E. coli Blog - Surveillance & analysis on e. coli news & outbreaks

The families of three octogenarian women whose deaths were linked to last year's E. coli outbreak from tainted spinach have settled wrongful death lawsuits against companies that brought the produce to market, according to Scientific American.

Terms of the settlements between the families and the three companies that grew, handled and sold the tainted California spinach are confidential, said lawyer William Marler, whose Seattle-based law firm represented the families.

"We have nearly 90 other cases that are still pending against the three companies," Marler added, referring to Mission Organics, Natural Selection Foods and Dole Food Co.

Natural Selection Foods spokeswoman Samantha Cabaluna said: "We are hopeful that these settlements bring some closure.  Everyone at Natural Selection Foods remains deeply saddened by the human toll of the outbreak," Cabaluna said. "As we said we would do from the beginning we tried to work as honestly, fairly and expeditiously as possible to resolve the cases."
 

AP reported that the company that distributed hamburger patties believed to have sickened at least three children with E. coli bacteria is blaming the contamination on the slaughterhouse that processed the meat.

Steve Wood, vice president for Merced-based Richwood Meat Co. Inc., said he does not know which slaughterhouse provided the meat.  Richwood receives raw, boneless meat from suppliers and turns it into hamburger patties and other products. 

The recalled products are hamburger patties and ground beef sold under the brands Fireriver, Chef's Pride, Ritz Food, Blackwood Farms, California Pacific Associates, C&C Distributing, Golbon and Richwood.
 

Two beef producers, one in California and the other in Pennsylvania, have recalled a total of close to 400,000 pounds of beef stemming from fears of E. coli contamination.

A Pennsylvania beef company is recalling about 259,230 lbs of beef products and a California company is recalling about 107,943 pounds of frozen ground beef products due to possible contamination with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Friday.

HFX, Inc., of South Claysburg, Pennsylvania, is voluntary recalling approximately 259,230 pounds of beef products due to possible contamination with E. coli O157:H7, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

An investigation carried out by FSIS and the Pennsylvania Department of Health has linked several illnesses to steak products produced at the plant for Hoss's Family Steak and Sea Restaurants, a Pennsylvania based restaurant chain.

The recalled products are:

• 4-pound boxes of “QUARTER POUND BEEF PATTIES.”
• 4-pound boxes of “HALF POUND BUN BUSTER BEEF PATTIES.”
• 4-pound boxes of “QUARTER POUND 100% BEEF BURGERS.”
• 4-pound boxes of “12 ONE THIRD POUND BEEF PATTIES.”

Generally, steaks are not considered a high-risk source of E. coli O157: H7. However, the products subject to recall were injected with tenderizers and flavor-enhancing solutions, and that process may have transferred the bacteria from the surface to the inside of the product.

• Senate Bill 200 gives the Department of Health Services the much-needed authority to recall, quarantine, or destroy produce which may pose a threat to the public. The measure also creates an inspection program to proactively address the threat of outbreaks. DHS inspectors would have the authority to conduct periodic on-farm inspections, including testing of water, soil and produce.
  
• Senate Bill 201 mandates Good Agricultural Practices for leafy green growers, covering everything from water and fertilizer use, to worker hygiene, to the creation of buffer zones between fields and potential contamination sources. Growers would be required to maintain extensive documentation of these practices. These documents would be reviewed by DHS to ensure compliance.
  
• Senate Bill 202 calls for the creation of a traceback system that can quickly trace contaminated produce through the various stages of the distribution process, from farm to processor, to distributor, to retailer. In the most recent E. coli outbreaks, lettuce and spinach producers nationwide took a major economic hit, because it could not immediately be determined where the contaminated produce came from and every farm was suspect. The ability to quickly find the specific source in an outbreak, combined with DHS’ ability to quarantine or destroy suspect produce, will prevent a similar industry-wide hit in future E. coli outbreaks.
  

Florez originally proposed that the state health department license growers, set field standards and enforce them with inspections.

But SB 201 was amended in the Senate Agriculture Committee, chaired by [Senator Abel] Maldonado, to make state health department regulation a backup to the industry if it failed to adopt its own mandatory safety standards.

SB 200 does require the departments of Public Health and of Food and Agriculture to administer jointly an inspection program of farmers' records and field operations to be sure they are meeting approved standards.

The Morning Call reports that Taco Bell may be reaching a settlement in their E. coli outbreak class action lawsuit.

“We've got a promise from Taco Bell that it will immediately mediate these cases,” said William Marler, who represents 20 clients who say Taco Bell's food made them ill. “I'm going to sit down with them in the next 30 days and try to resolve them. If we can't come to an agreement, we can refile the cases. Every indication I've had from Taco Bell lawyers is that they want to seriously sit down and get these cases resolved.”

Based on past food poisoning cases he's successfully argued, Marler believes each victim could receive at least tens of thousands of dollars for medical bills and other damages. He said he has resolved close to $300 million worth of food poisoning cases in 15 years.

Those who may have been hospitalized for a short period and did not develop complications can receive from $25,000 or $30,000 to half a million dollars depending on the severity of the case,'' Marler said. ''Any case where someone develops severe health problems could be worth multiple millions of dollars.''

Marler pointed to one ''severe'' case in which he claims a Pennsylvania woman was in a coma for at least three days and suffered kidney damage caused by E. coli. That woman is still being cared for by multiple doctors. Marler said the woman suffers from a form of kidney failure known as hemolytic urenic syndrome, which, according to the CDC, is a life-threatening condition that is often treated with blood transfusions and kidney dialysis.
 

E. coli and salmonella infections are on the rise in the United States, but other foodborne illnesses appear to have leveled off, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported.

But after falling sharply in 2003 and 2004 when the meat industry pulled together to make ground beef safer, rates of E. coli O157:H7 infections have rebounded, and many appear to be related to outbreaks in fresh produce, according to Reuters.

"As recent outbreaks have shown, too many people in the United States are getting sick each year from foodborne illnesses," CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding told reporters in a telephone briefing. "For instance, the outbreaks involving tomatoes, lettuce and spinach underscore the need to more effectively prevent contamination of produce.”
 

The largest E. coli outbreak in Orange County history grew this week to 14 victims, all linked to the same restaurant, according to the OC Register.

Ten children and four adults, including a restaurant employee, were infected with the same O157:H7 strain of E. coli after dining at the restaurant between March 23 and March 25. 

The latest victim identified Tuesday is in their 30s and was not hospitalized, officials said. A 12-year-old girl remained hospitalized Tuesday at Children's Hospital of Orange County. She suffered kidney damage and is now reported in good condition. 

The last large E. coli outbreak in Orange County was linked to salads served at Pat and Oscar’s restaurants in 2003. In that incident, 12 people became sick.
 

A girl hospitalized with an E. coli infection after eating at a restaurant was expected to be transferred out of intensive care by the weekend, a hospital spokeswoman said Friday.

The 12-year-old girl was one of 10 people sickened by the bacteria after eating at the Foothill Ranch restaurant in the city of Lake Forest. The source of the contamination has not been identified, the Orange County Health Agency said in a statement. 

The girl could be transferred to a general care ward of Children's Hospital of Orange County as early as Friday evening.
 

Three more cases of E. coli were identified among customers of an Orange County restaurant, bringing the number of people sickened to 10, reports the Associated Press. Interviews with all 10 people confirmed they ate at a restaurant in the city of Lake Forest on March 23 or 24, the Orange County Health Agency said in a statement.

"We have not yet identified the source of the infections, and our investigation is continuing," the agency said.

The latest cases were confirmed a day after health officials announced that tests showed the first seven cases all had the same strain of E. coli in common, indicating a common source of infection. One of the earlier cases, a 12-year-old girl, remains in intensive care at Children's Hospital of Orange County, said county health information officer Deanne Thompson.

The restaurant has remained open. Health inspectors concluded its food and conditions were safe.
 

A 12-year-old girl remained in intensive care Wednesday after being infected with the E. coli bacteria at a Lake Forest restaurant, hospital and health officials said.

After being diagnosed with the most serious complication of E. coli Wednesday afternoon, the girl was transferred from Children's Hospital of Orange County at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo to the CHOC facility in Orange.

The girl, whose name has not been released because of privacy issues, was admitted to the hospital Friday. Two others hospitalized after dining at the Foothill Ranch Restaurant have been released. One person over age 70 was discharged Tuesday or Wednesday. An 8-year-old boy was discharged Tuesday.  Health officials said they were still trying to determine the source of the bacteria that caused seven diners to become ill.

Denise Almazan, a CHOC spokeswoman, said the 12-year-old girl, a dancer, was in excellent health before she became ill.  Almazan said the girl was diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, which occurs in less than 10% of those infected with E. coli, usually those younger than 5 or the elderly. People with HUS may develop kidney failure and anemia, and 3% to 5% die.
 

An E. coli outbreak in Orange County has been traced to a restaurant, health officials said Monday.

The seven people who tested positive for the dangerous bacterium dined at the same restaurant in Lake Forest, six of them on March 23 or March 24, said Howard Sutter, spokesman for the county's Health Care Agency. The seventh could not confirm an exact date.  Authorities have yet to determine the source.

The restaurant was allowed to remain open after health inspectors concluded its food and conditions were safe, Sutter said.  The seven cases were reported to county authorities in recent days. Three of those sickened were hospitalized, although their symptoms were not considered life threatening.