A Georgia federal court has reportedly ruled that four former executives of Peanut Corp. will not be forced to pay restitution to the victims of a Salmonella outbreak linked to nine deaths and 714 illnesses. The executives—Stewart Parnell, Michael Parnell, Samuel Lightsey and Daniel Kilgore—are each serving federal prison terms for knowingly shipping Salmonella-tainted peanut butter and faking related lab-test results. The court reportedly found that the loss estimates provided by the prosecutors were invalid because they included unrecoverable costs, including attorney’s fees. Further, the victims received more than $12 million from Peanut Corp.’s insurer, and the punitive factor of restitution would be reduced because requiring payment “would ultimately be for naught or close-to-naught,” as the executives received long prison sentences. See Associated Press, April 7, 2016. Issue 599
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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…
An Alberta court has reportedly approved a settlement agreement in a class action stemming from an E. coli outbreak that resulted in the recall of nearly 4 million pounds of beef in Canada and the United States, amounting to the largest meat recall in Canadian history. Harrison v. XL Foods Inc., No. 1203-14727 (Can. Alta. Q.B., order entered February 17, 2016). Under the settlement agreement, the class is open to consumers in Canada and the United States who either purchased XL Foods Inc.’s beef, thereby suffering an economic injury, or consumed it, causing them to contract an illness. Eligible class members can receive a full refund with proof of purchase or CAN $25 without. See CBC News, February 17, 2016. Issue 595
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…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared that two E. coli outbreaks linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. “appear to be over,” but the agency has not identified a food source for the outbreaks. “The epidemiologic evidence collected during this investigation suggested that a common meal item or ingredient served at Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants was a likely source of both outbreaks,” the agency said. “When a restaurant serves foods with several ingredients that are mixed or cooked together and then used in multiple menu items, it can be more difficult for epidemiologic studies to identity [sic] the specific ingredient that is contaminated.” Meanwhile, Chipotle faces a joint investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Justice into a 2015 norovirus outbreak in one of its California restaurants. The company has reportedly been served an additional subpoena requiring it to produce documents on company-wide…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has finalized standards that seek to reduce Salmonella and Campylobacter in ground chicken and turkey products, as well as raw chicken breasts, legs and wings. Part of the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS’) effort to revamp the poultry inspection system, the new rules require routine sampling throughout the year rather than infrequent sampling on consecutive days, and authorize the agency to publicize facility results online. “Over the past seven years, USDA has put in place tighter and more strategic food safety measures than ever before for meat and poultry products. We have made strides in modernizing every aspect of food safety inspection, from company record keeping, to labeling requirements, to the way we perform testing in our labs,” said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in a February 4, 2016, news release. “These new standards, in combination with greater transparency about poultry companies’ food safety…
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…
Chipotle Mexican Grill has reportedly been served with a grand jury subpoena as part of a U.S. Attorney’s Office and Food and Drug Administration criminal investigation into a California norovirus outbreak in August 2015 that sickened more than 200 people. The company’s fare was also linked to a norovirus outbreak in Massachusetts in December 2015. Chipotle’s food safety practices face additional scrutiny over an ongoing E. coli outbreak that has resulted in the closure of 43 Chipotle locations in Washington and Oregon and reports of related illnesses in several other states. See The New York Times, January 6, 2016. In a January 6 Form 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Chipotle reported a 14.6 percent drop in fourth quarter 2015 sales and non-recurring expenses related to its foodborne illness incidents of $14 to $16 million. Meanwhile, Pomerantz LLP announced on January 8 that it has filed a…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of Food & Water Watch’s challenge to the New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS). Food & Water Watch, Inc. v. Vilsack, No. 15-5037 (D.C., order entered December 22, 2015). The organization argued that the NPIS did not comply with the Poultry Products Inspection Act and would increase the risk of foodborne illnesses resulting from contaminated poultry. The lower court found that Food & Water Watch leaders did not have standing to sue because they could not show that the increased risk and probability of harm was substantial. The appeals court agreed, noting that the organization’s arguments ignored some provisions of the NPIS requiring more “offline” inspections, which could lower the risk of foodborne illness. Additional information about the lower court’s ruling appears in Issue 555 of this Update. Issue 589
