An ongoing Salmonella outbreak linked to Foster Farms chicken is the second-largest multi-state food poisoning outbreak of 2013. The 23-state outbreak linked to seven drug-resistant strains of Salmonella has sickened 416 people, 40 percent of whom required hospitalization, about twice the average hospitalization rate. This is the second Salmonella outbreak linked to Foster Farms chicken this year. The first outbreak sickened 134 people in 13 states. Foster Farms did not issue a recall during either outbreak. But some retailers removed the chicken from store shelves following an October 7 health alert about the chicken issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS). The alert informed consumers that Salmonella infections were associated … [Read more...]
Largest Multi-State Food Poisoning Outbreaks of 2013: #4
One of two Salmonella outbreaks associated with Foster Farms chicken this year was the fourth-largest multi-state food poisoning outbreak of 2013. The 13-state outbreak, which began in June 2012 and lasted through April 2013, sickened 134 people, 33 of whom were hospitalized. During interviews with public health investigators, about 71 percent of patients said they ate Foster Farms chicken , or to another brand likely produced by Foster Farms, prior to becoming ill. Records from grocery store shopper cards showed that nine patients purchased Foster Farms chicken before illness onset. Lab tests on stool samples from case patients identified the outbreak strain as Salmonella Heidelberg. Tests conducted by the Washington State Public Health Laboratories found the matching outbreak … [Read more...]
Pew: USDA Should Protect Consumers From Salmonella on Chicken
The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) gets poor marks when it comes to protecting consumers from Salmonella on chicken and other poultry, according to a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts. The report, entitled Weaknesses in FSIS’s Salmonella Regulation, uses the two Salmonella outbreaks associated with Foster Farms chicken this year to highlight deficiencies in agency's efforts to regulate poultry production and says the USDA's new Salmonella Action Plan does not go far enough to protect consumers. “When more than 500 people get sick from two outbreaks associated with chicken that meets federal safety standards, it is clear that those standards are not effectively protecting public health,” said Sandra Eskin, director of Pew’s food safety project. “The Food Safety … [Read more...]
Foster Farms Salmonella Outbreak Sickens 416 in 23 States
Salmonella on Foster Farms chicken has sickened at least 416 people in 23 states, according to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak strains of Salmonella Heidelberg are resistant to several commonly prescribed antibiotics which may be a factor in the 40 percent hospitalization rate for this outbreak, which is about twice the average. The company has not issued a recall for the chicken and despite its plans to improve in October conditions at three plants associated with the outbreak, reports of illness continued through the end of November and perhaps beyond, according to the CDC. Although Foster Farms has not issued a recall, some retailers removed the chicken from store shelves following an October 7 health alert about the chicken … [Read more...]
A Protein That Kills Bacteria Could Help Fight Antibiotic Resistant Bugs
Antibiotic resistant bacteria are becoming more common and that worries scientists and doctors. The latest outbreak of Salmonella in Foster Farms chickens has hospitalized 40% of patients, largely because the Salmonella bacteria is antibiotic resistant. A recently published study, conducted by scientists in Tel Aviv, has found a protein that could kill antibiotic resistant bacteria. The protein is in a bacteriophage, which is a virus that infect bacteria. Phages do not affect people. The T7 phage is deadly to E. coli. T7 has 56 proteins. One of the T7 proteins, called gene product 0.4, (GP0.4) stops E. coli cell division. The bacteria become "morphologically elongated" and die exposed to the protein. Dr. Udi Qimron, one of the authors of the study, said in a statement, "Ever since … [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 Salmonella Outbreak Sickens 389 in 23 States
A Salmonella outbreak linked to Foster Farms chicken has sickened 389 people in 23 states and Puerto Rico, according to the lastest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an increase of 28 cases over the last two weeks. And the number of those with severe illness is higher than typical Salmonella outbreaks. Forty percent of those sickened have required hospitalization, that's twice the average rate. In 14 percent of the cases, the bacterial infections have migrated from the GI tract into the blood causing septicemia, a life-threatening condition. Typically, about 5 percent of Salmonella infections develop that complication. By state, the 28 new cases are as follows: Arizona (2), California (20), Idaho (1), Illinois (1), Louisiana (1), Nevada (1), Oregon … [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...]
Chicken Salmonella Outbreak Occurs as Overall Rates Drop
The Foster Farms outbreak has unfolded at a time when Salmonella rates on whole chicken have been dropping industrywide, according to quarterly information published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS). Of the 2,955 chickens sampled during the quarter ending June 2013, 2.6 percent tested positive for Salmonella, down 26 percent from the previous quarter when 3.5 percent of 3,786 samples tested positive. Those rates are well below the 7.5 percent standard for Salmonella on whole chicken set by the USDA. Some of the illnesses in this outbreak have been linked to whole chicken produced by Foster Farms and prepared and sold as whole rotisserie chickens at a Costco store in San Francisco. Three Foster Farms facilites in California have … [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...]
