Minnesota Department of Agriculture Confirms E. coli O157:H7 in Recalled Hazelnuts
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) laboratory has confirmed E. coli O157:H7 contamination of in-shell hazelnuts (also known as filberts) collected from the home of an ill Minnesotan. The contaminated hazelnuts are part of a multi-state recall announced last Friday, March 4, by DeFranco and Sons, a California-based nut and produce distributor.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) confirmed that the E. coli O157:H7 bacteria found on the hazelnuts by MDA’s lab matches the DNA fingerprint of the bacteria that sickened three people in Minnesota, three in Wisconsin, and one in Michigan. Based on purchase information associated with the positive hazelnut sample, MDA traced this product to a December 9, 2010, shipment from DeFranco and Sons.
DeFranco and Sons has recalled all hazelnut and mixed nut products it distributed from November 2, 2010, to December 22, 2010. Recalled product was shipped to stores in Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. MDH and MDA issued a joint news release on March 4 detailing the recall and providing a list of stores that sold the recalled hazelnuts, either alone or as part of a mixed nut product. See the hazelnuts (filberts) recall list on our website.
Our E. coli attorneys have offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and represent E. coli victims throughout the United States. To contact them about a hazelnuts E coli lawsuit, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our online form for a free consultation. For more information, download our free E. coli Answer Book.
Hazelnut E. coli Outbreak Warning is Echoing
Minnesota and Wisconsin health officials concerned about a hazelnut E. coli outbreak are warning people not to eat certain in-shell hazelnuts distributed by D. DeFranco and Sons from Los Angeles because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.
The company’s hazelnut recall coincided with an announcement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that seven people who ate the product developed dangerous E. coli O157:H7 infections. Forty three percent of the victims have been hospitalized. Most of the victims purchased the filberts from bulk bins at the grocery store, but DeFranco also is recalling Cello-bag packages Sunripe Hazelnuts, Sunripe Large Hazelnuts and Sunripe Mixed Nuts with sell-by dates of June 30.
E. coli lawyer Fred Pritzker issued a press release calling on DeFranco and Sons to immediately pay all medical bills, lost wages and other out-of-pocket expense pending final settlement of claims that will result from hazelnut E. coli litigation. Pritzker can be reached at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or by sending an online contact form. Families involved in this outbreak may have questions about the cost of hiring a lawyer to maximize their claims. Case consultations are free and victims pay nothing from their own pocket. Your E. coli lawyer will be paid a percentage of the award that results from negotiations or court case.
“It is only fair that DeFranco & Sons pay for hospitalization and other direct costs while related legal issues, including pain and suffering, are pending,’’ Pritzker said. “The families deserve that peace of mind.’’
Most domestically sourced hazelnuts grow on trees in Oregon, but they are harvested after they fall to the ground, where the contamination likely occurred, a Minnesota Department of Agriculture official told the Star Tribune newspaper. Ben Miller said the investigation is now focusing on growers in Oregon. “The fact that they do spend some time on the ground increases the risk of environmental contamination,” Miller said. The bacterium, E. coli O157:H7, is expelled into the environment from the feces of cows and other animals. Once ingested by a human, even a small exposure can unleash enough toxin to create a life-threatening cascade of medical problems ranging from kidney failure to stroke and paralysis.
Filberts Grown in U.S. Are Likely From Oregon
Filberts associated with the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan were most likely imported or grown in Oregon — the source of more than 90 percent of the U.S. hazelnut supply. Public health officials have not announced where the suspect nuts were grown, but Oregon’s Willamette Valley from Eugene, north to Vancouver, Wash., is the traditional breadbasket for domestically grown filberts.
If traceback efforts are successful, E. coli outbreak investigators will determine where in the supply chain the nuts became contaminated. As part of food-safe agriculture practices, growers and distributors are required to follow plans meant to control pathogens in growth, harvest, storage and distribution.
So far, with help from the California Department of Public Health, health officials in the three Midwestern states have associated the filbert E. coli outbreak with hazelnuts distributed by D. DeFranco & Sons of Los Angeles, California. The company’s website includes a picture of a Cello-bag of large in-shell hazelnuts stamped as “Product of U.S.A.”
Six of the seven people sickened in this outbreak reported eating in-shell filberts purchased from grocery store bulk bins so it is important for consumers to know the list of stores where the filberts were shipped. National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen has obtained the complete list of stores from the Minnesota Department of Health and has posted the list on its website.
Recalled products would have been purchased after November 2, 2010. Also included in the recall are Sunripe Hazelnuts, Sunripe Large Hazelnuts in 1-pound packages, and Sunripe Mixed Nuts in 2-pound. and 4-pound packages, all with a “Sell-By” date of 6/30/2011.
If you or a loved one has been sickened in this E. coli filbert outbreak, contact an E. coli lawyer at Pritzker Olsen at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete our online contact form. Our main offices are in downtown Minneapolis, but our firm has been practicing foodborne illness litigation all around the country for many years — one of the few such firms to do so. Even if a case patient has not been hospitalized, laws exist for families to recover money to pay for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and other harms.
U.S. Hazelnut Production
According to the Oregon State University Agricultural Extension Service, Oregon in 2003 was growing 98 percent of the hazelnuts in the United States. There are more than 3.75 million hazelnut trees in Oregon, worth $49.5 million. Growers primarily raise hazelnuts as a single-trunked tree that grows 50 to 60 feet tall. The global market for hazelnuts is dominated by producers in Turkey, Spain and Italy, where the trees were first domesticated many centuries ago.
E coli Lawyer for Hazelnuts Recall Lawsuit
An E. coli outbreak in Minnesota and other states has been linked to in-the-shell hazelnuts (filberts) sold in bulk at grocery stores. The hazelnuts have been traced back to California producer wholesaler D. DeFranco & Sons. At least 7 people were sickened after eating hazelnuts in the following states: Minnesota (3), Michigan (1) and Wisconsin (3).
Minnesota E. coli lawyer Fred Pritzker represents food poisoning victims nationwide. He has won millions for E. coli victims, including a recent recovery of $1,300,000 for a woman who was severely sickened. As the E. coli outbreak linked to in-the-shell hazelnuts (filberts) became public, Mr. Pritzker was speaking at a food safety conference in Vancouver, British Columbia.
“Every E. coli outbreak is caused by fecal matter getting on food,” stated Attorney Fred Pritzker. “In this case, we need to find out how nuts came in contact with feces. No one should have to worry about getting sick from a shelled nut.”
In response to this outbreak, D. DeFranco & Sons has recalled in-the-shell hazelnuts and mixed nut products that include in-the-shell hazelnuts. The wholesaler sold the nuts to distributors who sold them to stores in Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Most of the nuts included in this advisory were sold out of bulk bins in grocery stores. Some may also have been packaged by the stores. Also included in the recall are Sunripe Hazelnuts, Sunripe Large Hazelnuts in one-pound packages, and Sunripe Mixed Nuts in two-pound and four-pound packages, all with a sell-by date of June 30, 2011.
If you were sickened by this outbreak and would like a free consultation with Fred Pritzker or another E. coli attorney at Pritzker Olsen law firm, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our free consultation form.
Judge Doesn’t Doubt Raw Milk Caused E. coli
There’s no doubt raw milk caused E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in a Minnesota outbreak, a state judge said in a ruling that went against the Hartmann farm in Gibbon, Minnesota. Judge Rex Stacey said state regulators proved the linkage between a 2010 E. coli outbreak and he ordered the destruction of Hartmann dairy products that were embargoed since last spring.
Officials from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture told Judge Stacey that state law gives them the authority to embargo any food produced in unsanitary conditions. They said the Hartmann farm was unsanitary, including manure near the milk tanks, chickens in the dairy barn, dead animals in and near the barn and mouse droppings.
The Hartmanns told the court they wanted to keep the dairy products for personal use, but the judge said in his order that it had to be destroyed to protect the public against the possibility it would be sold. He also said “a claim that a family of four will personally consume 900 packages, forty-odd tubs and boxes of cheese, and 76 cases of butter is not credible.”
The judge ruled that Minnesota officials “properly” linked raw milk dairy products from the Hartmann farm to an E. coli outbreak that initially sickened eight people. The state “has proven that the goods are adulterated and misbranded” and that its epidemiology was accurate.
