Food Poison Blog

Food Poisoning On The Brain...Literally

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:09:48 -0800

It turns out that feces contaminated food can lead not only to the usual array of foodborne illnesses, like E. coli or salmonella, but also to something much more unexpected. Rosemary Alvarez found that out first hand when a surgeon operating on her brain for what was initially believed to be a tumor instead found...drum roll please...a worm! Actually, it was a tapeworm called Taenia solium to be exact.

Lauren Cox from ABC news reports that, according to Rosemary's doctor, someone, somewhere, had served her food that was tainted with the feces of a person infected with the pork tapeworm parasite.

"We've got a lot more of cases of this in the United States now," said Raymond Kuhn, professor of biology and an expert on parasites at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. "Upwards of 20 percent of neurology offices in California have seen it."

So will a marked increase in similar parasitic infections finally be the trigger to motivate the US government into taking food safety seriously?

Check out the full article, including video footage and details of Rosemary's predicament, here.

WHO's Foodborne Disease Counting and Tracking System

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 08:31:28 -0800

I wanted to follow-up to my previous post regarding the World Health Organization's (WHO) recent announcement that much more research is needed into foodborne pathogens and their overall impact on humans.

Today I received some additional information from James R. Hollyer, Project Manager for the Agricultural Development in the American Pacific (ADAP) Project, regarding steps the WHO is already undertaking.

In 2007, the WHO launched an international initiative to fill in the gaps. The WHO Initiative to Estimate the Global Burden of Foodborne Diseases aims to quantify how many people die from or are affected by all major foodborne causes each year. It hopes to report by 2011. The initiative operates through an expert group, the Foodborne Disease Burden Epidemiology Reference Group (FERG), that includes scientists from all regions of the world and all areas of food safety, as well as professionals from policy and regulatory bodies.

Global atlas of disease

FERG plans to collect and summarise existing scientific data on foodborne disease and mortality into a global atlas. It will also train people from developing countries and help them conduct their own national studies to estimate and monitor the burden of disease from unsafe food.

The group invites stakeholders from governmental and non-governmental organisations, industry, consumer groups, donors and scientific media to get involved, open new communication channels and explore how the initiative can best achieve its aims.

The WHO will welcome involvement in this effort to count the millions affected by these entirely preventable diseases. Could you help provide the much-needed epidemiological yard-stick of death and disability against which progress can be measured?

The next FERG stakeholder meeting is scheduled for 20 November, in Geneva, Switzerland. If you are a professional working with development issues, you should have it in your calendar.

Foodborne disease research needed

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:08:53 -0800

As you know, we have repeatedly made calls for more research into the public health risk known as foodborne pathogens. Yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) unequivocally agreed (although the question of funding still remains).

At a conference in Geneva, WHO's direct of food safety, Jorgen Schlundt, announced that more research is needed to determine how much sickness and death stems from contaminated food, such as the tainted Chinese milk that caused kidney problems in more than 50,000 children and killed four, and the U.S. salmonella outbreak that made more than 1,400 people ill.

An estimated 30 percent of new infectious diseases originate in bacteria, viruses, parasites, chemicals and toxins introduced along food production chains, he told an experts' meeting. "There are some indications that the foodborne disease burden is increasing. But there is not very good data, it is difficult to say exactly what is happening," Schlundt said.

About 2.2 million children die each year from diarrheal illnesses including cholera caused by dirty water, food, and poor sanitation, according to the United Nations agency. Food products needed to be monitored at every stage of their handling, Schlundt said. "If you want to deal with food safety you have to go from the 'farm to the fork'. The notion that you can deal with it at the end of the food chain is clearly wrong," he said. In many countries, regulatory authorities fail to work together, he said. "In China there are 16 different authorities involved in some way in dealing with the melamine crisis," he said.

Julie Ingelfinger, a Harvard Medical School professor and pediatric nephrologist, said many people had overlooked the seriousness of complications caused by contaminated food. For instance, E.coli poisoning can cause hemolytic-uremic syndrome, a cause of kidney failure in children, she said. "Research into the long-term effects of foodborne disease is increasingly important because it is unquantified and goes on for decades," she said.

David Heymann, WHO assistant director-general for health, security and the environment, told the meeting that rich and poor countries were both vulnerable to foodborne diseases. "Foodborne diseases occur on every continent and in every country really. We never know where these events will happen," he said.

The recent salmonella outbreak in the United States -- its worst in a decade -- was an example of the changing picture of foodborne diseases, according to the WHO. Although salmonella is often linked to poultry, eggs and dairy products, recent outbreaks have been tied to fresh produce, it said. Tomatoes were suspected in the U.S. outbreak before the salmonella was traced to peppers from Mexico.

Nancy Donley, president of the U.S. non-profit group S.T.O.P. (Safe Tables Our Priority), said food safety needed to be taken more seriously as a public health concern. "It's crucial to keep foodborne disease prevention as a top priority in the world," said Donley, whose 6-year-old son Alex died in 1993 from e.coli-contaminated meat. "Behind every statistic is a face, a name, a life." (Editing by Laura MacInnis and Angus MacSwan)

Muskrat feces: Salmonella fighter?

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:47:02 -0800

You can file this entry under the "DO NOT TRY AT HOME" category. According to a new report out of South Korea, scientists have found that the excrement of muskrats - the semi-aquatic rodents prized for their musk - contains an antibiotic that can treat food poisoning.

Ki Keun Kim and colleagues at Pusan National University, South Korea, have found that muskrat excrement contains a potent antibiotic that can kill the Salmonella bacteria, a common cause of food poisoning, and also the Vibrio bacteria that cause seafood-linked food poisoning.

The antibiotic was also found to be effective against Staphylococcus aureus, a common cause of opportunistic infections, reports New Scientist.

Also, the experiments revealed that the compound kills termites as well, thus providing an environmentally friendly method of insect control.

It is possible to collect the antibiotic by drying the feces, and then using an organic solvent to extract the compound.

However, the patent did no reveal anything about the chemistry of the compound, or if could be safely administered to humans.

Turkey + Holidays = Foodborne Illness

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:53:41 -0800

While most of my postings here on the food poison blog tend to be less than joyous (but necessary given the serious nature of our business), I thought I'd take a moment and post a somewhat lighter article.

The next month and a half will bring many folks together to celebrate the holidays with family and friends. I thought it would therefore be a good idea to remind everyone of some basic turkey preparation and cooking techniques to ensure your gatherings are as successful as possible and minimize the risk of you or a loved one being one of the 76 million unlucky Americans who fall ill to a foodborne illness each year.

Food Thermometer Essential When Stuffing a Turkey
For optimal safety and uniform doneness, cook stuffing separately. However, if stuffing a turkey, it's essential to use a food thermometer to make sure the center of the stuffing reaches a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F.

Cooking a home-stuffed turkey is riskier than cooking one not stuffed. Even if the turkey itself has reached the safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F as measured in the innermost part of the thigh, the wing and the thickest part of the breast, the stuffing may not have reached a temperature high enough to destroy bacteria that may be present.

Bacteria can survive in stuffing that has not reached 165 °F, possibly resulting in foodborne illness.

Frozen Turkeys Stuffed at the Plant under USDA Inspection
The USDA does not recommend buying retail-stuffed, uncooked turkeys from a store or restaurant.

However, some turkeys purchased frozen have been stuffed at a plant under USDA inspection. These turkeys should be safe when cooked from the frozen state. Follow the manufacturer's package directions.

1. Prepare Stuffing Safely
If you plan to prepare stuffing using raw meat, poultry, or shellfish, you should cook the ingredients before stuffing the turkey to reduce the risk of foodborne illness from bacteria that may be found in raw ingredients. The wet ingredients for stuffing can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated. However, do not mix wet and dry ingredients until just before spooning the stuffing mixture into the turkey cavity.

If stuffing is prepared ahead of time, it must be cooked immediately and refrigerated in shallow containers. Do not stuff whole poultry with cooked stuffing.

2. Stuff Loosely
Do not cool the stuffing. Spoon it directly into the turkey cavity right after preparation. Stuff the turkey loosely — about 3/4 cup of stuffing per pound. The stuffing should be moist, not dry, because heat destroys bacteria more rapidly in a moist environment.

Do not stuff turkeys to be grilled, smoked, fried, or microwaved.

3. Cook Immediately
Immediately place the stuffed, raw turkey in an oven set no lower than 325 °F.

4. Use a Food Thermometer
For safety and doneness, check the internal temperature of the turkey and stuffing with a food thermometer.

If the temperature of the turkey and the center of the stuffing have not reached a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F, further cooking will be required. Do not remove the stuffing from the turkey before it reaches 165 °F because the undercooked stuffing could contaminate the cooked meat.

Continue to cook the turkey until the stuffing is safely cooked.

5. Let It Rest
Let the cooked turkey stand 20 minutes before removing the stuffing and carving.

6. Refrigerate Promptly
Refrigerate the cooked turkey and stuffing within 2 hours after cooking. Place leftovers in shallow containers and use within 3 to 4 days. Reheat leftovers to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Turkey_Basics_Stuffing/index.asp

China's Melamine Poisoning Problem - The Gift That Keeps Giving

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Lawyer) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 09:41:23 -0800

As if the poisoning of tens of thousands of China's babies was not enough, now the problem of how to get rid of the nasty, toxic chemical is causing further headache.

Disposal techniques so far have ranged from having it burned, buried and mixed into coal. The most astounding method used thus far? One trash-hauling company dumped a load into a river, turning the waters a frothy white and raising fears about the safety of the drinking water. Really, dumping it into water used for drinking? Isn't that basically how this whole mess started in the first place?!

Tens of thousands of tons of milk laced with melamine, a chemical used in making fertilizer and plastics, have been pulled from shelves and warehouses since September, and local governments now face the huge -- and costly -- problem of safely disposing of it.

Last month alone, more than 32,000 tons -- enough to fill about 23 Olympic-sized pools -- were disposed of in a single province, Hebei, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

At a factory in the southern city of Guangzhou, tons of contaminated milk powder were incinerated in 3,000-degree heat.

"All the remaining substance will be put into cement," said Wang Fan, director of Guangzhou's food safety office. "Our disposal process meets the national environmental protection requirements. It will not harm people's health."

Not known for making environmental safety a priority, China has gotten good marks so far from scientists and environmentalists in its efforts to dispose of the adulterated milk.

Beijing has issued new guidelines on how to destroy the tainted products. They recommend burning the milk in large-capacity incinerators or, if such facilities aren't available, burying small amounts in landfills -- as long as local environmental bureaus approve.

Burning or burying breaks down melamine and neutralizes its toxicity, said Peter Ben Embarek, a Geneva-based scientist at the World Health Organization's food safety department.

"We're talking about very large quantities so it's very important that these products are being destroyed in a proper way," he said in a telephone interview.

"Burying is OK if it is done in official, controlled waste disposal sites," he said. "We don't want to see products buried in illegal dumping places."

What's the Best Way to Deal with the Next E. coli or Salmonella Outbreak?

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:18:03 -0800

Not have an outbreak in the first place!

That was the theme at the recent Fresh Summit 2008 conference, "Food Safety: Keeping Your Business Healthy," where attendees heard from panelists about the latest in regulations and safety initiatives as well as how to consider food safety investments in a return-on-investment perspective.

Bob Whitaker, PMA’s Salinas, Calif.-based chief science officer, said the industry must continue its food safety diligence and try to stay ahead of the curve and anticipate possible future food safety issues.

“I see the industry is demonstrating the will to go forward by having the courage to act and to act now and to get involved in industry food safety activities,” Whitaker said. “And the industry has character to ask what we need to do further to make our programs better.”

Whitaker said the industry is better overall after the outbreaks and said he has noticed many positive changes bubbling under the surface during the past 1½ years. More PMA members, he said, are asking him for technical information.

The industry, Whitaker said, is putting more funding into food safety research and global standards are arising.

“There have been inconsistencies between buyers and suppliers,” Whitaker said. “Often, a supplier that invested heavily in food safety competed in the marketplace with someone who didn’t. What we’re seeing today is an increased awareness on both sides.”

Investigation Into Melamine Contamination of China's Food Supply

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 10:23:57 -0800

As I was sitting at my desk enjoying a berry protein smoothy this morning, I logged into the Seattle Times and discovered a new article, "How toxic chemical melamine got into China's food supply," by Maureen Fan and Ariana Eunjung Cha.

As I read, it became terrifyingly apparent how easy it was for this toxic industrial chemical to be introduced into China's food supply, including baby formula that caused over 90,000 babies to become ill and killed at least four others.

Melamine was used because it is cheap and can mimic protein in nutrition tests for milk and in products such as wheat gluten and chicken feed. It could also be added to protein powder supplements like the kind I just consumed. But that couldn't happen to food products sold in the US...right?

SHIJIAZHUANG, China — Xue Jianzhong never posted a sign on his ground-floor shop, but somehow everyone knew what he was selling. Customers from all over this dairy-farming region in the northeastern province of Hebei flocked to Xue's dusty street to buy special concoctions that he said would make milk more nutritious — and more marketable.

Advertised as a "protein powder," the substance was sold in 44-pound bags and was tasteless, odorless and white, like talc. It wasn't cheap, about $1 a pound, but it could be mixed into inferior milk or even with specially treated water and the result would be a milklike liquid that would pass government quality tests.

It wasn't until September, when Xue was arrested in connection with the investigation into the poisoning of tens of thousands of babies across China, that it became clear his secret ingredient was a toxic industrial chemical called melamine.

Melamine can mimic protein in nutrition tests for milk and in products such as wheat gluten and chicken feed. But when ingested in large amounts, it can cause kidney stones or death in children and animals.

The problem is not just a domestic one. Melamine has surfaced in foods sold across Asia and, earlier, in pet food that poisoned animals in the United States, tainting China's reputation as the world's factory.

How the same substance that had killed pets and was officially banned in China as an additive in food just last year wound up in baby formula and so many other food products is a story of desperate farmers, complicit chemical companies, and government officials who looked the other way. All were part of a system that allowed the network of melamine dealers to thrive.

Farmers and companies involved in food and feed production said the doctoring of their products was an open secret in the countryside but that the salesmen had told them it was harmless.

"Actually, every milk-collection center bought a lot of melamine," said Wang, a 60-year-old farmer in the village of Yudi, in the Shijiazhuang area, who would not give her full name because she feared retribution. "Everybody did this."

China's melamine trade is run by a criminal syndicate that has relied on chemical companies and underground laboratories for its supply. The trade has been supported by a customer base so eager for the substance that for years it turned a blind eye to its potentially deadly effects. Traditionally used in the manufacture of plastics and leather, melamine has made its way into the food supply in a way that was never supposed to happen.

Initially covered up by officials afraid of losing their jobs and besmirching the Beijing Olympic Games, the melamine-contamination scandal began with infant-milk formula that killed at least four infants and sickened 54,000 babies. It soon spread to candy, instant coffee, yogurt, biscuits and other products made with Chinese milk, prompting bans or recalls in 16 countries.

In recent weeks, the toxin has been discovered in eggs and in animal feed, sparking fears that tainted foods go well beyond dairy products and may include fish, shrimp, beef and poultry.

"Almost all the animal-feed companies I know added protein powder to their product until this September. So did our factory," said a sales manager surnamed Li, in a branch factory of the Liuhe Group, a large animal-feed company in Shandong province. "Of course, no one dares to add it now."

The problem of melamine was supposed to have been fixed long ago.

When Chinese authorities discovered in the summer of 2007 that the chemical was behind the poisoning of thousands of cats and dogs in the United States, it was explicitly banned from both food and feed. Melamine is now considered a controlled substance in China, and its production and use are supposed to be strictly supervised by the government.

The government has bragged about its efforts to overhaul its regulatory system, shutter tens of thousands of factories and step up inspections. But it is clear that loopholes remain.

Xue's shop is in Xingtang county, just 30 miles north of the Shijiazhuang headquarters of the Sanlu Group, the dairy company whose milk powder is at the center of the widening scandal.

Xue, who pocketed $150 for every ton of powder he sold, was part of a semiprofessional business that operated like any other startup, according to farmers and other potential customers who were solicited by melamine dealers.

There were legitimate-looking stores, representatives at milk-collection centers and even door-to-door salesmen. Customers with questions about how to use the melamine knew that technical assistance was just a phone call away.

Until recently, the salesmen would come every few months to Guo Junfeng's dairy farm in Shanxi province. "Even if you don't have milk, mix this substance with water and you will have something that is just like milk!" Guo remembers one of them telling him.

The salesmen were hawking two grades of the powder. The first contained whey protein, which can be collected from cheese made from cow's milk. That was the cheaper type and cost about $44 a bag, but it didn't always work perfectly. The second kind, which cost roughly $118 a bag, was more mysterious.

The bag had some English writing on it that Guo could not decipher. The vendors said they couldn't read the letters either, and they could not explain what exactly was in the mix. But they said you could use the powder to create milk from any liquid.

Many of Guo's fellow farmers in the province were dazzled by the idea of increasing their profits as much as 300 percent, he said.

But Guo said he knew it was too good to be true. "I'm usually a very suspicious person," he said. "They said it was nothing dangerous, but I couldn't be sure."

Dairy-industry analysts who have inspected the melamine powder said it appeared to have been created by sophisticated chemical technicians. Qiao Fuming, a dairy consultant in Beijing, said it is impossible to take raw melamine and mix it with milk because it won't dissolve. The melamine had to be converted into a form that could be mixed with liquids, he said.

Wu Jianping, a salesman at the Lixia chemical factory in Shandong province, said it was clear that some of his company's customers were not in industries that traditionally use melamine.

But, he added: "We never ask what they use melamine for. If we ask, they say, 'You don't need to ask. You want to sell it. We want to buy it. That's all you need to know.' "

Researchers Zhang Jie, Liu Songjie and Liu Liu in Beijing and Crissie Ding in Shanghai contributed to this report.

Rise of Recent E. coli O157:H7 Infections Tied to Biofuel?

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 13:07:43 -0800

Last year we saw a huge rise in the number of beef recalls due to E. coli O157:H7 contamination. While there were eight beef recalls in the US in 2006, the number jumped to an astounding 21 beef recalls in 2007, including the second largest beef recall in US history from Tops Meat Company. About a third of the recalls were prompted by reports of human illness, while none of the 2006 recalls were. According to a recent Washington Post article by staff writer Annys Shin, researchers at Kansas State University may have found the reason.

The study found higher levels of E. coli O157:H7 in the feces of cattle fed a diet that included an ethanol product called distillers grain.

Distillers grain is what is left after the starch from corn is removed to make ethanol. It has been around for decades, but its popularity as a feed ingredient has surged in recent years. One reason is that demand for ethanol, fueled by rising gas prices and federal mandates and subsidies, has pushed the price of corn -- and in turn, corn feed -- to record levels, said Darrell Mark, an economist at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

Distillers grain is also cheaper than corn and is high in the proteins and fats that help cattle put on more weight, said David M. Smith, a University of Nebraska researcher. For cattle ranchers, who are being squeezed by lower beef consumption and higher prices for fuel and grazing land, such benefits are important.

The researchers at Kansas State followed up with another study in which they inoculated calves with E. coli O157:H7 (which is harmless to cattle) using a modified form of the bacteria that was easier to track. They found that calves fed distillers grain had higher levels of the bacteria than those that were not. The USDA findings appear to back them up.

But the connection between distillers grain and E. coli is still far from conclusive, researchers said, for several reasons. Another study done by researchers at the University of Nebraska found that cattle fed a diet of up to 25 percent distillers grain actually had less of the bacteria than the control group, while those fed a diet that was 40 percent or more distillers grain had more of the bacteria. Another study done at Kansas State found no statistically significant increase in the bacteria in distillers-grain-fed cattle compared with the control.

T.G. Nagaraja, one of the Kansas State researchers, suggests that the variation in results may be due to differences in the distillers grain, which can depend on where it was produced.

New Cattle Vaccine May Reduce E. coli O157:H7 Infections

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:12:00 -0800

On Monday, a Canadian biopharmaceutical company, Bioniche Life Sciences, Inc., announced it has received full licensing approval from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)—an analogue to the USDA—for the world’s first cattle vaccine designed to reduce the shedding of E. coli O157:H7 in cattle feces.

The vaccine works by preventing the E. coli O157:H7 bacteria from attaching to the intestines of the cattle. This, in turn, reduces reproduction of the bacteria within the intestines and leads to a reduced quantity of bacteria released through the cattle’s feces into the environment. It is this release of bacteria that ultimately leads to human infections of E. coli O157:H7 through food and water contamination.

This vaccine may also help reduce the risk of E. coli O157:H7 infections through contact with farm animals at petting zoos and agricultural exhibitions, and with E. coli O157:H7-contaminated water runoff flowing into fresh produce fields (see Dole and Natural Selections spinach outbreak, or the more recent Aunt Mid's lettuce outbreak.

Bioniche is currently working to meet the USDA’s requirements for a conditional license to bring the vaccine to the US. The USDA informed Bioniche this past February that the latest data “meets the ‘expectation of efficacy’ standard” and is eligible for a conditional license, provided that Bioniche develops a plan “that would collect sufficient data to move the product to full licensure.”

The vaccine sounds like a great step towards potentially reducing the thousands of kids and elderly folks (the two most affected demographics) who become infected by E. coli O157:H7 each year. I cannot help but wonder, however, what effect this vaccine will have on current slaughter practices. With regard to meat contamination, the real problem is not solely with cattle that shed a bacteria naturally existing within their intestinal tracts, but rather with the high-speed slaughtering operations (over 300 cattle slaughtered per hour is not uncommon) that take inadequate precautions to ensure feces is not sprayed onto raw meat during the mind-bogglingly fast slaughter line. Despite beef industry claims to the contrary, it IS very possible to produce feces-free (and therefore E. coli-free) beef. So even with this very important vaccine coming to the market, my hope is for beef slaughter operations to slow down, and to continue improving and testing the adequacy of their Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans so that fecal contamination of meat does not occur in the first place. I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer my meat both feces AND E. coli O157:H7 free.

Country Cottage E. coli Outbreak - Are Criminal Charges on the Horizon?

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:46:45 -0800

The FBI is on the hunt for…E. coli O111?

In the latest development related to the Country Cottage outbreak, the Oklahoman reported today that FBI officials contacted the Oklahoma health department after the outbreak out of concern that it “might be a criminal situation ... related to several outbreaks recently (in the U.S.)."

Also of interest, every person who became ill ate food prepared by Country Cottage. The outbreak has turned into one of the US’s largest of this rare strain of E. coli. To date, one person has died, 72 were hospitalized and 241 others became sick.

Total known cases: 314

In-patient hospitalizations: 72

Patients who required dialysis for renal failure: 17

Deaths: One

People interviewed: 1,843

Victims who ate food provided by Country Cottage in Locust Grove: Every known case

State and county health workers involved in response and/or inquiry: At least 135

Salmonella Pot Pies - The Truth Is Out There

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:27:20 -0800

What if I told you the above images were recently released by the US government to confirm that, in fact, UFOs do exist? Would you be shocked? Well, sorry to disappoint but they are not UFOs. What they actually are, however, is just as shocking.

The above images are thermal shots of the same product being cooked in six different microwave ovens with hugely varying (and inconsistent) uniformity of heating. While this may not be a problem for Aunt Betty using her microwave to boil water for afternoon tea, it is a potentially life-threatening problem for the many individuals who purchase prepared, but not ready-to-eat foods.

For example, only last week the Minnesota Department of Health linked fourteen cases of salmonellosis to raw frozen chicken entrees. The products include breaded and pre-browned Chicken Kiev and Chicken Cordon Bleu made by Milford Valley Farms. The affected Chicken Cordon Blue products have code dates of C8121, C126 and C8133 printed on the side of the package. The implicated Chicken Kiev carries the date code C149. For Minnesota, this is the sixth outbreak of salmonella linked to similar products since 1998.

All of this, of course, begs the question—what responsibility does a food manufacturer like Milford Valley Farms have to their consumers regarding effective cooking directions and warning labels?

How about: “WARNING! This product is not cooked and is not ready-to-eat. Failure to adhere with exact precision to the cooking instructions, including the use of a 1000 watt microwave and cooking the product for the exact cooking time specified followed by the stated resting period, may cause vomiting, profuse diarrhea, dehydration, kidney failure, or death." Mmm…sounds delicious. Now, who’s hungry for pot pie?

Over at the Kalamazoo Gazette, the AP's Josh Funk has written a great piece on this issue, Undercooking a constant danger with microwave. Especially useful is the "test your microwave" section where instructions are given to determine your microwave's true wattage (especially important considering that microwaves lose power over time).

In the end, the convenience of a quicky dinner from a microwaved entree sounds like more work, and risk, than it's worth. My tip? Use an oven. The classic kind.

For more commentary, see Dr. Doug Powell’s Barfblog site, including one of my personal favorite postings, Cooking the Poop Out of Pot Pies.

China Wants Lawyers Out While Number of Melamine Victims Doubles

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:25:14 -0800

Whatever China may have bought in world respect by hosting the spectacular summer Olympics may now be lost by the way the People's Republic is handing its adulteration of milk with the industrial chemical melamine.

Item One: According to Reuters: The government has not updated figures issued on September 21, when it said that 12,892 infants were in hospital, 104 with serious illness, and close to 40,000 others were affected but did not need major treatment. However, from local media reports Reuters estimates the total number of cases now is more like 94,000.

Item Two: Another news service says A loose-knit group of about 100 Chinese lawyers, offering free legal advice to families of sick children, has come under pressure from the government to withdraw from the cases. The group has managed to file a lawsuit in Henan province against Sanlu Group Co., the dairy that is the center of the melamine scandal.

Besides putting pressure on the lawyers to get out, the State Council, China's Cabinet, has imposed media controls. The Chinese government acknowledges there was a lack of oversight of the dairy industry.

For more on the victims in China, go here.

Best Efforts Of Nation's Vet's Cannot Keep Avoidance Databank From Closing

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:47:55 -0800

Bryan Salvage at Meat & Poultry, the business journal for meat and poultry processors, today reports on the demise of the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank.

It was used by veterinarians, livestock producers and state and federal regulatory and extension specialists to ensure that drug, environmental and pesticide contaminants do not end up in meat, milk, and eggs. (Do you mean like MELAMINE?)

The Avoidance Databank began shutting down on Oct. 1st after it failed to get an infusion of cash and long-term funding from Congress. It needed about $2.5 million per year.

The American Veterinary Medical Association worked with Congress, through lobbying and grassroots efforts, to have language authorizing the Avoidance Databank at $2.5 million inserted in this year's Farm Bill. The USDA, however, never incorporated the funding in its budget, and Congress has provided neither emergency funding nor appropriations, Meat & Poultry reported.

"It's disheartening -- even tragic -- that a program that costs so little yet does so much to keep our food supply safe is not being funded," said Dr. Mark Lutschaunig, the Vet's government relations director. "We're talking about a cost of less than a penny per American to help keep meat, eggs and dairy products free of drugs and pesticides."

Even a supportive website could not offset the indifference or opposition by both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and USDA's Food Safety & Inspection Service.

New Superhero Goes Where FDA Fears To Go: All Hail "Eddie, the Haphazard Gourmet Girl!"

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:25:11 -0800

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.

Tags: Case News

Schwarzenegger's Veto Message For California's Raw Milk Bill

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 05:19:37 -0800

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

The Michigan E coli Outbreak Caused By Aunt Mid's Bagged Lettuce Brings History Lesson From William D. Marler!

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:21:44 -0800

This is a press release being distributed by Marler Clark:

Seattle--- “E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks associated with lettuce or spinach, specifically the "pre-washed" and "ready-to-eat" varieties sold under various brand and trade names, are by no means a new phenomenon,” according to food-safety attorney, William D. Marler, of Marler Clark. By way of illustration:

•    in October 2003, thirteen residents of a California retirement home were sickened, and two people died, after eating E. coli-contaminated, pre-washed spinach;

•    in September 2003, nearly forty patrons of a California restaurant chain fell ill after eating salads prepared with bagged, pre-washed lettuce; and

•    in July 2002, over fifty young women fell ill with E. coli O157:H7 at a dance camp after eating “pre-washed” lettuce, leaving several hospitalized and one with life-long kidney damage.

And this is just a small sampling of the twenty or more E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks since 1995 in which spinach or lettuce was the source.

Several more outbreaks linked to contaminated leafy-produce, including most recently the September 2005 Dole packaged lettuce outbreak, are identified in the chart below, which is based on information gathered by the Center for Science in the Public Interest:

DATE	VEHICLE	Etiology	Number of CASES	STATES
8/93	Salad	E. coli O157:H7	53	WA
7/95	Lettuce (leafy green; red; romaine)	E. coli O157:H7	70	MT
9/95	Lettuce (romaine)	E. coli O157:H7	20	ID
9/95	Lettuce (iceberg)	E. coli O157:H7	39	ME
10/95	Lettuce (iceberg; unconfirmed)	E. coli O157:H7	11	OH
5/96-6/96	Lettuce (mesclun; red leaf)	E. coli O157:H7	61	CT, IL, NY
5/98	Salad	E. coli O157:H7	2	CA
2/99-3/99	Lettuce (iceberg)	E. coli O157:H7	72	NE
7/02-8/02	Lettuce (romaine)	E. coli O157:H7	29	WA,ID
10/03-5/04	Lettuce (mixed salad)	E. coli O157:H7	57	CA
4/04	Spinach	E. coli O157:H7	16	CA
9/05	Lettuce (romaine)	E. coli O157:H7	32	MN, WI, OR

The CSPI data base can be found here.

The most recent major E. coli outbreak ties to leafy greens was the Dole Spinach outbreak of 2006. This included 205 illnesses due to E. coli O157:H7 reported the CDC. This number included 31 cases of HUS, 102 hospitalizations, and 3 deaths. The FDA maintained its conclusion that all the implicated spinach was traced back to Salinas Valley in California.

“We never seem to learn,” said Mr. Marler. In November 2005, the FDA elucidated its past efforts and present concerns in its "Letter to California Firms that Grow, Pack, Process, or Ship Fresh and Fresh-Cut Lettuce." The letter begins:

“This letter is intended to make you aware of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) serious concern with the continuing outbreaks of food borne illness associated with the consumption of fresh and fresh-cut lettuce and other leafy greens.”

The FDA efforts to lead the lettuce industry to safer practices were nothing new. In 1998, the FDA issued guidance to the industry entitled "Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fruits and Vegetables." The guide is specifically designed to assist growers and packers in the implementation of safer manufacturing practices. On February 5, 2004, the FDA issued a letter to the lettuce and tomato industries to "make them aware of [FDA's] concerns regarding continuing outbreaks associated with these two commodities and to encourage the industries to review their practices."

BACKGROUND: Marler Clark has extensive experience representing victims of E. coli bacterial infections. The firm has represented over 1,000 E. coli victims since 1993, when William Marler represented HUS survivor Brianne Kiner in her $15.6 million E. coli settlement with Jack in the Box. Since that time, Marler Clark has represented victims of E. coli outbreaks traced to ConAgra, AFG, Cub Foods, Supervalu, Carneco, Excel, Topps, Stop & Shop and other ground beef suppliers.

Contact: William D. Marler – 1-206-794-5043, bmarler@marlerclark.com.

Mr. Marler wrote: Aunt Mid's Produce Company E. coli Linked to Lettuce in Michigan Illnesses on his blog. Go there or look below for information on the Michigan outbreak.

Jail Inmate & State University Student E Coli Victims In Michigan May Blame "Aunt Mid's"

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:55:35 -0800

The Michigan Department of Community Health is issuing a public health alert after dozens of cases of E. coli surfaced. It now appears the E. coli outbreak is linked to iceberg lettuce that came from a wholesale distributor.

As a precautionary measure, the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) is issuing a public health alert due to illnesses from the 26 cases of E. coli strain O157:H7 that are thought to be associated with bagged, industrial-sized packages of iceberg lettuce sold through wholesale venues to restaurants and institutions.

There is no evidence that the bagged lettuce at grocery stores is affected.

Some of the 26 Michigan cases consumed shredded or chopped iceberg lettuce in restaurants or institutions purchased from Aunt Mid's Produce Company, a Detroit-based wholesale distributor; and other distributing outlets could be identified. Product trace back and additional tests results are still in progress.

Our top priority at the Michigan Department of Community Health is to protect the public, said Dr. Gregory Holzman, chief medical executive for MDCH. We appreciate all of the assistance from Aunt Mid's. They have been very helpful in this investigation. We want to ensure that the public's health and well-being is protected. Even though the investigation is ongoing, available evidence is strongly pointing to iceberg lettuce.

The 26 genetically linked cases are present in eight Michigan counties including seven at Michigan State University (Ingham County), five inmates at the Lenawee County Jail, three students at the University of Michigan (Washtenaw County), four in Macomb County, three each in Wayne, two in Kent counties, and one each in St. Clair and Oakland counties. Of the E. coli O157:H7 cases that are genetically linked, 10 have been hospitalized. These linked cases range in age from 11 to 81 years old. Symptoms of these confirmed genetically linked E. coli patients began on Sept. 8. More confirmed cases could surface as the investigation continues

FDA Has Not Found Melamine In Imports Yet Warns Consumers Not To Drink Mr. Brown Coffee Or Milk Tea Nor White Rabbit Candy

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:20:25 -0800

China's melamine scandal hasn't exactly reached the United States yet, but you can now see it from here. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration this morning issued a warning about "Mr. Brown" instant coffee and milk tea products made in the PRC.

Business Week sums up the extent of the melamine crisis: In China, more than 50,000 children—most of them babies—have fallen ill and more than 13,000 have been hospitalized. Several Chinese children have died so far.

From FDA's statement today:

...FDA is alerting consumers that seven Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products manufactured in China are being recalled by the King Car Food Industrial Co. Ltd. due to possible contamination with melamine. The products, manufactured by China’s Shandong Duqing Inc., are:

Mr. Brown Mandheling Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Arabica Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Blue Mountain Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Caramel Macchiato Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown French Vanilla Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Mandhling Blend instant Coffee (2-in-1)
Mr. Brown Milk Tea (3-in-1)

The FDA recommends that consumers not consume any of the above Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products. The FDA also recommends that retailers and foodservice operators remove the products from sale or service.

FDA says testing of milk products being imported to the United States has not found melamine contamination.

Others, however, have not been so lucky. FDA says: The New Zealand Food Safety Authority reports that its testing of White Rabbit Creamy Candies has shown melamine contamination at high levels.

In light of the widespread contamination of milk and milk-based products in China and the New Zealand Food Safety Authority’s finding, the FDA recommends that consumers not eat White Rabbit Creamy Candy and that retailers and foodservice operations remove the product from sale or service.

See the rest of the FDA statement here.

Xiang And Marler Comment On Melamine Scandal From Beijing

marler@marlerclark.com (Food Poisoning Attorney) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:15:47 -0800

Xiang Yuzhang, China's chief quality inspector, says the melamine in the baby food problem was "more or less" under control, ABC News is reporting. However, America's top attorney for victims of food-borne illnesses, says many questions remain about the harm that's been done.

"At present, there is basically no melamine problem in the Chinese market," said Xiang. "As far as I know, there will be no more bad news." ABC News says:

Lawyer Bill Marler, who has represented clients in some of the largest food-safety cases in the United States, says this latest food scare will inevitably do further harm to the "made in China" brand abroad.

"Clearly, you have to think about things from a moral perspective. There are [53,000] children sick," said Marler. "But you also think about it from an economic perspective. If this product had gotten into the United States, it would have been 'game over' for a lot of products in China."

Xiang and Marler are both speaking at a food safety conference in Beijing that was planned before poison was found in baby formula made in China. ABC sums up the situation this way:

Baby milk powder spiked with the industrial chemical melamine has sickened 53,000 infants and killed four. Millions of Chinese parents are scratching their heads over which formulas are safe. The dairy industry has been brought to its knees, as the government overhauls the milk collection system and identifies where in the supply chain the melamine was added.

"It somewhat surprised me," said Marler. "Every Chinese speaker at the conference spoke about the crisis. I thought it would be avoided."

For the rest from ABC, go here.