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

After an E. coli outbreak that sickened at least three children, St. Helena Little League will no longer serve hamburgers at concession stands during games.

The Napa Valley Register reported that Jim Gamble, president of St. Helena Little League, said the organization's snack shacks now serve only pre-packaged and pre-cooked food. "The resolution was passed in early April. ... (The children's infection) was an isolated incident and we received contaminated beef. Unfortunately, these children got sick from it. We're all very grateful they've fully recovered. It was scary."

Gamble said the three confirmed reports of E. coli were in children between the ages of 8 and 12.
 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Salinas-area lawmakers this year have focused their bills on everything from preventing future E. coli outbreaks to bolstering health care to keeping a lid on gang violence.

Senators Jeff Denham and Abel Maldonado, plus Assemblyman John Laird, all have bills on health care to cover children, allow tax-free savings for medical expenses and refund a tax credit for insurance expenses of small businesses.

"Child health is going to be big this year," Laird said.

Assemblywoman Anna Caballero has introduced several bills to help address E. coli outbreaks with more research and better water treatment.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

CBC news reports that visitors to agricultural fairs face health risks that can be prevented if organizers take simple steps to ensure their safety, says a national non-profit organization. Exposure to E. coli bacteria, according to the Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions, is the largest health risk facing visitors.

It said it is especially a concern when young children are involved because they might pet farm animals and then use their hands immediately afterwards to eat.  The association is scheduled to hold a workshop on Friday in Charlottetown to educate organizers on how to protect consumers at such events as rural fairs, urban exhibitions and petting zoos.

Moore said organizers will be told that it is essential to set up handwashing stations and post signs that remind people to keep their hands clean. 

The workshop in P.E.I., one of five across Canada, is being held at the Charlottetown Hotel. Similar education sessions will be held in the B.C. communities of Westbank, Abbotsford, Saanichton and Prince George.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

In the wake of E. coli 0157:H7 outbreaks associated with spinach and other produce in 2006, Congress and California state legislators are looking for new strategies to assure the public that government is working hard to reduce future food-borne outbreaks.

Will the proposed legislation and additional oversight make a difference?

The answer is, unfortunately, probably not.

The well-intended legislation will probably fall short of anything meaningful, as its patrons fail to understand the basic evolutionary rules of the germ warfare raging in the American gut and the bigger challenges facing the populace in this biological arms race.

The produce industry need only look out to the fields beyond their office windows to see a better solution to what ails them and the public.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Scientists at the University of Southampton, U.K., have found that E. coli O157:H7, a harmful bacterium primarily associated with raw and undercooked ground beef or foods that come into contact with raw meat, cannot survive on certain copper alloy surfaces. The study, published in the June 2006 issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology, compares the ability of copper alloys to eradicate E. coli with that of stainless steel, which is commonly used for food processing surfaces.

The results were significant. While stainless steel had no effect on the viability of the E. coli at room temperature, three copper casting alloys effectively eliminated it, and two others significantly reduced it. The bacteria sample tested on silicon bronze (95% copper) were significantly reduced in 45 minutes and completely eradicated in 75 minutes. Brass (85% copper) and red brass (93% copper) killed the bacteria in 3.0 hours and 4.5 hours, respectively. Significant reductions were noted after six hours on Ni- Al bronze (81% copper) and yellow brass (61% copper).

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link