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Articles Posted in Food Safety

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Injuries that occur as a result of food poisoning can give rise to a number of different claims for the harm suffered. Those who seek compensation for personal injuries resulting from the consumption of contaminated food or beverages can assert claims based on negligence, breach of express or implied warranty, violation of food laws, and strict liability.

For one, individuals can allege breach of warranty claims to recover compensation for their injuries. Breach of warranty claims can include express and implied warranties. For example, Illinois courts have found liability for a breach of an implied warranty of fitness when a manufacturer sold poisoned flour. In order to recover in a breach of warranty claim, there generally must be privity of contract. Privity of contract often requires that the injured person have purchased the goods from the manufacturer. This can include sellers of goods as well, yet courts have been hesitant to extend liability in such cases, particularly if the seller had no way to inspect the goods.

General Mills Expands Recall of Flour

General Mills announced an expansion to its flour recall resulting from a possible E. Coli outbreak. According to one news source, the updated recall covers different varieties of flour of the Gold Medal and Signature Kitchens brands, produced through February of this year. Four new cases were reported, causing the company to expand the recall. The outbreak has already caused illnesses to 46 people throughout 21 states. Thirteen of those people have required hospitalization. One person suffered from kidney failure as a result.

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When we patronize restaurants, we expect that the people in charge have taken appropriate steps to ensure that the food we consume will be safe and free of adulterants. What fewer patrons realize, however, is that these safety measures extend to ensuring that the employees and servers who prepare and deliver our food are free of diseases and infections that could easily contaminate us and our families. Recent reports have indicated that there are at least 135 confirmed cases of Hepatitis A outbreaks in Hawaii, according to the Hawaii State Department of Health. This represents over 40 additional cases since the department issued an update during the last week of July.

According to this recent update, one of the affected victims in the rampant and ongoing outbreak of the dangerous Hepatitis A virus includes an employee who works at a Chili’s restaurant location in Oahu. Another employee includes a Hawaiian Airlines flight attendant. Both of these employees have had substantial exposure to the general public. Also, considering that Hawaii is a popular tourist destination, it is highly likely that someone who has come into contact with these two affected individuals or another carrier of the virus has since returned home and come into contact with countless other individuals. According to a Hawaii State Epidemiologist, neither the employee at Chili’s nor the flight attendant have been linked to any additional outbreaks, and neither outlet is being deemed a source of the outbreak.

Another restaurant, however, was not so lucky. Employees at Baskin-Robbins, a Taco Bell location, Cosco Bakery, and a sushi restaurant were also identified as carrying Hepatitis A. Nearly 25 employees at the sushi restaurant, Sushi Shiono, tested positive as carriers of Hepatitis A.

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The Centers for Disease Control estimates that about one in six people get sick from food-borne illnesses each year in the United States. Of these, around 3,000 people die as a result. In recent years, E. Coli outbreaks have become familiar to Americans as they continue to come up in the news, at times causing serious effects for victims.

E. Coli is a bacterium that can be transmitted by consuming contaminated food, including unwashed raw produce, undercooked beef, unpasteurized juice, and raw milk. The consumption of contaminated food can result in symptoms, the most common of which is diarrhea. However, in more serious cases, it can cause anemia or kidney failure, which can lead to death.

E. Coli generally lives in cattle, but it can also be found in other livestock. If meat containing E. Coli bacteria is not cooked to 160 degrees, E. Coli bacteria can survive and infect those who consume it. In addition, the meat can affect other food that comes into contact with the infected raw meat. Raw meat is the most likely cause for infection, but it can be transmitted through raw fruits and vegetables, or through raw milk or other dairy products.

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Health food stores are becoming increasingly popular as consumers’ preferences for different categories of food products have shifted. Perhaps one of the most popular health food chains in the U.S. is Whole Foods Market, a specialty store offering a variety of alternative products, including organics, gluten-free, and vegan. On June 8, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency responsible for overseeing food safety and labeling for the vast majority of our food system, issued a warning letter to Whole Foods Market, identifying a number of “serious violations” it found after completing an inspection of one of its stores in Everett, Massachusetts, in February 2016.

Among the violations identified, Whole Foods Market failed to manufacture, package, and store foods under conditions that would reduce the growth or introduction of potential contaminants. For example, the inspectors observed that the company was preparing ready-to-eat pasta products under areas where moisture from ceiling joints above was dripping onto the counter space below.

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Some people may think that safety issues associated with pet food are geared solely toward ensuring their animals’ health. The federal government recently shed light on the issue, informing a pet food company that the presence of salmonella in its products could harm more than the animals who consume it.

Pet food manufacturing company Answers Pet Food, owned and operated by Lystn LLC, received a warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration indicating that its products tested positive for Salmonella. The tests involved the company’s Detailed Answers Chicken Formula dog food product.

Salmonella is a type of bacteria that can be found in raw food products like beef, milk, poultry, eggs, and fresh produce. Individuals who consume Salmonella or otherwise come into contact with the bacteria can experience severe illnesses, including vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, fever, and even death. The elderly, children, and those with compromised immune systems are most susceptible to the bacteria, often requiring hospitalization to resolve the resulting symptoms.

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A multi-state outbreak of listeria linked to frozen vegetables has led to many illnesses and even fatalities, spurring officials at the Centers for Disease Control and state public health leaders to conduct an investigation. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has also gotten involved. Reports indicate that eight individuals have been infected with Listeria across three states: Washington, California, and Maryland. The individuals who lost their lives as a result of the contamination resided in Maryland and Washington.

The frozen vegetables likely responsible for the outbreak have been traced back to CRF Frozen Foods, based in Pasco, Washington. The vegetables are sold under a variety of brand names. The company initiated the first recall on April 23, 2016, covering 11 types of frozen vegetable products. Then, on May 2, 2016, the recall was expanded to encompass all of the organic and regular frozen fruit and vegetable products that it processed at the Pasco facility from May 1, 2014, onward. This expanded recall covered over 350 products that are marketed under more than 40 different brand names and sold in the U.S. and Canada.

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Even when individuals have a valid claim, a lawyer’s missteps can have serious consequences for their clients. In a recent case, a judgment in favor of the defendant could not be revisited because the issue raised on appeal was not raised by the plaintiffs’ lawyer during the trial.

The Facts of the Case

A husband and wife filed a lawsuit against makers and distributors of microwave popcorn and butter flavoring. The husband ate microwave popcorn every day for 20 years. They alleged that the products caused him to develop the lung disease bronchiolitis obliterans.

At trial, the experts disagreed about what caused the husband’s sickness. Both the plaintiffs and the defendants had a number of expert witnesses who testified about his sickness and its likely cause. One of the defendant’s experts was a doctor who testified about articles that were not provided to the plaintiffs for review. The plaintiff’s lawyer objected, arguing that the witness could not testify about facts about which the plaintiffs did not have information. He argued that the plaintiffs could not adequately prepare for such testimony, and the testimony was unfair. The judge agreed, and the expert’s testimony was stricken. Accordingly, the judge instructed the jury to ignore the testimony they had heard from the expert. The trial continued, and the jury found in favor of the defendant.

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A lawsuit brought by the California Attorney General claiming that Nabisco Ginger Snap cookies contain nine times the amount of lead allowed according to California law has settled for $750,000. The California Attorney General, alongside 11 district attorneys, brought the action against parent company Mondelez International, originally part of Kraft Foods, in the County of Orange on January 21, seeking damages according to California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, also known as Proposition 65.

Lead poses serious risks to humans due to its properties as a neurotoxin. The ingestion of lead affects the central nervous system and can result in severe injuries like cancer, reproductive disabilities, birth defects, and even death. When children consume lead, they face even more serious symptoms and illnesses, including developmental delay, sluggishness, and vomiting. Adults who ingest lead over a sustained period of time commonly exhibit symptoms like memory loss, abdominal pain, mood changes, and high blood pressure.

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Food safety has become a major issue and subject of public concern recently, with widespread foodborne illness outbreaks hitting the headlines on a regular basis. In its final warning letter of 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has issued a warning to Edo Sushi Express, a seafood processing company, claiming that it found “serious violations” of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (“HACCP”) standards applicable to seafood.

HACCP is a system designed to ensure food safety is addressed throughout the food production chain. It requires the analysis and control of certain physical, chemical, and biological hazards associated with turning raw materials into final products intended for human consumption. When it comes to seafood, pathogens and parasites present particular risks.

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When families go out to eat, whether for Sunday brunch or a birthday dinner, they expect their food to not only taste good but also be safely prepared. This is true for the fanciest restaurants as well as the fast food restaurant on the corner. It is also true for food purchased at the grocery store or served via home delivery.

Unfortunately, however, food is not always as safe as it should be. Sometimes this results in an upset stomach that resolves itself after a couple of days and that a customer may not even attribute to food he or she recently ate. But sometimes food poisoning can cause serious health problems or even death.

One of the more common and well known sources of food contamination is the E. coli bacteria, which lives in the intestines of certain animals. The most common symptoms of E. coli are diarrhea, abdominal cramping, nausea, and vomiting. In more serious cases, kidney failure may occur. This most commonly occurs in children and those with compromised immune systems, like the elderly.

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