Arizona marked its fifth case of Listeria from contaminated caramel apples in January, making it a leading state in a deadly outbreak that also has harmed a number of babies and expecting mothers. Now with five case patients, the Grand Canyon State has as many confirmed illnesses in the outbreak as Missouri and just one less than New Mexico, which leads all states with six listeriosis victims who fell sick after eating commercially produced, pre-packaged caramel apples. With two other new cases recorded in early January, the collective toll now stands at 35 Listeria infections in 12 states attributed to contaminated caramel apples. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Texas and California also have multiple residents who were infected. According to a revised outbreak summary published by the … [Read more...]
Arizona Shares Pain of Listeria Outbreak Linked to Caramel Apples
Arizona was on the receiving end of caramel apples that were contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an unfortunate distribution that left four state residents hospitalized from the potentially deadly infections that followed. The four confirmed outbreak cases in Arizona stand as the third most for any state. One of the victims was a baby with Listeria and three of the four are females who range in age up to 76. At least in Arizona, no fatalities were reported. In New Mexico and California, food safety lawyers are suing the supplier of the apples, Bidart Brothers, on behalf of several case patients, one of whom died. More litigation is expected in other states as the investigation continues into a reported 32 illnesses and seven deaths across 11 states. Evidence of matching strains of … [Read more...]
E. coli at West Valley Federico’s Restaurant Harmed 94 People
E. coli O157:H7 infected scores of Federico's restaurant customers at a lone location in the West Valley area of greater Phoenix in 2013, setting off a public health scramble to investigate an alarming case of food poisoning. According to an in-depth final report by the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, 94 people were sickened, including at least two who suffered kidney failure and other life-threatening symptoms of hemolytic uremic syndrome, or E. coli HUS. Federico's Mexican Restaurant at 13132 W. Camelback Road in Litchfield Park -- the only location in the Federico's chain that was involved in the outbreak -- temporarily closed its doors for a sanitary overhaul and food disposal soon after it was approached by public health officials about a strong correlation between an … [Read more...]
Arizona Prominent in Listeriosis Outbreak, Caramel Apple Recalls
Arizona is one of only five states named as a distribution territory in the latest caramel apple recall and now has the distinction of being involved at many levels of a rapidly evolving investigation of Listeria food poisoning. New outbreak details could be released in the coming week, but Arizona already is proven to have 14 percent of the 29 confirmed cases of listeriosis associated with pre-packaged, commercially produced caramel apples. Four deaths have stemmed from the outbreak and nine illnesses have occurred in a pregnant woman or her newborn baby. Arizona, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas and New Mexico are the leading states in the outbreak, but five other states have confirmed cases and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been monitoring the national … [Read more...]
Food Poisoning at Federico’s is Largest U.S. E. coli Outbreak in Years
The recent burst of food poisoning cases from a single Federico's restaurant west of Phoenix has eclipsed the Farm Rich frozen food outbreak as the biggest toxic E. coli outbreak of 2013 and is among the largest domestic E. coli outbreaks of the past few years, according to E. coli information kept by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Public health officials have had to go back to 2011 to find an E. coli outbreak with nearly as many confirmed case patients as the 68 people counted as victims in the current spread of E. coli illnesses in Arizona. The Federico's outbreak was first announced on August 2 when the Maricopa County Departments of Public Health and Environmental Services collaborated with the Arizona Department of Health Services on a press release alerting … [Read more...]
Federico’s E. coli Lawsuit Challenges Restaurant On Food Safety
What began as a single Federico's E. coli lawsuit has now progressed into a set of legal complaints on behalf of three restaurant customers, with more victims waiting in the wings to join the litigation. Even if your injuries were not life-threatening, you could still make a substantial recovery in consideration for pain, suffering, medical bills and other associated losses linked to contaminated food at the Mexican-style restaurant in the West Valley area of Litchfield Park, Arizona. Maricopa County officials have completed their inspection of the restaurant at 13132 West Camelback and the facility has reopened for business. The latest preliminary count of people sickened in the outbreak is 68, including 23 who were hospitalized for HUS and other complications. The local health … [Read more...]
Federico’s Restaurant E. coli Outbreak in Litchfield Park, Arizona
Federico's Mexican Restaurant in Litchfield Park, Arizona, is at the center of an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 that has sickened at least 11 to 15 people who ate there or purchased food from the establishment. The Maricopa County Departments of Public Health and Environmental Services in collaboration with the Arizona Department of Health Services are investigating and said in a news release that the outbreak appears to be linked to the Federico’s Mexican Restaurant located at 13132 W Camelback in Litchfield Park, about 20 miles west of downtown Phoenix. At least seven people have been hospitalized in the West Valley food poisoning outbreak. Several of the victims know each other. "So far, at least 11 of the 15 individuals with bloody diarrhea that MCDPH has been able to interview have … [Read more...]
Prison Hooch Sends 7 Inmates To ICU with Botulism
Prison hooch, or homemade alcohol, is the likely source of a botulism outbreak at an Arizona prison that sent seven inmates to intensive care. The seven inmates, all from Special Management Unit 1 of the Arizona State Prison Complex Eyman in Florence, were hospitalized over the weekend. Botulism is not spread through person-to-person contact. Although it can develop in contaminated wounds or through IV drug use, it most often develops after eating or drinking food that is tainted with the toxin. Botulism poisoning must be treated with a course of special anti-toxin, the stockpile of which is controlled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Health officials in Pinal County, where the prison is located, suspect that the inmates became ill after drinking hooch made … [Read more...]
