Setton International Foods, which recalled more than 15 million pounds of pistachios in 2009 when Salmonella was detected in a delivery to one of its customers, has reportedly entered a settlement agreement with its insurers in a dispute over coverage for third-party claims. While the terms of the settlement have not been disclosed, a federal court in California has apparently dismissed the claims Setton filed against five insurance companies. According to a news source, Setton claimed that its insurers failed to provide assistance in defending or negotiating the third-party claims, and this purportedly led to the company’s exposure to increased liability. See Product Liability Law 360, January 7, 2011.
Tag Archives salmonella
A recent National Research Council (NRC) report has apparently found no scientific evidence to support “more stringent testing of meat purchased through the government’s ground beef purchase program,” which distributes products to the National School Lunch Program and other public outlets. According to a December 9, 2010, National Academies press release, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) purchases ground beef from suppliers “who must meet mandatory process, quality, traceback, and handling controls as well as comply with strict limitations on the amounts of bacteria in the meat, such as E. coli and salmonella.” To assess this program, the National Academies established a committee to review the scientific basis of AMS’s ground beef safety standards, evaluate how these standards compare to those used by large retail and commercial purchasers, and recommend possible improvements to the federal system. The committee evidently found that AMS’s “scientific basis for the current…
An Ohio poultry facility linked to the latest egg recall over Salmonella-contamination concerns was reportedly the recipient of a $125 million investment by Austin “Jack” DeCoster, the man who owned the two Iowa farms linked to the August 2010 recall of 550 million potentially contaminated eggs. The Ohio Agriculture Department apparently indicated earlier this year that DeCoster was still an investor in Ohio Fresh Eggs. The latest recall involves nearly 300,000 eggs distributed in eight states. While no confirmed illnesses have been linked to the eggs, egg seller Cal-Maine, Inc. reportedly said “consumers who believe they may have purchased potentially affected shell eggs should not eat them.” According to a news source, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked the August outbreak to at least 1,600 illnesses. DeCoster was called before a House oversight subcommittee in September and apologized for the incident, saying “We were horrified to learn that…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced an extension of the comment period for a draft compliance policy guide that proposes “certain criteria should be considered in recommending enforcement action against animal feed or feed ingredients that are adulterated due to the presence of Salmonella.” FDA will now accept comments until December 31, 2010. Additional information about the draft guidance appears in Issue 359 of this Update. See Federal Register, October 29, 2010.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning letter to Chiquita Brands International, Inc. indicating that the company is violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by misbranding several of its pineapple products. According to FDA, because Pineapple Bites with Coconut® is made with a coconut-flavored spray, the product’s statement of identity and ingredient statement are false and misleading and should instead be identified as containing “coconut flavor.” The labeling also apparently states that the product contains antioxidants but does not include the names of the nutrients that are the subject of the claim. FDA further contends that the products include the claim “Plus Phytonutrients.” Because no recommended daily intake or daily recommended value has been established for phytonutrients, such nutrient content claims are not authorized, according to the agency. The products also apparently include the statement “Only 40 calories,” which FDA says implies that the products…
A company that makes name- and store-brand food products, including cereals, granola products, pastas, and bakery goods, has sued the supplier of soybean food ingredients allegedly contaminated with Salmonella, seeking in excess of $7 million in damages. Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. v. Thumb Oilseed Producers’ Coop., No. 10-1898 (E.D. Mo., filed October 8, 2010). According to the complaint, the companies contracted for the purchase of the defendant’s soy grits under an agreement that guaranteed they would be suitable for human consumption and that the defendant would indemnify and pay damages to the plaintiff for any warranty breaches. Plaintiff Ralcorp Holdings alleges that it incorporated most of the soy grits into its products, specifically granola bars and trail mixes, for sale to a number of retail companies with which Ralcorp had also contracted. Before delivering the final products, Ralcorp claims that it discovered the soy grit ingredient “was, and had been at…
A multidistrict litigation (MDL) court has dismissed the claims of 16 plaintiffs who alleged that they or their minor children became ill as a result of eating peanut butter contaminated with Salmonella. In re ConAgra Peanut Butter Prods. Liab. Litig., MDL No. 1845 (N.D. Ga., decided September 29, 2010). According to the court, “The best way to show that peanut butter is contaminated with Salmonella is to test the peanut butter itself. The fact that the peanut butter was recalled does not mean that it was contaminated. In fact, most of the recalled peanut butter was free of Salmonella contamination.” Noting that the plaintiffs could also use circumstantial evidence to show that they ate contaminated peanut butter, the court determined that these plaintiffs could not show that the peanut butter they ate was made at the affected plant during the outbreak period (by means of a product code stamped on…
Austin DeCoster, who owns the Iowa egg production facility at the center of a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds, reportedly testified during a U.S. House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing that his company “was horrified to learn that our eggs may have made people sick.” DeCoster was also quoted as saying, “We apologize to everyone who may have been sickened by eating our eggs.” With evidence apparently mounting that DeCoster operations have been flouting worker, environmental and food safety regulations for years, it is reportedly becoming clearer to legislators that food safety “is a public health imperative” that should be addressed at the federal level. DeCoster egg farms on the East Coast were reportedly responsible in the 1980s for Salmonella outbreaks that killed a number of people and sickened hundreds more, leading several states to ban the sale of his eggs. During the hearing, Democratic Representative Edward Markey (Mass.)…
A putative class action has apparently been filed in a federal court in Illinois by six named plaintiffs who allegedly became ill after consuming Salmonella-tainted eggs from Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms in Iowa. The plaintiffs’ attorney has reportedly been given permission to inspect the farms for evidence. According to a news source, the plaintiffs allege that the companies’ negligence is responsible for the outbreak and suggest that more than the known 1,500 individuals sickened by the contaminated eggs could be class members. In a related development, news sources report that Wright County Egg had dozens of positive results for Salmonella from swabs taken on conveyor belts and in other facility areas as early as 2008 and failed to notify local, state or federal officials. Animal safety experts reportedly called such contamination “surprising” and suggested that repeated positives indicate the company was not “getting to the root cause of what the…
Consumer groups recently released a report urging the U.S. Senate to pass its version of a food safety bill (S. 510) in light of a recent egg recall linked to foodborne illness. Published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the Consumer Federation of America, the report examines “85 recalls that have taken place in the year since food safety reform moved to the U.S. Senate.” The U.S. House of Representatives passed its food reform bill (H.R. 2749) on July 30, 2009. “The recalls involved tons of foods, including many name-brand products from more than 150 companies,” according to the report, which purportedly found that a majority of the recalls involved Salmonella and Listeria. “While most of the recalls were not connected to outbreaks, illnesses were associated with nine recalls that together were associated with 1,850 reported illnesses.” “Recalls and…
