Why are pregnant women so at risk for Listeria monocytogenes infections? This population group can suffer miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature labor if this infection is contracted. And the babies can be born with listeriosis, which is life-threatening. One theory is that in pregnancy, the immune system is suppressed so the body doesn’t reject the embryo … Read more
A study conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and published in mBio has found that caramel apples can support the growth of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. The huge 2014 outbreak linked to caramel apples was unexpected because apples have a pH too low for bacterial growth, and the available water in caramel is too low as … Read more
New enforcement documents on file with the Food and Drug Administration show the full spectrum of apple recalls made by Bidart Bros. — a voluntary action that applied to 15.25 million pounds of Gala and Granny Smith varieties from the 2014 harvest. The product quantities totaled 33,900 cases of Gala apples and 347,970 cases of … Read more
One Listeria death for every five cases of listeriosis is the average mortality rate for Listeria food poisoning cases tracked in the United States by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is an average that fit the caramel apple Listeria outbreak with the same tragic consequences that health experts saw in other … Read more
Five Missouri residents were confirmed as case patients in the Listeria caramel apple outbreak and two Missouri food companies were involved in key recalls of caramel apples that they distributed around the country. Only one other state besides Missouri had more than five listeriosis victims in the outbreak and one of the state’s recalls covered … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
National food safety law firm Pritzker Hageman, P.A. filed a lawsuit for a mother and baby sickened in the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to caramel apples. In late October of 2014, a member of Cathy Jone’s family purchased several prepackaged caramel apples from the Smith’s store located at 4016 Louisiana Boulevard Northeast, Albuquerque, New Mexico. … Read more
Pregnant women are at high risk for Listeria monocytogenes infections. Almost thirty percent of patients sickened in the current Listeria outbreak linked to caramel apples and plain apples packed by Bidart Brothers are pregnant women. One woman suffered a fetal loss. How are babies infected with this pathogenic bacteria when the mother eats contaminated food? … Read more
Walmart and Bidart Brothers Apple Packing are named as defendants in a lawsuit filed on behalf of a California woman who has spent more than a month in the hospital after contracting listeriosis from a caramel apple. The suit was filed January 13 in Superior Court in Sacramento. According to the complaint, Darlene Vouri and … Read more