced and concluded that the facility violated a number of food-safety rules, including failing to test for Listeria on food contact surfaces and failing to notify FDA…
Tag Archives Listeria
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has obtained a consent decree against Valley Milk Products LLC prohibiting the sale of more than four million pounds of milk powder products and preventing the company from manufacturing the products in the future. U.S. v. All 50 pound high heat nonfat dry milk powder (Grade A), No. 16-0076, (W.D. Va., order entered March 17, 2017). DOJ seized dry milk and dry buttermilk products at the company’s Strasburg, Virginia, facility in November 2016 after FDA inspections found unsanitary conditions and confirmed samples of Salmonella and Listeria. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Salmonella strains were “nearly identical” to strains found at Strasburg in 2010, 2011 and 2013, indicating “the existence of persistent/resident strain and harborage” of the bacteria at the facility. DOJ also alleged the products were “contaminated with filth” after inspectors found dark brown droplets forming on metal surfaces of…
The widow of a Vermont man who died after eating rawmilk cheese allegedly contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes has filed suit against the manufacturer of the cheese, Vulto Creamery. Friedman v. Vulto Creamery LLC, No. 17-0283 (N.D.N.Y., filed March 10, 2017). Vulto issued a recall of its Ouleout, Miranda, Heinennellie and Willowemoc raw-milk cheeses in March 2017 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration identified Ouleout as the source of a Listeria outbreak that began in September 2016. The complaint asserts that multiple people became ill or died after eating Vulto’s Ouleout. For alleged strict liability, breach of warranty, negligence and negligence per se, the plaintiff is seeking damages and attorney’s fees. Issue 627
Christian Rivas, owner of Oasis Brands Inc., has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for two charges that he sold cheese contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) instructed the company to stop distribution until it remedied its practices. FDA inspected Oasis in August 2014, found several violations and required Oasis to halt distribution of any products until they were cleared by laboratory testing. Rivas continued distributing Oasis' cheese, which then failed a random Listeria test at a Virginia grocery store. In addition to his 15 months in prison, Rivas is subject to one year of supervised release. See South Florida Business Journal, November 16, 2016. Issue 623
The Texas Department of State Health Services has announced that Blue Bell Creameries must pay $850,000 in connection with a 2015 outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes linked to the company’s ice cream manufacturing facilities. Blue Bell must pay $175,000 within 30 days, but the remaining balance of $675,000 will not be due if the company follows the terms of its agreement with the state for 18 months. The agreement requires Blue Bell to notify the agency of a presumptive positive test result for Listeria and to maintain “test and hold” procedures, through which the company must ensure that its ice cream is free of pathogens before shipping the products to retailers. See Texas Press Release, July 29, 2016. Issue 613
Following a Listeria outbreak allegedly linked to a Dole Food Co. salad manufacturing plant, the company is reportedly facing investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Several media outlets have reported that an FDA investigation obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request found Dole knew of nine positive tests for Listeria at the plant taken as early as July 2014, more than a year before the company closed the plant. See The Wall Street Journal, April 29, 2016. In response, Dole issued an April 29 statement expressing concerns “about the recent stories in some publications about the FDA’s observation reports. Those FDA reports deal with issues at our plant that we have corrected. We have been working in collaboration with the FDA and other authorities to implement ongoing improved testing, sanitation and procedure enhancements, which have resulted in the recent reopening of…
A woman has filed a lawsuit alleging Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. sold salad mixes contaminated with Listeria. Georgostathis v. Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc., No. 16-0360 (S.D. Ohio, filed March 7, 2016). The woman asserts that after her mother ate the salad mix, she became infected with Listeria and felt extreme head and neck pain that ultimately caused her to become comatose. The complaint argues that the strain of Listeria in the plaintiff’s salad mix is “indistinguishable from the strain involved in the recent Listeria outbreak linked to Dole salad products produced at the Springfield, Ohio processing facility.” The outbreak has reportedly sickened nearly 30 people in the United States and Canada who were all hospitalized as a result of contracting Listeria. The plaintiff, who is represented by foodborne-illness attorney Bill Marler, seeks damages and attorney’s fees for allegations of negligence, product liability and violations of Ohio consumer-protection law and the…
A Maine federal court has granted the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) a permanent injunction against Mill Stream Corp., a seafood company that allegedly failed to take measures preventing the formation and growth of Clostridium botulinum, the cause of botulism, or Listeria monocytogenes, the cause of listeriosis. U.S. v. Mill Stream Corp., No. 16-0080 (D. Me., order entered February 12, 2016). The injunction prevents the company and its employees from processing or distributing food produced at Mill Stream’s facilities or by its owner until several conditions have been satisfied, including: (i) retention of an independent laboratory to test for Listeria, (ii) development of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point plans by an independent expert, (iii) implementation of such plans, (iv) completion of additional employee training, and (v) approval to reopen by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “The failure to plan for and control the presence of bacteria and neurotoxins…
A Delaware cheese company and two individual defendants have pled guilty to a misdemeanor violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for distributing adulterated ricotta, queso fresco and fresh cheese curds in several neighboring states. U.S. v. Roos Foods, Inc., No. 16-0013 (D. Del., information filed January 22, 2016). Roos’ cheese was connected to a 2014 outbreak of Listeria that caused five adults and three newborns to contract listeriosis. The criminal information alleged the company produced the cheese in unsanitary conditions, including the “[f]ailure to clean food-contact surfaces as frequently as necessary to protect against contamination of food” and “failure to store raw materials or ingredients in a manner that protects against contamination.” In their agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the defendants agreed to an injunction preventing them from processing or distributing food products until they undergo an FDA inspection and facility testing by…
A Delaware cheese company and two individual defendants have pled guilty to a misdemeanor violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for distributing adulterated ricotta, queso fresco and fresh cheese curds in several neighboring states. U.S. v. Roos Foods, Inc., No. 16-0013 (D. Del., information filed January 22, 2016). Roos’ cheese was connected to a 2014 outbreak of Listeria that caused five adults and three newborns to contract listeriosis. The criminal information alleged the company produced the cheese in unsanitary conditions, including the “[f]ailure to clean food-contact surfaces as frequently as necessary to protect against contamination of food” and “failure to store raw materials or ingredients in a manner that protects against contamination.” In their agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the defendants agreed to an injunction preventing them from processing or distributing food products until they undergo an FDA inspection and facility testing by…
