The FDA has announced that it appears onions and celery in Costco chicken salad may be the source of E. coli O157:H7 bacteria that has sickened at least 19 people in 7 states. Those people live in California (1), Colorado (4), Missouri (1), Montana (6), Utah (5), Virginia (1), and Washington state (1). According to news outlets, Taylor Farms in Salinas, California is the supplier of the vegetables for Costco Wholesale. The vegetables from that supplier are used in the chicken salads sold in all of the company's U.S. stores. Of those 19 ill persons, 16 have been interviewed. Fourteen of those people purchased or ate rotisserie chicken salad from Costco stores the week before they got sick. Five of the patients have been hospitalized, and two are suffering from hemolytic uremic syndrome … [Read more...]
Here’s What to Do if You Purchased Costco Chicken Salad Linked to an E. coli Outbreak
Chicken salad made and sold at Costco Wholesale stores in seven states has sickened at least 19 people with E. coli O157:H7 infections. Those sickened live in Washington state, Montana, California, Utah, Colorado, Missouri, and Virginia. The CDC, FDA, and USDA are investigating this outbreak, along with public health officials in the affected states. Five of the 19 patients have been hospitalized, and two have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Fourteen of sixteen people interviewed purchased or ate rotisserie chicken salad from Costco the week before they got sick. With such a wide distribution of case patients, it's probable that an ingredient used to make that salad in the stores and purchased in bulk by Costco is the source of the pathogenic bacteria. It is not probable … [Read more...]
Food & Water Watch Sues USDA to Stop Poultry Rule
Food & Water Watch sued the USDA yesterday to stop implementation of the New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS) rules, which would replace government food safety inspectors with company employees. Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, said in a statement, "these rules essentially privatize poultry inspection, and pave the way for others in the meat industry to police themselves." These rules come on the heels of the huge Foster Farms chicken Salmonella outbreak which sickened thousands of people over many months. Many people in that outbreak were hospitalized because the seven strains of Salmonella Heidelberg on those products were resistant to several strains of antibiotics. The NRDC just released USDA-FSIS inspection reports on Foster Farms which showed that … [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...]
Legal Review of Liability Continues in Costco Hepatitis Lawsuit
U.S. District Court in Arizona is the venue for a Costco hepatitis lawsuit where food poisoning lawyers from Pritzker Olsen Attorneys and local counsel are attempting to establish where the fault lies for an outbreak in California, Colorado, Arizona and five other states that federal disease investigators have associated with Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), all ill people who reported eating this mixed berry product purchased it from Costco markets. The product also was sold at Harris Teeter stores, but no ill people have been identified that bought the product at Harris Teeter, the CDC has said. The hepatitis lawsuit (2:13-cv-01181-ROS) names Costco Wholesale Corp. and Oregon-based Townsend Farms Inc. as … [Read more...]
Townsend Farms-Costco Hepatitis A Outbreak Grows to 143 Sick
The Townsend Farms-Costco Hepatitis A outbreak linked to imported pomegranate seeds from Turkey has grown to include 143 sick, according to the CDC. So far, 62 people have been hospitalized. There have been no deaths. The outbreak case count by state is: Arizona (21), California (69), Colorado (28), Hawaii (8), New Mexico (6), Nevada (6), Utah (3), and Wisconsin (2). Illness onset dates range from 3/31/13 to 6/24/13. All of the sick people reported purchasing the product from Costco markets. The age range of patients is from 1 to 84 years. The CDC and FDA have determined that the most likely source of the virus is a shipment of pomegranate seeds from Goknur Foodstuffs Import Export Trading, a company in Turkey. That product is being detained by the FDA when it is offered for … [Read more...]
Hepatitis A Outbreak Linked to Townsend Farms Pomegranate Seeds Grows to 131
The hepatitis A outbreak linked to pomegranate seeds imported from Turkey has been updated by the CDC. Now 131 people are sick in 8 states. Fifty-nine people have been hospitalized, and there have been no deaths reported. As of June 28, 2013, the case count per states is: Arizona (19), California (66), Colorado (25), Hawaii (7), New Mexico (5), Nevada (5), Utah (2), and Wisconsin (2). The cases in Wisconsin ate the product when they were in California. All patients became ill after eating Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant blend frozen berry and pomegranate mix purchased at Costco. Illness onset dates range from 3/31/13 to 6/24/13. All of the people who have been hospitalized are over the age of 18. The outbreak strain of the hepatitis A virus, genotype 1B, was found in clinical … [Read more...]
FDA Detains Pomegranate Seeds Imported from Goknur of Turkey
The FDA is detaining shipments of pomegranate seeds from Goknur Gida Maddeleri Ithalat thracat Tic (Goknur Foodstuffs Import Export Trading) of Turkey when they are offered for import into the country. This action is from the investigation into the hepatitis A outbreak linked to Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend frozen berry and pomegranate mix sold at Costco stores. That outbreak has sickened 127 people in eight states as of June 27, 2013. The FDA and CDC have determined that the most likely vehicle for the virus is a common shipment of pomegranate seeds from Goknur used by Townsend Farms to make the product that was recalled in June. The seeds were also used to make the recalled Scenic Fruit Company Woodstock Frozen Organic Pomegranate Kernels. Michael R. Taylor, deputy … [Read more...]
Townsend-Costco Hepatitis A Outbreak Count Now at 127
For the first time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have used the word "linked" to refer to the multistate outbreak of hepatitis A infections and Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend frozen berries sold at Costco stores. Now 127 people have been sickened in this outbreak. Fifty five people have been hospitalized. The investigation has revealed that the most likely vehicle for the hepatitis A virus is a common shipment of pomegranate seeds from Turkey used by Scenic Fruit Company to make the recalled Woodstock Frozen Organic Pomegranate Kernels and by Townsend Farms to make their recalled product. The pomegranate seeds from this shipment were the only ingredient common to all of the recalled products. The case count per state in this outbreak is: Arizona (17), … [Read more...]
Costco Hepatitis A Lawsuit Filed for Man Sickened by Berry Mix Produced by Townsend Farms
Another lawsuit has been filed in California against Costco Corporation and Townsend Farms on behalf of a victim of a multi-state hepatitis A outbreak. The source of the outbreak is frozen berries manufactured by Oregon-based Townsend Farms and sold at Costco stores, according to the suit, which is not a class action. The berries were part of a recall. "The evidence pointing to Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend berries is extremely strong," said attorney Fred Pritzker, who is representing several other victims of the hepatitis A outbreak. "Our goal is to hold Townsend Farms and Costco accountable for these illnesses by getting full and fair compensation for our clients." This newest lawsuit was filed against Townsend Farms and Costco Corporation in the Superior Court of Los … [Read more...]
