The huge and long-lasting Foster Farms chicken Salmonella outbreak has now sickened at least 524 people in 25 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Using the multiplier of 30.3, that means that at least 15,877 people nationwide have been sickened by the poultry produced by Foster Farms. Most of the ill persons (76%) live in California. The outbreak case count by state is: Alaska (1), Arkansas (1), Arizona (24), California (399), Colorado (9), Connecticut (1), Delaware (1), Florida (4), Hawaii (1), Idaho (5), Illinois (1), Kentucky (1), Louisiana (1), Michigan (4), Missouri (5), North Carolina (1), Nevada (10), New Mexico (2), Oregon (13), Puerto Rico (1), Tennessee (1), Texas (12), Utah (4), Virginia (4), Washington (17), and Wisconsin (1). These … [Read more...]
USDA Closes Foster Farms Plant for Cockroaches
One of the troubled Foster Farms chicken processing plants that was associated with at least one Salmonella outbreak last year has finally been closed by the USDA. For cockroaches. The Foster Farms facility in Livingston, California was closed on Wednesday, January 8, 2013 for "egregious insanitary conditions". Inspectors found live cockroaches "in and around the processing areas, that demonstrate the firm failed to maintain an effective pest control program," according to the letter. At the time of the observation, slaughter operations were in process. Cockroaches can carry Salmonella and other pathogenic bacteria. Attorney Fred Pritzker, who is representing some of the victims in this case, said, "All food processing plants in the U.S. must be held to a high standard. 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...]
Salmonella Stanley Outbreak Linked to Raw Cashew Cheese
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating a Salmonella Stanley outbreak linked to raw cashew cheese produced by The Cultured Kitchen of West Sacramento, California. Cashew cheese is a non-dairy product made from raw cashews. The product has been recalled. A total of 14 people in 3 states have been infected with the outbreak strain of this bacteria. Most of the ill people (85%) are from California. The case count by state is as follows: California (12), Nevada (1), and Wyoming (1). Twenty-five percent of the patients have been hospitalized. There have been no deaths. This strain of Salmonella Stanley is rare and has been seen only 20 times before this outbreak. Among patients who were interviewed, illness onset dates range from November 13, 2013 to December 9, … [Read more...]
Salmonella Outbreak: Chicken Brands Processed at Foster Farms
Consumer Reports says that several other brands of chicken have been processed in the same Foster Farms plants that are linked to the nationwide Salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 317 people. Some of those brands include Eating Right, Kirkland Signature, O Organics, Open Nature, Ralphs, Safeway Farms, and Simple Truth Organic. Consumers should look carefully at the packages of chicken before they buy (or touch) them. Look for the code P-6137, P-6137A, and P-7632. Those are the plants implicated in this outbreak. The USDA sent "Notice of Intended Enforcement" letters to those California processing pants, highlighting serious food safety concerns with those plants and all of the products made there. After threatening to shut down those plants last week, USDA let them remain … [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...]
Foster Farms’ “Remarkable Recovery”
Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Watch, has issued a statement about the "remarkable recovery" of Foster Farms. Raw chicken from that company has caused a Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak, the second this year, that has sickened at least 317 people in 20 states and Puerto Rico. Earlier this week, the USDA's FSIS threatened to shut down three of Foster Farms' facilities for violations of their HACCP plans and problems with contamination. But just three days later, the USDA announced that Foster Farms will be allowed to continue processing chicken. Ms. Hauter states, "in just three days, USDA'S FSIS went from threatening to shut down Foster Farms due to serious food safety lapses to declaring last night that the company had made a remarkable recovery. The agency is … [Read more...]
Now 317 Sickened by Multidrug-Resistant Foster Farms Salmonella Chicken
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now says that 31 people in 20 states and Puerto Rico have been infected with seven outbreak strains of Salmonella Heidelberg. But no recall. That is an increase of 39 from the last update on October 87, 2013. Forty-two percent of ill persons have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Seventy-three percent of patients are from California. Epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback investigations by local, state, and federal officials indicate that consumption of Foster Farms chicken is the likely source of this outbreak. The case count by state is as follows: Alaska (2), Arkansas (1), Arizona (13), California (232), Colorado (4), Connecticut (1), Florida (4), Idaho (2), Kentucky (1), Michigan (2), Missouri (5), North … [Read more...]
Rep. Slaughter on the Foster Farms Salmonella Outbreak
Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY), the only microbiologist in Congress, issued a statement about the Foster Farms chicken Salmonella outbreak that has sickened 278 people in 17 states with a "staggering" hospitalization rate of 42%.. She said, "This is our country's worst nightmare - a massive outbreak of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella - and it's made even worse by a reckless Republican shutdown that locked most of the Centers for Disease Control out of their offices. "The frontline antibiotics we desperately need to treat this outbreak have been rendered ineffective by overuse on the farm, which is why once and for all we must ban the use of antibiotics in food animals unless the animals are sick. Congress must pass my legislation to end the needless overuse of antibiotics on the … [Read more...]
Food & Water Watch on Foster Farms Salmonella Outbreak
Food & Water Watch has released a statement about the USDA's failure to prevent the Foster Farms Salmonella outbreak. Almost 300 people in 17 states have been sickened so far. They say that this outbreak goes beyond the government shutdown crisis. And this outbreak is especially troubling because the hospitalization rate for those sickened is twice the normal rate, and some of the Salmonella Heidelberg strains are antibiotic resistant. The agency is concerned because first, it took the CDC seven months to discover that poultry from three Foster Farms facilities were causing this outbreak. And that investigation was interrupted by the government shutdown when most foodborne illness analysts were furloughed. In addition, no recalls have been issued, even though it is almost certain … [Read more...]
