The California Department of Public Health is warning the public not to eat cashew cheese products made by The Cultured Kitchen because they may be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. Fifteen cases of illness have been reported that are associated with this product. Twelve cases have occurred in California. Three people have been hospitalized as a result of their illness. The recalled products include Habanero Cilantro Lime Cashew Cheese, Pesto or Basil Pesto Cashew Cheese, Smoked Cheddar Cashew Cheese, Herb Cashew Cheese, White Cheddar Cashew Cheese, and Pepper Jack Cashew Cheese. You can see pictures of the recalled products at the CDPH web site. The cheeses have expiration dates on or before April 19, 2014. The products are in eight-ounce plastic containers. They were sold in … [Read more...]
Foster Farms Chicken Lawsuit Will Focus on Antibiotic Resistance
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is more than half way through a 90-day period of intensified sampling and testing of chicken products from Foster Farms chicken plants in California as part of the government response to a large and unusual outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg. While it is not uncommon for raw poultry from any producer to contain Salmonella, the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria as seen in the Foster Farms outbreak is unusual, California State Health Officer Ron Chapman has said. Food poisoning lawyer Fred Pritzker said the large scale of the outbreak -- including 288 illnesses in California alone -- and the antibiotic resistance of the Salmonella will make for important, powerful litigation. Pritzker is president and lead attorney of a firm that … [Read more...]
Foster Farms Chicken Salmonella Outbreak Creeps Along
It has been one month since the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a Public Health Alert due to concerns that illnesses caused by Salmonella Heidelberg are associated with chicken products produced by Foster Farms at three facilities in California. Since that time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its count of how many people have been sickened in an outbreak that does not appear to be over but has slowed down since public agencies and food poisoning experts in law and academia have called attention to the threat. Meanwhile, attorneys for victims have been moving on Foster Farms chicken litigation to win recoveries and Salmonella lawyer Fred Pritzker said his firm is continuing to accept new cases. "For victims of … [Read more...]
Foster Farms Chicken Sickens 362 with Multi-Drug Resistant Salmonella
The Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak linked to Foster Farms chickens has grown, according to the CDC. Drug-resistant Salmonella in Foster Farms chicken has sickened 362 people in 21 states and Puerto Rico. Most of the ill persons (74%) live in California. Since the last update on October 18, 2013, 24 new ill persons have been reported from six states: California (16), Colorado (3), Delaware (1), Idaho (1), Michigan (1), and Texas (2). The new state is Delaware. A total of 362 individuals infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Heidelberg have been reported. The number of ill persons in each state is as follows: Alaska (1), Arkansas (1), Arizona (14), California (268), Colorado (7), Connecticut (1), Delaware (1), Florida (4), Idaho (3), Kentucky (1), Michigan (3), Missouri … [Read more...]
Mexico Delists Foster Farms Plants Linked to Salmonella Outbreak
The Mexican government has delisted three Foster Farms chicken processing plants from its approved export list. The plants are: "06137A P --- Foster Food Products (dba: Sunland Poultry Company) --- 2960 South Cherry Street --- Fresno, CA 93706 --- delisted October 22, 2013"; "06137 P --- Foster Food Products (dba: Sunland Poultry Company)---1000 Davis Street---Livingston, CA 95334 ---delisted October 22, 2013"; and "07632 P --- Foster Poultry Farms (dba: Sunland Poultry Company) --- 900 W. Belgravia Ave. --- Fresno, CA 93701 --- delisted October 22, 2913". Those are the three facilities that produced chicken linked with the Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak that has sickened at least 340 people in the United States. Foster Farms has other poultry plants in California and in other states … [Read more...]
Consumer Groups Ask USDA to Recall Foster Farms Chicken
A coalition of consumer groups, including Center for Science in the Public Interest, Consumer Federation of America, Food & Water Watch, and National Consumers League, has asked the USDA to recall the Foster Farms chicken that is contaminated with antibiotic-resistant Salmonella. Those products have been linked to a nationwide outbreak that has sickened at least 317 people in 20 states and Puerto Rico. Those groups make up the Safe Food Coalition, which is dedicated to reducing the burden of foodborne illness by improving government inspection programs. Christopher Waldrop, director of the Consumer Federation of America, said in a statement that "the lack of a recall is especially troubling considering the number of people sickened by the outbreak, the high hospitalization rate, the … [Read more...]
USDA FAQ About Foster Farms Costco Salmonella Chicken Outbreak
The USDA has released an FAQ about the Salmonella outbreak linked to chicken products made at three Foster Farms facilities. Fully cooked Costco rotisserie chicken products produced at Foster Farms have also been linked to this outbreak and were recalled earlier this week. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) was first notified of a Salmonella outbreak on June 28, 2013. The public was not notified of this outbreak until October 7, 2013, when USDA issued a public health alert, but no recall. FSIS began an investigation in June, but didn't begin intensified testing of Foster Farms raw chicken products until September 2013. At least 317 people in 20 states and Puerto Rico have been sickened in this outbreak. It's important to remember that since Salmonella is vastly … [Read more...]
USDA Official Recall of Costco Foster Farms Rotisserie Salmonella Chicken
The USDA has finally released an official recall notice about the Costco in San Francisco removing Foster Farms rotisserie chicken products from store shelves. This recall is happening because Salmonella is an illegal adulterant in ready-to-eat foods. It's not illegal to sell raw chicken contaminated with Salmonella, unless someone gets sick. But USDA is not recalling the raw Foster Farms chicken that has sickened 317 people in 20 states. The recalled Foster Farms rotisserie chicken products were sold at the Costco El Camino Real store in San Francisco, California. The products are 8,730 "Kirkland Signature Foster Farms" rotisserie chickens that are cooked and ready to eat. Also recalled are 313 total units of "Kirkland Farm" rotisserie chicken soup, rotisserie chicken leg quarters, and … [Read more...]
Extra Danger in Foster Farms Chicken Salmonella Outbreak
The type of Salmonella making people sick in the Foster Farms chicken outbreak is putting victims in the hospital at an alarming rate, has proven to be resistant to antibiotics and is causing blood infections at an abnormally high rate, according to state and federal infectious disease experts. Foodborne pathogens that are resistant to drug treatment aren't new, officials say, but the Foster Farms outbreak is a clear example of how food safety is becoming more important. "With so many people being treated at hospitals for illnesses related to food poisoning by Foster Farms, this outbreak is showing more and more people what a burden it can be to stack contaminated food into our grocery aisles,'' said Fred Pritzker, a food safety lawyer representing victims of the outbreak. Pritzker said … [Read more...]
Costco Recalls 40,000 Pounds of Foster Farms Chicken for Salmonella
According to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, the Costco store in South San Francisco, California is recalling about 40,000 pounds of Foster Farms rotisserie chicken products because they may be linked to the ongoing multistate Salmonella outbreak. There is no information about this recall on the Costco web site. The Costco store located at 1600 El Camino Real is recalling 8,730 Kirkland Signature Foster Farms rotisserie chickens and 313 units of Kirkland Farm rotisserie chicken soup, rotisserie chicken leg quarters and rotisserie chicken salad. Those products were sold from September 11 to September 23, 2013 and were processed at the three Foster Farms plants that were targeted by USDA in their investigation. Apparently, some people who are sick in the current outbreak … [Read more...]
