E. coli Lawyer Will Join Harvard University Panel for Lively Debate over The “Insane Risks” of Raw Milk
Raw milk litigation, the raw milk movement and the pure science behind raw milk will make a splash together on February 16 in a national food safety debate hosted by the Harvard Law School Food Law Society on the Harvard campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The participants will feature national E. coli lawyer Fred Pritzer of the PritzkerOlsen Law Firm; Dr. Heidi Kassenborg, director of the Dairy and Food Inspection Division of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture; Sally Fallon Morell, president of Weston A. Price Foundation and David Gumpert, author of The Raw Milk Revolution.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), raw (unpasteurized) milk and raw milk
products like raw milk cheese are to blame for 1,614 illnesses in the U.S. from 1998 to 2008. Two of the
victims died and 187 were hospitalized. Mr. Pritzker has represented victims of raw milk outbreaks, including the family of a Pennsylvania man who was paralyzed from his neck down after drinking raw milk from a local health food store that was unknowingly contaminated with Campylobacter.
The Minneapolis law firm he founded is one of the very few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation. PritzkerOlsen has recovered tens of millions of dollars for victims of food poisoning, including raw milk outbreaks.
“It’s insane for states to give farmers the choice of salling raw milk when science has proven that raw milk is no more nutritious than pasteurized milk,” Pritzker has said in previous appearances. “It’s a trap that will continue to inflct an enormous toll on families who will be stricken by illness.”
Pritzker and Kassenborg adhere strongly to the mainstream view that unpasteurized milk is unsafe and especially dangerous for young children, pregnant women, the elderly, infants and people who have weakened immune systems. Besides Campylobacter, raw milk can carry E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, or other potentially lethal pathogens spread by the feces of cows.
Just last year there were at least 10 outbreaks across the country spawned by various pathogens. Four of the outbreaks were caused by toxic E. coli, including three in Washington state alone. Human infections of Shiga toxin-producing types of E. coli lead to a severe complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in 8 to 10 percent of children under age 5 (even previously health children), and HUS is fatal 5 percent of the time. In addition HUS survivors often suffer from lifelong medical issues, including the need for kidney transplants in some.
Houghton’s Ambassador Restaurant Linked to Michigan Upper Peninsula E. coli Outbreak
Four people were hospitalized with severe food poisoning infections in an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 that health officials have linked to an ill food-handler at a restaurant in Houghton, Michigan. At least three others also were sickened and authorities suspect there could be more people who ate at The Ambassador and became ill over the Christmas holiday.
That’s when the cluster of E. coli infections was noticed and investigated. The results of the probe will be important to any E. coli lawsuit filed on behalf of victims. Free case consultations are available at PritzkerOlsen, P.A., one of the very few legal groups in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness. Leave your contact information for an attorney or call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free). Our firm has collected millions for victims of E. coli restaurant outbreaks and has represented consumers in previous Michigan outbreaks of foodborne illness.
The Ambassador’s outbreak was announced by Dr. Terry Frankovich, an area medical director. The public health investigation is being conducted by the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department, she said, and officials suspect others could have become ill and not realized they were part of an outbreak.
The Ambassador has remained open for business and has been working in cooperation with authorities. E. coli O157:H7 is a feared pathogen that can cause life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which happens in about 8 percent of cases. HUS victims lose kidney function and often require blood transfusions. HUS also can cause stroke, heart attack, attacks on the central nervous system and severe anemia.
Studies have shown that even mild E. coli infections can carry negative health reprecussions throughout a person’s life. A good E. coli lawyer will seek claim compensation full enough to fairly cover victims for all past and future harms.
The Year in E. coli: Lettuce, strawberries, ground beef, hazelnuts, raw milk, sprouts and more
Fenugreek sprouts mainly eaten on salads caused what is believed to be the largest outbreak on record of E. coli poisoning, killing 50 people in 15 countries and sickening more than 4,000 others. The outbreak was centered in Germany, but the scale was so large the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a special travelers’ alert and explanation.
The organism at the root of the European sprouts outbreak was new, dubbed E. coli O104:H4, and it followed an unusual pattern by mainly affecting adults (instead of young children and the elderly) and taking longer to exhibit symptoms — eight days instead of three or four.
In 2011, the only other outbreak of foodborne illness that came close to being as destructive was the cantaloupe Listeria outbreak that killed 31 people in the U.S. But there were plenty of other highlights in the realm of shiga-toxin producing E. coli. Here is a breakdown of the larger outbreaks provided by the E. coli lawyers at Pritzker Olsen Attorneys. Our firm represents victims of E. coli poisoning across the country and has collected tens of millions of dollars in recoveries for individuals and families who become sick through no fault of their own:
In October, state and federal public health officials discovered that leaves of romaine lettuce served at certain grocery store salad bars in Missouri were associated with a growing number of infections of E. coli O157:H7. When the investigation matured, officials had traced the source of the outbreak to a single farm whose lettuce also was linked to illnesses at university campuses in Minnesota and Missouri. At least 60 people were sickened in 10 states. Missouri was hit hardest and lawsuits have been filed there against Schnucks supermarket chain.
Though it did not go down as a multi-state outbreak tracked publicly by the CDC, the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that sickened attendees of the North Carolina State Fair was exceptionally big and was ultimately traced to one of the fair’s livestock exhibits. At least twenty-seven people were infected.
In August, at least nine people fell ill and one died in another single-state outbreak of toxic E. coli. The illnesses were linked to contaminated strawberries from Oregon’s Jaquith Starwberry Farm.
Ground beef is perenially one of the most common carriers of shiga toxin-producing E. coli and 2011 included a number of large recalls of E. coli-tainted hamburger. In September, Ohio state health authorities reported a cluster of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in Butler County. An investigation led to the recall of 131,300 pounds of ground beef products from Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., of Emporia, Kansas.
A similar situation occurred in Michigan in July when E. coli O157 was linked to eating ground beef processed and distributed by McNees Meats and Wholesale LLC, a North Branch, Michigan, establishment. A total of five confirmed Shiga-toxin producing E. coli cases and four probable cases were reported in Lapeer, Genesee, Isabella, and Sanilac counties.
Also in July, health officials in Pennsylvania were notified of an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 among swimmers at Cowans Gap State Park near Chambersberg. At least 14 people became infected and the beach was closed for the remainder of the season. At least five of the case patients developed potentially deadly hemolytic uremic children (HUS), a complication including kidney failure that most often affects children under age five and the elderly or immuno-compromised.
In California, the state quarantined and recalled raw milk from Organic Pastures in Fresno County following a notification from the California Department of Public Health that a cluster of five children were infected, from August through October, with the same strain of E. coli O157:H7 as was found in the milk. The children are residents of Contra Costa, Kings, Sacramento, and San Diego counties.
Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina and Ohio combined in March to confirm 14 cases of E. coli O157:H7 all from the same strain. An investigation involving federal agencies associated the outbreak with Lebanon bologna — a semi-dry sausage that appears similar to salami. As a result, Palmyra Bologna Company, of Palmyra, Pennsylvania, recalled approximately 23,000 pounds of Lebanon bologna products that may have been contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7.
In-shell hazelnuts were implicated in 2011′s first outbreak of E. coli. People in several states had fallen ill starting in December and continuing through Valentine’s Day. As April 1, 2011, eight persons were infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 were reported from Michigan (1), Minnesota (3), and Wisconsin (4). The investigation led to a recall of bulk and consumer-packaged in-shell hazelnuts sold by DeFranco & Sons of Los Angeles. The nuts were sold by retailers nationwide.
2-Year-Old Hunter Tallent is the Face of E. coli in NC
The State Fair E. coli outbreak in North Carolina is not a nameless, faceless medical emergency. A 2-year-old boy from Shelby, North Carolina, is fighting for his life as he receives dialysis treatments and blood transfusions at Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte.
The boy’s name is Hunter Tallent. A story in the local newspaper explains how he was diagnosed with E. coli poisoning after a family trip to the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh. As of Tuesday, Hunter still had no kidney function after more than a week of treatments. The family learned October 24 that Hunter was infected with E. coli poisoning and had developed a life-threatening complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, that is most common in children under the age of 5.
“They immediately said he’s got to go, his kidneys are failing,” mother Lindsay Tallent told The Shelby Star newspaper. “My heart hit the floor. We thought maybe he got dehydrated…needed a few bags of fluid and would be home in a couple of hours.”
The young boy contracted the illness at the N.C. State Fair in Raleigh, which public health investigators have linked to the outbreak. About two dozen people have been confirmed as victims, including Hunter. Scientists are still trying to determine whether the outbreak was caused by contaminated food or an animal exhibit.
Community support from the people in Cleveland County has been a real lift, spiritually, for Hunter and his family.
“We’re just having to wait and watch and hope and pray,” his mother said.
Source: Shelby Star
Why Would Schnucks Salad Bars Around St. Louis Dominate the Center of an Outbreak of E. coli Infection?
Schnucks salad bar eating was the overwhelming common denominator among sick people in the St. Louis area E. coli outbreak. That’s the preliminary finding by the St. Louis County Department of Health, although there is still more work to do in pinpointing the source.
The association between the outbreak and Schnucks is that an “overwhelming majority” of people who have tested positive for the outbreak strain of E. coli had recently eaten unspecified items from salad bars at various Schnucks locations. National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys is in contact with some of those victims for a possible Schnucks E. coli lawsuit.
Schnucks food stores last week were voluntarily replacing lettuce and other items in their salad bars, but it was said to only be a precaution. There has still been no recall of a specific food item in this recall. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has talked to four people who said they were diagnosed with E. coli infections and had eaten produce from salad bars at Schnucks in High Ridge, Ladue, downtown St. Louis and Ballwin.
Why would Schnucks salad bars be at the center of an outbreak of toxic E. coli? While we normally think of fresh produce as healthful food, the industry that provides some of these foods has battled in the past with keeping lettuce, sprouts, cantaloupe, nuts and other items clean-free of potentially deadly human pathogens. Various produce items have been become contaminated in fields from animal feces that flows from runoff or irrigation. In addition, some packing facilities have been found to be unclean. Most investigations find negligence of some kind in the supply chain.
Health investigators are still looking for the cause of the St. Louis E. coli outbreak, but the scientific study has so far landed them at Schnucks. This outbreak is still active and health officials are urging people who experience bloody diarrhea to immediately seek medical attention. Physicians are aware of this outbreak and likely will order the proper tests to confirm whether you or a loved one is a case patient.
Pritzker Olsen has collected millions of dollars in compensation claims for victims of E. coli infection, including those who suffer a potentially lethal complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS. An attorney from out firm has been assigned to investigate this outbreak and accept additional cases. Free case consultations are available at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or leave your contact information and a lawyer will call.
