food poisoning

Published on: November 12, 2018

How to Avoid a Trip to the Emergency Room This Holiday Season

The upcoming holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year for emergency rooms throughout the country and in Atlanta. Injuries and accidents are more common during this time, and there are a number of reasons people find themselves having to go for treatment at an overcrowded ER from food poisoning and alcohol related accidents to kitchen and fire accidents.

Here are some ways you can help reduce your chances of requiring a visit to the ER this holiday season.

While indulging in your Thanksgiving feast, take steps to avoid being exposed to food poisoning. Be sure not to consume undercooked or expired food, and always be aware of any food recall notices

Published on: July 1, 2010

Airline Passengers at Risk for Food Poisoning

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Airline Passengers at Higher Risk of Food Poisoning

All those jokes about bad airline food don’t seem so funny when you read a new report by USA Today. According to the report, Food and Drug Administration inspections have found poor sanitary conditions at some of the biggest airline catering companies in the industry. The conditions are so poor, that inspectors are warning of a higher risk of food poisoning in passengers who eat these meals.

The inspections were conducted at Gate Gourmet, LSG Sky Chefs, and Flying Food Group. Inspectors found a number of unsanitary and unsafe conditions at these facilities.

Published on: March 9, 2010

Food Poisoning Costs US Economy $157 Billion Per Year

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

For years, conservative estimates of losses from food borne illnesses in the US have placed the figure as low as $6.9 billion, and as high as $35 billion every year. As a new report into food safety in the country shows, those figures are barely the tip of the iceberg. The report by the Produce Safety Project says that the actual cost of food borne illnesses annually amounts to a staggering $157 billion every year.

Injury lawyers in Atlanta have a close connection with the food safety issue. After all, it was the appalling hygiene and safety conditions at a peanut processing plant in our own Georgia that caused nuts to be contaminated with the Salmonella bacteria, and led to a nationwide epidemic that killed several people, and injured hundreds of Americans. The peanut butter salmonella epidemic was just one among several that have come out since then, and which continue to crop up at nauseating intervals.

Every year, according to research conducted by the Produce Safety Project, more than 76 million Americans suffer from a food borne illness. The researchers calculated the costs of these illnesses by adding not just the medical and hospital costs that the patient incurred, but also the lost quality of life as a result of the illness.They arrived at the total figure of $157 billion every year from these illnesses.

Published on: June 23, 2009

Nestle Cookie Dough Recalled After Reports of E. coli Poisoning

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Nestle SA has announced a recall of its Toll House cookie dough because of fears of E. coli contamination linked to dozens of cases of food poisoning nationwide. About 47 varieties of the cookie dough have been included in the recall.

The Food and Drug Administration has warned consumers not to eat Toll House refrigerated and prepackaged cookie dough because of the risk of E coli contamination. The agency has asked consumers who may have any of the pre packaged cookie dough to throw these away. Consumers have been advised that they could face the risk of food poisoning even if they cook the dough, because the bacteria might be transmitted to their hands and cooking surfaces. According to the FDA notice, the contamination was exposed in a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as state and local health departments.

So far, there have been 66 reports of illnesses from 29 states since March this year. 25 persons have been hospitalized and seven of these had suffered a complication called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome [HUS] which can end in kidney damage and even death.

Published on: February 17, 2009

Georgia Salmonella Outbreak May Lead to Greater Food Safety

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

In the days since we were first informed that the nationwide salmonella food poisoning outbreak originated at a Peanut Corporation of America plant in Blakely, Georgia, the death toll from the outbreak has reached 9, the number of people sickened from salmonella tainted products has risen to 19,000 and food poisoning lawsuits have been filed.

Last week, Stewart Parnell, president of Peanut Corporation of America was summoned to Washington to testify at a congressional hearing. Meanwhile, skeletons have been tumbling at the PCA.Former employees at the Blakely plant have come forward to sing like canaries about the abhorrent sanitation practices at the plant. According to one employee, he once found baby mice inside a packet of peanuts. The same employee also claims that he has been witness to the practice of pasting new stickers on jars of old peanut paste, and has seen holes drilled by rats in sacks of peanuts. A new FDA report also indicates that management at the Georgia plant continued to ship out products that they knew had tested positive for salmonella contamination. According to the report, the company continued to retest its products until test results showed findings that were more to its liking – that the peanut butter was salmonella free.

The concern over products from the Georgia plant is so intense that the FDA has asked consumers to throw out any peanut butter products made at the plant over the past 2 years.

Published on: February 3, 2009

Georgia Peanut Butter Plant Has History of Poor Sanitation

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The Georgia peanut butter plant at the center of the salmonella food poisoning crisis has a poor sanitation record, and has frequently been cited for health and sanitation violations, the NY Times (via Tort Deform) reports.Judging by the condition of the plant in our very own Blakely, Georgia, the media and food poisoning lawyers should not even be surprised that a nationwide outbreak of deadly salmonella poisoning has originated from this facility.

The Peanut Corporation of America plant has been cited several times since 2006 for health violations. Inspectors have frequently found the facility full of large gaping holes in its food security mechanisms. These include grease accumulation inside the facility, doors with large holes that a rat could easily squeeze through, and dirt and grime everywhere.The plant had areas caked with rust that could easily disperse and fall into food products, and poor sanitization of surfaces meant for food processing.Peanut butter packets were left lying around uncovered. These violations continued even till 2008, when inspection reports continued to mention numerous violations.

Dirty and unsanitary conditions breed rodents and insects.Animal feces are just one of the ways that the salmonellum bacterium spreads.The risk of infectious disease is the reason why food processing and preparation plants and establishments that serve food like restaurants, are put though numerous safety inspections.From the report in the Times, it seems like that the plant was a salmonellosis time bomb waiting to go off.

Published on: January 22, 2009

FDA Continues to Sleep Over Food Safety

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Seattlepi.com has an interesting story about how well we can expect our federal agencies to ensure that the food that makes it to our tables is safe to eat. The focus of the story is but naturally, the salmonella food poisoning crisis that has engulfed the country with 6 deaths connected to the epidemic so far.

The biggest source of concern to American consumers in this latest crisis, the report says is the manner in which the Food and Drug Administration dragged its feet for more than three months before confirming an outbreak. The latest crisis that has involved the agency’s food safety protocol has had consumer safety advocates, food poisoning lawyers as well as the public, wondering how the FDA which found out weeks ago that the Georgia plant of Peanut Corporation of America was the source of the particular strain of Salmonella found in the contaminated peanut butter, could have waited so long before they even confirmed the source. The FDA continued to mouth the same line – that the peanut butter in question was only sold to restaurants, nursing homes and food companies, but they still have not released a list of all Peanut Corporation of America clients who may have received the contaminated butter. The FDA’s outdated practices mean that manufacturers are rarely forced to recall their products. The agency prefers to rely on voluntary recalls by companies, and in many cases, these are too late to prevent severe illnesses.

More companies meanwhile are queuing up to announce recalls of their products that contain peanut butter. General Mills has recalled 2 varieties of snack bars because butter used in the snacks came from the Peanut Corporation of America. Other companies including Perry’s Ice cream Company, Food Lion Cookie, Hy-Vee Inc, have all removed their products containing peanut butter from store shelves as a precautionary measure because of the fear that these could contain traces of the contaminated butter.

Published on: January 13, 2009

Georgia Affected by Peanut Butter Salmonella Outbreak

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

According to the Department of Public Health, five cases of the salmonella food poisoning that have been reported across the country have been found in Georgia.A few days ago, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control announced an outbreak of salmonella poisoning in 42 states.The outbreak apparently occurred between October to December, and has sickened close to 400 people.One elderly woman who died during the period had been infected at the time of her death, but it hasn’t been confirmed if she died because of the poisoning.

Now, fresh reports confirm that a brand of peanut butter has been traced as the source of the contamination. Batches of King Nut and Parnell’s Pride peanut butter that were distributed by King Nut Cos, and supplied to schools, nursing homes and restaurants, have been recalled.The batches were only sold to institutions, and were not available directly to the public.The company apparently only distributed the product which is manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America.The link was traced when tests conducted by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and Health on the peanut butter batches revealed a match with the strain of salmonella Typhirium type that has been responsible for the outbreak.

Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include abdominal cramps, fever and diarrhea. In cases of serious infection, hospitalization may be required. The symptoms are particularly acute in the case of children, elderly or those who have weakened immune systems.In serious cases, the infection may spread to other parts of the body, and death can result.