FDA has published a notice requesting comments, scientific data and information “that would assist the agency in its plans to conduct a risk assessment of the public health impact of foodborne Listeria monocytogenes in some ready-to-eat foods, sliced, prepared, and/or packaged in retail facilities.” According to the notice, “[l]ittle is known about how Listeria contamination occurs in retail facilities . . . There is thus a need to identify potential sources and practices that may increase L. monocytogenes contamination in retail settings and practices or interventions that could reduce or eliminate L. monocytogenes contamination of food products (sold to consumers at the retail level) and resulting human illness.” Comments and materials relevant to FDA’s risk assessment must be submitted by April 21, 2009. The agency specifically requests data and information about (i) ready-to-eat food markets in the United States; (ii) deli department characteristics; (iii) product contamination data; (iv) factors influencing the growth of the…
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are reportedly investigating a Salmonella typhimurium outbreak implicating King Nut and Parnell’s Pride brand peanut butters manufactured by the Peanut Corporation of America (Peanut Corp.) and sold to non-retail food establishments. Health departments have purportedly linked the outbreak to more than 400 illnesses and possibly five fatalities, prompting Peanut Corp. to issue a voluntary recall for 21 lots of peanut butter produced since July 1, 2008, at its Blakely, Georgia, facility. In addition, Kellogg Co. has since issued recalls for its Austin and Keebler brand peanut butter crackers as a precautionary measure. See King Nut Press Release, January 12, 2009; Law 360 and Health Day Reporter, January 13, 2009; Kellogg Co. Press Release, January 14, 2009; The Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal, January 15, 2009. Meanwhile, plaintiffs’ lawyers have apparently cited the incident in urging stricter…
Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc. has sued the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), seeking a declaration that the agency has “engaged in a pattern or practice that constitutes agency action unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed” in connection with several cantaloupe shipments from Guatemala. Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A., Inc. v. U.S., No. 08-02161 (D.D.C., filed December 11, 1008). According to the complaint, the FDA denied release of the shipments until it completed testing for salmonella. The FDA has purportedly failed to respond to company requests for expedited testing and has yet to release the fruit, which is “overripening” and will cost the company more than $4.5 million in losses. A 10-day hold in 2007 allegedly cost the company almost $1 million. Del Monte claims that independent tests have failed to show that the shipments are infected with salmonella and contends that it “has never had a positive test for salmonella…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has issued its annual Outbreak Alert! report, which claims that “a pound of fish and shellfish is 29 times more likely to cause illness than the safest food category, a pound of dairy foods.” According to CSPI, their database has tracked 1,140 foodborne illness outbreaks linked to fin fish, mollusks, and shrimp and lobsters. The group has attributed “a plurality of seafood outbreaks” to naturally occurring toxins such as scombrotoxin and ciguatoxin, but noted the impact of Vibrio bacteria and noroviruses. “Because foodborne illness is drastically underreported, because much foodborne illness does not occur in outbreaks, and because it is so difficult to prove which food caused an outbreak, CSPI’s data represents [sic] just the tip of the iceberg,” stated the watchdog in a November 25, 2008, press release. See FoodNavigator-USA.com, November 26, 2008.
Strict liability and breach of warranty claims filed in an Ohio state court in July 2008 after an E. coli outbreak linked to ground beef sold by Nebraska Beef sickened at least 19 in that state have been removed to federal court. Schlagel v. Nebraska Beef, Ltd., No. 08-01091 (S.D. Ohio, removed November 17, 2008). The named plaintiff of this putative class action is a 4-year-old girl, who allegedly “suffered serious physical and emotional injuries.” The proposed class would include “All Ohio claimants who have suffered personal injury caused by Nebraska Beef’s contaminated E. Coli 0157:H7 meat.” The contamination led to the recall of more than 5 million pounds of meat. The company has reportedly denied the allegations and challenges the suitability of the case for class treatment. See Product Liability Law 360, November 18, 2008.
A University of Arizona scientist has reportedly warned the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that more than 40 percent of prepackaged meats sampled in 2006 tested positive for Clostridium difficile, an intestinal bug usually associated with hospitals and nursing homes. In addition, Professor of Veterinary Science J. Glenn Songer apparently found that 30 percent of the contaminated meats carried a highly toxic strain of C. difficile that is also resistant to drug treatments. He warned that not only is this disease difficult to trace to its source, but it survives most forms of sterilization, including cooking. “These data suggest that domestic animals, by way of retail meats, may be a source for C. difficile for human infection,” Songer told MSNBC.com, which reported on the emergence of the superbug in supermarket products like ground beef, turkey and ready-to-eat summer sausage. Yet, “There are no documented cases of people getting Clostridium…
The UK Soil Association has reportedly urged veterinarians to limit their penicillin use after health officials found that cows from one unidentified English farm are carriers of extended-spectrum betalactamase (ESBL) E. coli, a rare antibiotic-resistant strain of the disease. Although the organic watchdog noted that the government has asked the farmer and his family to follow strict hygiene procedures, regulators have not placed any restrictions on the movement or sale of the infected herd. “The government often calls on doctors to prescribe antibiotics less often. But similar advice needs to be given to veterinary surgeons and farms,” stated a policy advisor for the Soil Association, which, as of 2009, will also no longer certify organic farms that treat their livestock with a class of antibiotics known as cephalosporins. See FoodProductionDaily.com, November 19, 2008.
The Produce Safety Project of the Pew Charitable Trusts has issued a report following its review of the government response to this summer’s Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak that affected thousands of consumers in many states and was never definitively linked to a source, although tomatoes and jalapeno peppers were alternately blamed. Citing specific examples of confusing, uncoordinated and poorly planned communiqués from multiple government agencies, the report calls for more post-mortem study of the government’s response to clarify its shortcomings and inform future efforts. Noting that federal agencies pointed to tomatoes as the cause of the outbreak, but that no contaminated tomato was ever found, the Pew report suggests that the error not only failed to adequately protect consumers but also cost the agricultural industry millions in losses and could have long-term impacts as consumers lose confidence in the safety of “fresh produce in general and fresh tomatoes in particular.” The…
A California appeals court has determined that a misreading of prior case law led a trial court judge to erroneously overturn a jury verdict in favor of a plaintiff who alleged that she was made ill from exposure to campylobacter at defendant’s restaurant. Sarti v. Salt Creek Ltd., No. G037818 (Cal. Ct. App., 4th App. Dist., Div. 3, decided October 27, 2008). So ruling, the court reinstated $725,000 in economic damages and $2.5 million in noneconomic damages and allowed the plaintiff to recover her costs on appeal. The trial court granted the defendant’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, after determining, under a heightened causation standard, that reasonable inferences alone cannot prove a food poisoning case. The appeals court exhaustively analyzes the court’s reasoning in Minder v. Cielito Lindo Restaurant, 67 Cal.App.3d 1003 (1977), and shows how the court in that case misread prior case law “to preclude the use…
According to researchers in Australia and the United States, those who persistently eat red meat may be more susceptible to E. coli infection. Apparently, the meat contains sugar molecules, Neu5Gc, that accumulate in cells lining the intestines and blood vessels and act as a “magnet” for E. coli toxins. The scientists reportedly tested the affinity of the bacteria for Neu5Gc in a lab dish and noted, “The human samples showed the presence of the Neu5Gc toxin binding sites in the gut and the kidney, the two target organs for the disease.” Then, they confirmed the results with genetically modified mice that have the gene which produces Neu5Gc suppressed. The research appears in Nature, but was not available when the Update was prepared. See The Australian, October 30, 2008.
