Nestle E. coli Outbreak Has 80 Victims in 31 States
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published its final update on the Nestle E. coli outbreak – a major outbreak that may have been caused by contaminated Nestle Toll House cookie dough.
The CDC says 80 persons have been infected by a matching strain of E. coli O157:H7. Thirty-five persons have been hospitalized and 10 developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious complication that attacks a person’s red blood cells and causes damage to the kidneys and other body parts. Of the 80 confirmed cases, 70 were confirmed as having the same 
molecular fingerprint using advanced DNA testing.
National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen is currently representing vicitms of E. coli outbreaks, including victims who developed HUS. In the Nestle outbreak, investigators found E. coli O157:H7 in a previously unopened package of Toll House refrigerated cookie dough found at the company’s plant in Danville, Virginia, on June 25, 2009. But lab tests showed that it did not match the outbreak strain.
Still, an epidemiologic study of outbreak victims found that most victims had eaten raw Nestle cookie dough before becoming infected. In addition, an FDA inspection of the Nestle Toll House cookie dough plant found equipment that was not able to be properly cleaned.
Many states reported only one or two cases, but the following states had more: Minnesota (8); Illinois (7); Colorado (6); Washington (6); California (5); Massachusetts (4); Utah (4); Ohio (3); Maine (3) and Texas (3).
The Nestle cookie dough plant has reopened and all new packages of the product are stamped with a label mark that says “New Batch.” The CDC is recommending that consumers avoid eating or baking with any Nestle Toll House cookie dough product that does not contain the “New Batch” stamp.
If you or a loved one have recently eaten recalled prepackaged, refrigerated Toll House cookie dough and have experienced diarrhea or other E. coli symptoms, contact a doctor immediately. Victims also should contact a Nestle E. coli lawyer at Pritzker Olsen, 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free). We have collected tens of millions of dollars for victims of food poisoning and we have been outspoken about the need for reform of U.S. food safety laws, including better and more frequent food plant inspections.
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Nestle Danville Plant Reopens – E. coli and HUS Victims Continue to Suffer
Nestle Danville Plant (Google Satellite)
Nestle is back in business making and selling refrigerated cookie dough following an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 that, according to a July 10 CDC report, has sickened at least 76 people from 31 states. 35 people had been hospitalized, including 11 with a serious complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
The decision to start selling the product again was made despite the fact that E. coli O157:H7 was found in an unopened package of Nestle Toll House cookie dough. This strain was not the same as the outbreak strain cultured from stool samples from outbreak survivors – meaning, most likely, that Nestle cookie dough had at least two separate strains of the deadly pathogen.
According to the FDA, Nestle cleaned up the plant, switched suppliers for the main ingredients and is now back in business producing refrigerated cookie dough:
After a plant shutdown, investigation and clean-up, Nestle has resumed manufacturing of Toll House prepackaged, refrigerated cookie dough products, now made with main ingredients from new suppliers.
Nestle gets a “do-over” while the outbreak victims are stuck with a long recovery, medical bills, lost wages and a terrible memory of an illness they will never forget. It doesn’t seem fair.
If you would like to speak with an attorney about a Nestle lawsuit, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our free consultation form.
An Inside Look at the Nestle E. coli Outbreak
Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough has been linked to a Nestle E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 72 people in about 30 states. At least 10 of the patients suffered a violent complication known as HUS, or hemolytic uremic syndrome. Pritzker Olsen Attorneys, one of America’s leading food safety law firms, is representing several people sickened in the outbreak and is continuing to accept cases. To contact our firm, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or receive a free case consultation online from an E. coli lawyer by completing one of our forms. What follows is a look at the Nestle outbreak through the well-trained eye of firm founder Fred Pritzker, a long-time advocate for victims of food poisoning. Pritzker Olsen has recovered tens of millions for victims of foodborne illness by holding those responsible for these outbreaks accountable for the physical suffering and financial pain wrought by serious illness.
On June 19, 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned consumers not to eat any varieties of prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough due to the risk of contamination with E. coli O157:H7 (a bacterium that causes food borne illness). The Nestle recall of Toll House refrigerated cookie dough occurred the same day.
Ten days later, on June 29, the FDA announced that E. coli O157:H7 had been found in an unopened package of 16.5 oz. Nestle Toll House refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough bar. A finding of a potentially lethal foodborne adulterant in an unopened package is usually proof positive that the adulteration occurred before the product left the manufacturer’s possession (rather than a “downstream” contamination caused by a distributor, retailer or end user). This means the contamination occurred at the point of production (at the Nestle plant) or in ingredients purchased by Nestle for use in making the product.
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Here’s where it gets interesting though: On July 9, eleven days after the product tested positive for E. coli O157:H7, the FDA announced that the genetic fingerprint of the positive strain did not match the strain identified in the outbreak victims. In short, Nestle was producing refrigerated cookie dough products with at least two separate strains of E. coli O157:H7.
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And here’s where it gets even more interesting: when FDA inspectors descended on the Nestle plant where the cookie dough is produced, in Danville, Virginia, for more than a week of plant inspection and testing of more than 1000 plant environmental surfaces, no E. coli O157:H7 was detected.
The failure to find E. coli O157:H7 in the plant’s environment hardly exonerates Nestle. It’s entirely possible – even likely – that the plant underwent a top-to-bottom cleaning before FDA inspectors arrived at the scene. What’s more, the product implicated in this outbreak was produced long before the inspection. In short, the inspection simply captures a moment in time and not the critical moment when the product was produced.
It’s also entirely possible that the contamination did not occur at the Nestle plant at all. It may have already been in the ingredients Nestle purchased – the result of “upstream” contamination caused by the fault of a Nestle supplier. That, too, hardly exonerates Nestle.
A food producer has a non-delegable duty to guarantee the safety of its ingredients as well as the finished product. This is accomplished in a number of ways including rigorous investigation of supplier production facilities and testing of raw constituent product. Obviously, the finding of two separate strains of dangerous E. coli O157:H7means that Nestle did an incredibly poor job of policing its plant, product and production supplies and guarantees its place in the 2009 Food Safety Hall of Shame.
The writer, Fred Pritzker, is founder and president of PritzkerOlsen, P.ATo contact Fred directly, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or email him at fhp@pritzkerlaw.com
Officials Find 3 Types of E. coli in Nestle Cookie Dough
At least three different types of E. coli have now been associated with Nestle cookie dough, but no one is certain which ingredient or process caused the contamination.
The latest news on the Nestle E. coli outbreak comes from ace reporter Brian Hartman of ABC News. His report today said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is nearing the finish line in its investigation of Nestle Toll House food poisoning. At least 72 people in 30 states have been sickened in the outbreak, including 34 who were hospitalized. Ten of those hospitalized were stricken with HUS, or hemolytic uremic syndrome, a violent complication of E. coli O157:H7 disease.
Hartman cited unnamed sources close to the investigation as saying the FDA has finished its genetic testing of E. coli O157:H7 found in an unopened package of Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie dough found at the company’s major dough plant in Danville, Virginia. The package taken from the plant was contaminated with a different molecular subtype of E. coli than that which was found in dough taken from the home of an infected victim of the outbreak.
Both of those strains were different from the outbreak strain, according to the ABC News report. Dr. David Acheson, the assistant commissioner for food safety at FDA, told ABC that investigators may have exhausted all their leads. “It is unlikely that we will ever make a determination of how this contamination occurred, Acheson said. The ABC story said product tampering is NOT suspected as a cause.
But Fred Pritzker, president of national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys, said nothing has changed in the epidemiological study of victims, which strongly and validly showed a high correlation between the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 and consumption of uncooked, refrigerated Nestle Toll House cookie dough.
Pritzker Olsen is continuing to accept cases from the outbreak and is representing E. coliand HUS nationwide. The firm is one of America’s most experienced practitioners in the area of foodborne illness litigation. Our E. coli attorneys have recovered millions for victims of these outbreaks and Pritzker Olsen has long been an advocate for a stronger U.S. food safety system.
For more information or to contact us, call toll-free 1-888-377-8900. To receive a free case consultation, go online to complete one of our forms
