The Foster Farms Salmonella outbreak sickened 430 people in 23 states and Puerto Rico before ending, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While the outbreak appears to be over, the investigation of the company and the conditions at the associated processing plants continues and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) "is prepared to take additional actions or expand the investigation based on any new evidence," the agency said. Three of the company's plants were linked to the outbreak. Foster Farms did not issue a recall for its chicken. On October 7, 2013, FSIS issued a public health alert about the chicken and sent letters to Foster Farms threatening closure of the plants citing conditions including insanitary … [Read more...]
Salmonella Lawyer Represents Child Sickened in Foster Farms Chicken Outbreak
Attorney Fred Pritzker of Pritzker Hageman is representing a child who required brain surgery after suffering from complications of a Salmonella infection. The strain of Salmonella Heidelberg that sickened the child has been linked to adulterated chicken produced by and sold by Foster Farms. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has reported that as of December 19, 2013, the seven Salmonella Heidelberg strains linked to Foster Farms chicken have sickened 416 people in 23 states. The outbreak strains associated with Foster Farms products are resistant to several commonly prescribed antibiotics, a factor that may have contributed to the 40% rate of hospitalization, which is double the average hospitalization rate associated with typical Salmonella outbreaks. Salmonella causes diarrhea, … [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...]
Should Salmonella Victims Sue Foster Farms for Outbreak Linked to Chicken?
The hundreds of Salmonella victims sickened by Foster Farms chicken should not be left to bear the financial responsibility of the outbreak. The company allegedly produced chicken contaminated with antibiotic-strains of Salmonella Heidelberg. People who were sickened after eating this chicken have to pay medical bills incurred because of their illness. There may be good evidence linking the Salmonella Heidelberg infections to Foster Farms chicken. The epidemiologic evidence is persuasive. When health officials interviewed 132 people sickened in the outbreak, 105 of them (80%) reported eating chicken prepared at home in the week before becoming ill, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Of the 61 people in this group that had brand information, 48 (79%) … [Read more...]
Second Foster Farms Chicken Salmonella Outbreak in 15 Months
The large West Coast Salmonella outbreak associated with Foster Farms Chicken -- announced on Monday -- is the second big set of Salmonella poisonings associated with the brand in 15 months. The first outbreak, which began June 1, 2012, sickened 132 people in 13 states, according to the "final update'' provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in July of this year. That one was centered heavily in the Pacific Northwest: Washington, 57 cases; Oregon, 40; Alaska, 13; and California, 11, according to the CDC's Morbitity and Mortality Weekly Report dated July 12, 2013. Three months later, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service is issuing a public health alert warning the public that raw Foster Farms chicken from three plants is associated with 278 illnesses in … [Read more...]
