Product Defect News And Advice Blog

A Boy Scout has filed a lawsuit against Southern California-based meat producer, S & S Foods, alleging that their E. Coli-tainted hamburger meat made him sick while attending Boy Scout camp in Goshen, Virginia. According to a news report by WDBJ-TV, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of the boy, Zachary Yost, by his mother Devon Drew Sept. 5 in the Circuit Court of Rockbridge County.

Nearly 85 people were infected with a highly toxic strain of E. Coli in August 2008 during their stay at the Boy Scout camp. The outbreak was attributed to hamburger meat made and distributed by Azusa-based S & S Foods. Zachary was at the camp July20-26. He reportedly ate the contaminated meat while staying at the camp and on July 26, experienced all the classic symptoms of E. Coli poisoning – cramping, bloody diarrhea, and nausea. He tested positive for E. Coli 0157:H7, the same strain that the hamburger meat also tested positive for. S & S eventually recalled 150,000 pounds of their hamburger meat.

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Whole Foods, the upscale grocery store chain, which has a number of stores in California (one of which my wife shops at regularly), has recalled fresh ground beef from all its stores nationwide after finding out that the meat could be tainted by E. Coli, according to a report in Consumeraffairs.com. The E. Coli-tainted meat purchased from Whole Foods stores in Massachusetts has sickened six people so far.

The contaminated meat was purchased from Coleman Natural Foods, but was processed at Nebraska Beef, which recalled more than 5 million pounds of ground beef in May and June. Nebraska Beef reportedly recalled an additional 1.2 million pounds of beef produced in June and July, and that beef is included in a batch of meat that found its way back to Whole Foods. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has already been closely scrutinizing Nebraska Beef. Now, the plant is under investigation for possible food safety violations.

USDA officials have criticized Nebraska Beef’s operation, calling the conditions unsanitary and stating that the plant’s production practices are not good enough to effectively control E. Coli 0157:H7 in their beef products intended for grinding.

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More than 1300 people across the United States have been infected by foodborne illness from salmonella bacteria after consuming tainted peppers and/or tomatoes. But health officials have still not been able to determine the source of the infections. All they know is that the salmonella came from jalapenos, Serrano peppers and possibly tomatoes grown on several farms in Mexico.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, more than 1 million people in the United States are hit by various strains of salmonella each year, causing more than 500 documented deaths annually. This particular outbreak has now stretched over four months and has been the most challenging for the Food and Drug Administration to sort out.

Salmonella is among those foodborne illnesses that can not only make victims suffer long-term, but could end up being lethal. Salmonella is the most common foodborne illness in the United States. The bacteria grow in the intestine and cause the illness. How severe the infection becomes depends on the amount of bacteria in the system, the strain of organism and the resistance level of the affected persons. Infants and the elderly are considered high-risk. Most common symptoms for salmonella infection include headache, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and fatigue.

Continue reading "Foodborne Illness Outbreak: Salmonella Sickens More Than 1,300 People" »

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