Food Poisoning Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark : Marler Blog

Public Health Officials Investigating wave of E. coli cases

Boulder County Public Health (BCPH) is currently investigating a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 infections associated with students attending the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU). Since September 23rd, BCPH has investigated eight related cases.

Initial investigations indicate that on-campus dining is not related to the illness. BCPH staff is working closely with CU and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to identify the source of the outbreak and any additional cases among students and the public.  According to the Daily Camera, Initial investigations showed that on-campus dining isn't related to the outbreak, but health officials are still trying to identify the source. Of the eight cases, seven are CU students and one is a sorority adviser. Most of the affected students are members of the same sorority, which CU officials declined to name.

There have been recent E. coli outbreaks traced to steaks and lettuce.

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Melamine-tainted milk powder has contaminated products world-wide, from infant formula, cookies, tea, and candies.  The contamination has been blamed for the deaths of four children and kidney ailments among 54,000 others.  More than 13,000 children have been hospitalized, over 1,400 with kidney failure.  There have been four deaths.  And guess what?  The tainted powder can be found in food on store shelves in the US.  No recall?

As our government spends $700,000,000,000 on Wall Street, I guess it simply does not have the time nor the money to protect us from an industrial chemical blamed for sickening thousands of infants in China? Go figure.  Where is the FDA and our famous “food czar?”  My guess is they are all watching the stock market and their government retirements flush down the food safety toilet.

Were governments world-wide are pulling products containing the milk powder, the FDA could not be bothered.   Leave it to our new Superhero, “Eddie, the Haphazard Gourmet Girl” to swing into action when the FDA could not be bothered (lycra suit?).   She and her photographer did what the FDA seems incapable to do – take this stuff of store shelves before children eat it.   She first blogged about it a few days ago and then she made made FOX TV 11 in Los Angeles (click here or on picture on right).  FDA, where are you?

For those who forget, melamine, which is high in nitrogen, is used to make plastics and fertilizers and experts say some amount of the chemical may be transferred from the environment during food processing.  But in China's case, suppliers trying to boost output are believed to have diluted their milk, adding melamine because its nitrogen content can fool tests aimed at verifying protein content.  And remember this:

December 2007 - Sanlu Fonterra had first received complaints about its powdered baby formula.

March 2008 - Sanlu Fonterra had hired private companies to test its milk powder for contaminants.  Sanlu Fonterra never issued any public warnings and never stopped promoting its products.

May 18 - After the devastating earthquake in Sichuan Province, the Sanlu Fonterra made a much-publicized donation of $1.25 million worth of baby formula for infants orphaned or displaced by the catastrophe.

June 30 - A mother in Hunan Province had written a detailed letter pleading for help from the food quality agency, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (organization that sponsored the Food Safety Conference I attended).  The letter, posted on the agency’s Web site, described rising numbers of infants at a local children’s hospital who were suffering from kidney stones after drinking powdered formula made by Sanlu Fonterra.  The watchdog agency's director, Li Changjiang, and several Communist Party officials in Hebei province, where Sanlu Fonterra is based, lost their jobs.

August 2 - Sanlu Fonterra officials informed the board about the melamine problem.

September - The New Zealand government, after discussions with Fonterra executives, contacted authorities in Beijing.  Beijing officials say they knew nothing about the scandal until September, though a Fonterra company spokesman said the company believed the central government knew in August.

September 9 – Recall announced.

September 29 - FDA does nothing, but the Haphazard Gourmet Girl swings into action.

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Although still not quite in the right time zone, I was able to get a few lawsuits filed in the US, but still thinking how I might help the US Balance of Trade Deficit with China, by exporting a few lawsuits as well.  It seems, however, that US Industry has beat me to Canada.  The bagged and shredded lettuce the hospital used to make chopped salad for patients came from the same company (Aunt Mid's) that is believed to have distributed tainted lettuce in Michigan, Windsor-Essex County Medical Officer of Health Dr. Allen Heimann said at a news conference.

There were no confirmed E. coli cases on Wednesday, but health officials are asking anyone who was a patient at Met hospital between September. 9 and 12, who ate chopped salad there and is experiencing diarrhea, stomach cramps and vomiting - common symptoms of an E. coli infection - to see a doctor right away.  The hospital hopes to have by Friday a complete list of every patient who ate salad at the hospital during that time and has pledged to contact each one.  As many as 164 patients ate the possibly tainted lettuce, hospital officials said.

In the US, Michigan now confirms that there are now four cases in Kent County, nine cases at Michigan State University, five cases at the Lenawee County Jail, three cases in Washtenaw County- all of which are University of Michigan students- four cases in Wayne County, five in Macomb County and one case in Clare and Oakland Counties.  Of those cases, 13 have been hospitalized.  That is not counting the cases in Illinois, Ohio, New York and Oregon.

OK, so why is Aunt Mid's not telling us who supplied the lettuce?  My sources say it may well not be Michigan, the Central Valley of California, nor the Salinas Valley that are the source of the tainted-lettuce.  So, who is left?  FDA Food Czar, where are you?  Aunt Mid's, what you need is a nice lawsuit to get to the bottom of who supplied you the lettuce and got you into this pickle, Errrr, tossed salad.

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Local Virginia News reported that a family of a 10-year-old Boy Scout who got sick after eating hamburger tainted with E. coli bacteria is suing the company that supplied the meat.  The lawsuit filed by Jansen Saunders and his parents against S&S Foods alleges 84 people were sickened by tainted meat at the Boy Scout camp near Goshen, and the company should assist affected families.  The suit filed Friday in Rockbridge County Circuit Court says Jansen became ill July 25 and tested positive for E. coli infection while hospitalized.

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The number of deaths from a listeriosis outbreak that has been linked to a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto has reached 20.  The Public Health Agency of Canada says the latest death occurred in Ontario, where 15 of the deaths have been reported.  Two deaths occurred in B.C., with one each in Alberta, Quebec and New Brunswick.  The health agency says six other deaths remain under investigation, all in Ontario.  The Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto where the Listeria bacterium was found deep inside slicing equipment reopened four weeks after being closed August 20.

Well, at least Canada has a functioning free press to report on this and a legal system that allows its citizens to seek compensation for illnesses and deaths.  Holding companies accountable through the press and the legal system is the only way that we can make them change thier behavior.

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This is the first part of a multi-part series on the Pros and Cons of Commercial Irradiation of Fresh Iceberg Lettuce and Fresh Spinach.  Given the recent outbreaks, hopefully this is timely.

On August 22, 2008, FDA published a final rule for the safe use of ionizing radiation (also termed irradiation, irradiation pasteurization, cold pasteurization) of fresh iceberg lettuce and fresh spinach for control of foodborne pathogens, and extension of shelf-life. A few weeks later, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled, “Improvements Needed in FDA Oversight of Fresh Produce.” This report states that FDA’s intervention efforts for reducing the risk of contamination during the processing of fresh-cut produce have been limited. Interestingly, the GAO reviewers only briefly mention irradiation, and brought little context to the implications of introducing irradiation as a potential control (“kill”) step during produce processing.

Currently, a serious outbreak of E. coli O157:H7, possibly linked to iceberg lettuce, is unfolding in Michigan and other parts of the United States. Since 1995, the FDA has documented at least 22 other E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks traced to leafy greens likely contaminated before retail distribution, including a number of outbreaks involving fresh iceberg lettuce and spinach. Clearly, there is a need for improved methods to prevent contamination of produce before it reaches the consumer.

Most food safety experts would agree that there is no silver bullet (defined by Webster’s dictionary as “a magical weapon ; especially : one that instantly solves a long-standing problem”) to guarantee protection of any food from contamination. The use of comprehensive “farm-to-table” approaches is well accepted as the best way to combat the complex problems in food safety.

Where does irradiation of food fit into this evolving continuum including the new rule in the United States for lettuce and spinach?

Irradiation is probably the most studied, and the most controversial, food processing method in history. Several years ago, two renowned food safety leaders, Drs. Robert Tauxe (2001) and Michael Osterholm (2004), published elegant summaries describing the role of irradiation in food safety and protecting the public health. They did not promote irradiation as a silver bullet, but their commentaries suggested the process is one tool in the toolbox, and may be a silver lining (defined as “a hopeful side of an otherwise desperate or unhappy situation”) in the burgeoning problem of foodborne disease.

To better understand the implications of FDA’s new rule, I hit the books with the goal to examine the “pros and cons,” (perhaps more appropriately described as “advantages and limitations”) of using irradiation as a control step during fresh lettuce and spinach processing. The following is the first in a series summarizing the findings.

Part I. Historical Perspective and Definitions

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Had a long chat yesterday with Contra Costa reporter Larry Mitchell about the loophole around Tri-tips. The full story is at “Lawyer says meat poses E. coli risk.”

Some outbreaks of illness caused by E. coli can be blamed on a rule allowing tainted meat to be sold, a Seattle attorney claimed Tuesday.

William Marler, whose law firm specializes in food-borne illness, said he's tried to get the federal government to change its rule but to no avail.

Marler said he tracks outbreaks of E. coli and similar illnesses around the nation and has kept an eye on the situation in Forest Ranch, where 27 people became ill after eating food at a Sept. 6 fundraiser for the volunteer fire department. All signs point to tri-tip served at the event as causing the illness, according to the Butte County Public Health Department.

E. coli bacteria is all around and most of it's harmless, Marler said in a phone interview. However, a strain that appeared a number of years ago, E. coli 0157:H7, can be deadly. Found in the intestines and feces of cattle, this bacteria can contaminate meat, he said.

After a major outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 in the early 1990s, the federal government moved to regulate the meat industry but only partially succeeded, he said. A compromise was made, involving the "intact cut of meat rule."

According to this rule, he said, hamburger can't be sold if it contains E. coli 0157:H7. But so-called "intact cuts" of meat, such as tri-tip, can be sold containing the bacteria. The rationale for the rule is that hamburger will be squeezed into patties, and contaminated meat on the outside might end up in the middle of the burger, where it might not be cooked long enough to kill any bacteria. But with solid meat, the thinking goes, any bacteria will remain on the outside and definitely be killed in cooking.
In fact, things don't work that way, Marler said, because some intact cuts get contaminated by being tenderized with needles, and some solid meat is turned into hamburger after it leaves the packing plant.

Marler said this policy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is "indefensible" and must be changed. But change seems unlikely because the beef industry's lobby is so powerful, he added.

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On August 21, 2008 I urged Governor Schwarzenegger to Veto SB 201. I learned a few moments ago that the Governor did just that.  Makes a life long Democrat think about switching to the other team.  Hopefully, the Senators will reconsider the bill and review some of the ideas I had outlined in a letter to them that I posted here on August 27, 2008.

Sometimes politicians do the right thing.  Here is the "Governator's" veto letter:

To the Members of the California State Senate:

I am returning Senate Bill 201 without my signature.

This bill weakens food safety standards in California, something I cannot support.

Last year I signed AB 1735, which passed the Legislature unanimously and put into law food safety standards for raw milk. Those standards are now in question by the proponents of this bill. Looking past the lobbying techniques, public relations campaign, and legal maneuvering in the courts, one conclusion is inescapably clear: the standard in place has kept harmful products off the shelves and California’s raw milk dairies have been operating successfully under it for the entirety of 2008.

Based on fears with no basis in fact, the proponents of SB 201 seek to replace California’s unambiguous food safety standards for raw milk. Instead they have created a convoluted and undefined regulatory process with no enforcement authority or clear standards to protect public health.

For these reasons, I cannot support this measure.

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger

See Senator Florez's response:

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