The CDC has updated their investigation of the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak in Kansas linked to Blue Bell Creameries ice cream products. The notice states, “based on the information CDC has at this time, we recommend that consumers do not eat any Blue Bell Brand products made at the Oklahoma production facility [in Broken Arrow] and that … Read more
The food poisoning laboratory that solidified the link between Blue Bell ice cream and a Listeria outbreak among Kansas hospital patients in Wichita is a deeply experienced unit with notable success in protecting public health, according to archives at the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). The tragic Kansas Listeria outbreak killed three of … Read more
Starting in October 2014 when the caramel apple Listeria outbreak was claiming its first victims, public health officials in states like Minnesota, Arizona, Missouri, New Mexico and Texas were about to receive the first indications of a lethal food poisoning problem from an unlikely source. It took two months to coalesce, but state reporting of … Read more
This post was updated January 29. Did Listeria in Wholesome Soy bean sprouts kill two people or three? It depends on which federal agency’s report you read. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its final report on the outbreak January 27 saying five people had been sickened and two of then died. Later … Read more
A wrongful death lawsuit filed in connection with the caramel apple Listeria outbreak names the apple grower, the caramel apple maker and the store that sold the contaminated product as defendants. Filed on behalf of one of the three people who have died in this 10-state outbreak, the wrongful death lawsuit initially named Safeway, the store where … Read more
Arizona is one of only five states named as a distribution territory in the latest caramel apple recall and now has the distinction of being involved at many levels of a rapidly evolving investigation of Listeria food poisoning. New outbreak details could be released in the coming week, but Arizona already is proven to have … Read more
A wrongful death lawsuit and Listeria outbreak has prompted Happy Apple Company to recall caramel apples with a best use by date between August 25th and November 23rd, 2014. The recall was issued on Christmas Eve. According to the Complaint (a document filed with the court), in late October, 2014, Shirlee Frey went to the … Read more
U.S. food safety and health agencies are continuing to expand the use of whole genome sequencing (WGS) to detect outbreaks of life-threatening foodborne illness, especially clusters of infection from Listeria monocytogenes. A 2014 Listeria YouTube video presentation shared recently by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention depicts how the use of WGS solved a … Read more
The family of an 81-year-old California woman who died after contracting listeriosis from a caramel apple has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Safeway grocery stores. Shirlee Jean Frey purchased the tainted treat from a Safeway store just before Halloween and began to feel illl the first week of November. Symptoms of a Listeria infection include … Read more
Attorney Fred Pritzker and his Bad Bug Law Team® are investigating the Listeria outbreak linked to caramel apples that has so far has sickened 28 people in 10 states: Arizona (4), California (1), Minnesota (4), Missouri (5), New Mexico (5), North Carolina (1), Texas (4), Utah (1), Washington (1), and Wisconsin (2). “At this stage of … Read more