Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives have written a letter requesting an investigation and hearing into the recent outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes in cantaloupe. Representatives Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) asked the House Energy and Commerce Committee and its subcommittee on oversight and investigations to conduct a probe into Listeria purportedly found at Jensen Farms in Colorado. As of October 3, 2011, the outbreak has reportedly spread to 20 states and killed 18 since it began on or after July 31, according to a CDC report. Calling the event “the nation’s deadliest outbreak of foodborne disease in more than a decade,” the lawmakers have pressed for Jensen Farm records detailing inspections and communications with federal regulators, documents related to the company’s product monitoring, and a description of when and where Listeria contamination was first detected. “As the death toll sadly continues to climb, a congressional hearing into this matter…
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Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. has filed a notice of dismissal in a Maryland federal court after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agreed to lift the import alert it imposed on cantaloupes from Guatemala that had purportedly been linked to a Salmonella outbreak. Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc. v. United States, No. 11-2338 (D. Md., dismissed September 27, 2011). Additional details about the case appear in Issue 407 of this Update. According to an FDA spokesperson, the agency lifted the restrictions on the basis of a company submission that included an independent audit showing that the Guatemalan farm was following good agricultural practices and tests indicating that none of the farm’s cantaloupes were positive for Salmonella. Public health advocates had reportedly called the lawsuit a bullying tactic, and Center for Science in the Public Interest’s Caroline Smith DeWaal said, “We would certainly hope that FDA has proof that…
A California court of appeal has determined that a trial court erred in allowing a spinach seller to recover $12 million under the accidental contamination portion of its insurance policy. Fresh Express Inc. v. Beazley Syndicate 2623/623 at Lloyd’s, No. H035246 (Cal. Ct. App., decided September 8, 2011) (unpublished). According to the court, the produce company’s product was not the source of the E. coli outbreak linked to spinach in 2006 and led to a nationwide recall, although when it filed its insurance claim, the company had made several sourcing errors that led it to believe it could have been implicated in the outbreak. Those errors would have brought it under the terms of the insurance agreement, if the company had been the source of the E. coli contamination. Because it was not, the appeals court concluded that “the policy’s plain language refutes the trial court’s finding that ‘the E.…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently announced its intention to prohibit six serogroups of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) in addition to E. coli O157:H7. According to FSIS, the agency plans to begin testing for the additional STEC on March 5, 2012, at which time those six strains will be deemed adulterants and barred from commerce under the Federal Meat Inspection Act if detected in raw ground beef, its components or tenderized steak. “As a result of today’s action, if the E. coli serogroups O26, O103, O45, O111, O121 and O145 are found in raw ground beef or its precursors, those products will be prohibited from entering commerce,” stated a September 13, 2011, USDA press release, which also solicits comments on the policy change for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
According to a news source, Del Monte Fresh Produce NA Inc. has indicated, as part of its campaign to counter allegations that its cantaloupes, imported from Guatemala, were tainted with Salmonella, that it intends to sue the Oregon Health Authority and a public health official for making “misleading allegations” about its products. Company Vice President Dennis Christou reportedly said, “These statements were made despite the lack of a substantive factual basis for the allegations and the failure to adequately investigate the true source of the contamination.” Information about litigation Del Monte filed against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), seeking to lift an import alert related to its Guatemalan cantaloupes appears in Issue 407 of this Update. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has criticized the company for taking action against government agencies, stating in a press release, “FDA and Oregon used state-of-the-art techniques to identify the food…
Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc. has filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a federal court in Maryland alleging that the agency lacked an adequate factual basis after a Salmonella outbreak in early 2011 to conclude that the company’s Guatemalan cantaloupe supplier was the source of the contamination. Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc. v. United States, No. __ (D. Md., filed August 23, 2011). On the basis of that conclusion, FDA allegedly demanded that the company issue a recall or “suffer the consequences of an FDA consumer advisory questioning the wholesomeness of Del Monte cantaloupes.” The agency also imposed an import alert under which Del Monte is prohibited from importing cantaloupes from its Guatemalan source without proving the fruit is “negative” for Salmonella and other pathogens. According to Del Monte, “this prohibition will continue indefinitely into the future unless…
A recent study has claimed that after adopting organic practices and ceasing the use of antibiotics, large-scale poultry farms had “significantly lower levels” of antibiotic-resistant and multidrug resistant (MDR) Enterococcus than their conventional counterparts. Amy Rebecca Sapkot, et al., “Lower Prevalence of Antibiotic-resistant Enterococci On U.S. Conventional Poultry Farms That Transitioned to Organic Practices,” Environmental Health Perspectives, August 2011. Researchers apparently sampled poultry litter, feed and water “from 10 conventional and 10 newly organic poultry houses in 2008,” finding that the percentages of resistant E. faecalis and resistant E. faecium “were significantly lower (p<0.05) among isolates from newly organic versus conventional houses for two (erythromycin and tylosin) and five (ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, nitrofurantoin, penicillin and tetracycline) antimicrobials.” They also reported that 42 percent of E. faecalis isolates and 84 of E. faecium isolates from conventional poultry houses were multidrug resistant, compared to 10 percent of E. faecalis isolates and 17 percent of E. faecium…
A lawsuit has been filed in an Oregon federal court on behalf of a 10-month-old girl who allegedly became ill and was hospitalized after eating a meatball made with ground turkey contaminated with Salmonella. Lee v. Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., No. 11-993 (D. Ore., filed August 16, 2011). Represented by an attorney with food plaintiffs’ firm Marler Clark, the plaintiffs allege that the baby spent seven days in the hospital after her parents were advised that “Salmonella Heidelberg bacteria she had ingested from the defendants’ ground turkey product had gotten into her bloodstream, and she needed urgent care.” Seeking damages in excess of $75,000, the plaintiffs allege strict liability, breach of warranty, negligence, and negligence per se. They claim damages for “general pain and suffering; damages for loss of enjoyment of life, both past and future; medical and medically-related expenses, both past and future; travel and travel-related expenses, past and future;…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a public health alert “due to concerns about illnesses caused by Salmonella Heidelberg that may be associated with the use and consumption of ground turkey.” According to FSIS, an epidemiological investigation led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state health departments has linked an estimated 77 illnesses in 26 states to a Springdale, Arkansas, plant operated by Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., which voluntarily recalled 36 million pounds of ground turkey produced between February 20 and August 2. “The outbreak strain of Salmonella Heidelberg is resistant to several commonly prescribed antibiotics; this antibiotic resistance may increase the risk of hospitalization or possible treatment failure in infected individuals,” stated an August 4, 2011, CDC investigation update. “Consumers should check their homes for recalled ground turkey products and not eat them; restaurant and food service operators…
“The big question is this: How do we get the safest and most ethical food system possible while adequately feeding ourselves?,” asks New York Times columnist Mark Bittman in this latest opinion piece supporting “a massive overhaul of the food system.” Discussing recent E. coli outbreaks in Europe, Bittman concedes that the controversial process known as irradiation “could be a useful tool” in controlling bacteria and other foodborne illnesses, but warns that it should not be viewed as a panacea or replacement for other measures. “The answer will come in steps,” he writes. “[B]etter regulation and inspection of food production; stricter labor laws; more rigorous testing for pathogens, to name just a few— and eventually those steps may lead to a point where irradiation is unnecessary.” Bittman urges lawmakers to adequately fund the Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act, even while citing “the ironies” inherent in a system…
