E Coli Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark Law Firm : E. coli Blog

20-year-old Stephanie Smith has woken from nine weeks in a medically-induced coma shortly before Christmas. Smith became ill with an E. coli infection in September after eating a contaminated hamburger, and has since been hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome.

On October 6, 2007, Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation announced that it was recalling approximately 845,000 pounds of frozen ground beef patties for possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination. The recall was initiated after three people in Minnesota tested positive for E. coli and a joint investigation by the Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Department of Agriculture identified the Cargill hamburger patties as the source of the illnesses.

The Cargill products were sold at retail establishments and to restaurants and other institutions. Sam’s Club announced that it was pulling the potentially E. coli-contaminated ground beef patties produced by Cargill from its store shelves nationwide on October 5th.
 

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At least five Wisconsin residents have been diagnosed with E. coli, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Health officials are working to determine whether the Wisconsin cases have a link to earlier cases reported in Minnesota that were traced back to consumption of E. coli-contaminated hamburgers produced by Cargill and sold at Sam's Club.

One of the victims, an 18-year-old Milwaukee woman, has been confirmed to be suffering from an E. coli infection induced by the same strain of E. coli found in Minnesota children who ate Cargill-brand hamburgers and became ill. The 18-year-old woman linked to the Minnesota cases is the only Wisconsin person whom officials have described.

More tests are being conducted to determine whether any of the other Wisconsin cases share the same strain of E. coli as the Minnesota cases.
 

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The Minnesota Department of Health have announced that ground beef patties purchased from Sam's Club stores in Minnesota have been identified as the source of an E. coli outbreak.

Hamburger patties purchased from Sam's Club stores in Eagan, Maple Grove and White Bear Lake have been implicated as the cause of 4 cases of E. coli infection.

All four cases were children. Two of the cases developed hemolytic uremic syndrome and were hospitalized. One case has been discharged and one remains hospitalized.

The brand name of the implicated frozen ground beef patties was “American Chef’s Selection Angus Beef Patties.”
 

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A lawsuit will be filed today against PM Beef Holdings, LLC and Lund Food Holdings, Inc., the producer and retailer who sold E. coli-contaminated ground beef traced to an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in Minnesota and Wisconsin residents in April, 2007.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit is Anne Herwig, a Minneapolis resident who became ill with an E. coli O157:H7 infection and was hospitalized after eating contaminated ground beef in April.  Ms. Herwig is represented by Marler Clark. Ms. Herwig is one of seven Minnesotans who were confirmed as part of the E. coli outbreak that prompted PM Beef Holdings to recall 117,500 pounds of beef trim products that was ground and sold at Lunds and Byerly’s stores.

 

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Davis Creek Meats and Seafood of Kalamazoo, Michigan, is recalling approximately 129,000 pounds of beef products due to possible E. coli contamination.

The potentially contaminated meat was shipped to Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

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

Meanwhile, Ukrop's, a Virginia supermarket chain, recalled beef that may be part of a larger meat recall initiated by a Minnesota company.  PM Beef Holdings recalled ground beef and trim after its products were linked to an E. coli outbreak in Minnesota.  Byerly's and Lunds stores already have recalled any potentially contaminated meat, but at least seven people became ill with E. coli before the recall was initiated.
 

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PM Beef Holdings expanded an E. coli recall to include 117,500 pounds of beef trimmings to make ground beef yesterday. The original recall was initiated after an E. coli outbreak among Byerly's and Lunds customers in the Minneapolis area who had consumed ground beef products from the stores.

According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the recall comes after an E. coli outbreak that has sickened seven Twin Cities residents, who purchased and ate ground beef from either of the two stores. While those stores have already removed any potentially contaminated beef from their shelves, today's move greatly expands the scope of the recall.

The beef trimmings in question were processed on March 27 at the PM Beef Holdings plant in Windom, and the USDA said it was shipped to distributors and retail outlets in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Arizona, Ohio and Virginia.
 

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This week's food safety infosheet from the International Food Safety Network focuses on E. coli outbreaks in California and Minnesota.  Both outbreaks were traced to ground beef, and both are still being investigated by health officials. 

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According to an article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Minnesota health officials have traced an E. coli outbreak in late April to ground beef sold at grocery several stores in Minnesota towns. 

The meat was sold under a store label at the Edina Lunds, and Byerly's stores in Minnetonka, Chanhassen and St. Louis Park, according to the health department.

Five adults and two children were among those sickened. Three were treated at area hospitals. The infections were reported between April 21 and April 28, according to the health department.

State health officials added that any ground beef purchased at the stores since April 7 should be thrown out or returned to the store.

In a Minnesota Department of Health press release, "E. coli O157:H7 cases linked to ground beef purchased at Lunds or Byerly’s stores since mid-April," Heidi Kassenborg, Acting Director of the Dairy and Food Inspection Division of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture stated, "[W]e can't be certain that meat from other stores is not involved, since all of the beef used for ground beef for Lunds and Beverly's stores comes from a single procesing facility." 

While the ground beef has not been recalled, the Minnesota Department of Health is encouraging consumers to throw out or return the ground beef products to stores.

As a precautionary measure, Lunds and Byerly’s have voluntarily removed many varieties of ground beef from all of their stores and are cooperating fully with the investigation.

Lunds and Byerly’s customers are urged to return or destroy fresh ground beef purchased at any of their stores since April 7, 2007. This includes ground beef purchased fresh then frozen at home. It includes fresh beef patties, fresh or frozen meatloaf and ground chili meat. Customers should return the ground beef to any Lunds or Byerly’s immediately for a full refund. (A receipt is not required.)

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The Minnesota Department of Health is focusing its investigation into an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak on a Nebraska meat packer, according to a story from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Although the beef was ground by a local grocery store, the source of the E. coli contamination probably came from the meat processing plant in Nebraska.

The store that sold the E. coli-contaminated meat receives meat from an Albert Lea distributor that gets its supply from four different meat processors. The processors operate at least eight different slaughterhouses.

The Albert Lea distributor does not have records on the source of the meat that it shipped to the Longville grocery store.
 

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The Minnesota Department of Health has been investigating an E. coli outbreak that was the source of 17 confirmed illnesses and one death. MDOH suspects that at least 30 people were ill with E. coli infections, but that not all cases were confirmed through laboratory testing.

A report in the Pioneer Press noted that this latest E. coli outbreak caused the first E. coli-related death in Minnesota since 2002.

“We think primarily what happened was there were a number of illnesses associated with eating potato salad or another cold salad that became cross-contaminated with the ground beef that was used to make meatballs,” said Doug Schultz, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Health. Those preparing the food probably used the same utensils or cutting board for the potatoes as for the beef.

Health investigators were initially perplexed by the outbreak, Schultz said. People from the church were sick, but so was a group of people who did not attend the event.

The investigators eventually traced the contamination to E. coli that had been discovered during a routine federal inspection of a Nebraska meatpacker. A distributor bought beef from that plant and sold it to a Longville grocer, who in turn sold the beef to a local restaurant as well as the organizers of the church event. The victims who weren't infected at the church all had eaten at the same restaurant.
 

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A woman from Longville, Minnesota, who apparently ate contaminated food at a church supper, has become the first Minnesotan recorded as dying of E. coli complications in at least three and a half years, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Services will be held today for Carolyn Hawkinson, right, 73, at Salem Lutheran Church in Longville, where the meal was served July 19.

Hawkinson, who died Sunday after nearly a month in hospitals, had helped set up for the church supper the day before it was held, her daughter said.

In the past six weeks, E. coli has sickened at least 17 people and perhaps as many as 30 around Longville, the Minnesota Department of Health reported Tuesday. Nine people were hospitalized, including Hawkinson and one other with serious complications.
 

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15 cases of E. coli infection have been reported in the Longville area to the Minnesota Department of Health, according to The Pilot-Independent.

Of those, four people tested positive for the E. coli strain O157:H7. As of Friday, at least two people were hospitalized in what MDH spokesperson Doug Schultz termed as a "relatively serious condition."

MDH has determined that most, but not all of the cases have an association with a July 19 potluck at Salem Lutheran Church in Longville. At least three individuals did not attend the potluck.

"We are still investigating a number of other events and are looking at other possibilities," Schultz stated. "It may be that we won't be able to determine a single source. We just want to make sure there isn't a source out there that would pose an ongoing public health risk."

Pastor John Monson of Salem Lutheran Church said MDH is still conducting interviews to determine common links for the outbreak.

"Our congregation is concerned about the health of our community and is doing whatever possible to assist the MDH in their research," Monson stressed. "Since the MDH inquiry is ongoing, we can only wait for their conclusions and hope that their discoveries may help prevent future outbreaks.

Just to be on the safe side, Salem Lutheran Church decided to cancel its August smorgasbord, had its water supply checked, and its food service area double-checked.
 

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