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

The year 2007 is going to be remembered for the big beef recalls due to E. coli returning with a vengeance. All totaled meat producers were forced to recall over 33.3 million pounds of beef products.

Topping the list was the 21.7 million pound recall due to E. coli that sent the New Jersey-based Topps Foods into bankruptcy. When United Food Group in June was forced to recall 5.7 million pounds of E. coli-laced ground beef, no one would have guessed it was going to lead to a second half of 2007 that found E. coli in beef just like the bad old days.

E. coli forced the recall of 3.3 million pounds of Totino’s and Jeno’s frozen meat pizzas. In two separate recalls, Cargill had to recall over 1.9 million pounds of beef they had contaminated with the deadly E. coli pathogen.

Most of the big recalls of 2007 remain on the active case list of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The percentage of recalled products actually returned to manufacturers is often pretty low.

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Associated Press reporter Jeff Gold's story titled, "State inspectors find more recalled meat at New Jersey stores," published on November 7, highlights the importance of the need for more effective food recalls.  According to the story, ground beef patties produced by Topps that were recalled for possible E. coli contamination in September are still on store shelves.  From the story:

"What began with the discovery of recalled hamburgers being for sale at a single store has escalated into a statewide public health issue, and potentially a national issue as well," Attorney General Milgram said. "It is unacceptable that consumers can walk into a store and find these recalled contaminated products on the shelf, readily available for purchase and consumption, more than one month after the voluntary recall was announced."

Over the past few weeks, 141 boxes of Topps burgers have been found at 12 stores, all in northern New Jersey except for one in Gloucester City in Camden County, the state Division of Consumer Affairs said.

Investigators determined that the stores bought the meat from four distributors, including Associated Group Grocers of Jamaica, N.Y.; Burris Foods Inc. of Milford, Del.; and Jetro Cash and Carry of Jersey City. They had previously identified Greater New York Frozen Food Distribution Company Inc., of Queens, N.Y.

Topps Frozen Hamburger E. coli Outbreak Background:

On September 25, 2007, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that Topps Meat Company of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was recalling 331,582 pounds of frozen ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The company's ground beef products had been identified as the source of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak among residents of New York, Connecticut, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

At least six people in New York had become ill with E. coli infections after eating Topps Meats' ground beef, and the investigation into these illnesses by the New York Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was what led to the resulting recall.

By September 29, 2007, Topps Meats had expanded the recall to a total of 21.7 million pounds of frozen ground beef products produced on various dates between September 25, 2006 and September 25, 2007. On October 11, 2007, the CDC announced that 38 confirmed illnesses had been tied to the outbreak in 9 states: Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

FSIS issued an outbreak update on October 26, 2007, and announced that a joint investigation between FSIS and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency had identified meat trim provided to Topps by Canadian company Ranchers Beef Ltd. as the source of the outbreak.

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The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) today issued a press release with an update regarding the E. coli outbreak investigation and recall of Topps brand hamburger patties.  FSIS used the update to announce that in a joint investigation between the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and FSIS, investigators had determined that Ranchers Beef, a Canadian company, had supplied E. coli-contaminated beef trimmings to Topps, and that Ranchers Beef, Ltd., has been "delisted" since October 20, meaning the company has not been eligible to export meat to the United States since that date.

According to the press release:

On October 25, the CFIA provided FSIS with PFGE patterns, or DNA fingerprints, from tests of beef trim from a Canadian firm, Ranchers Beef, Ltd., Canadian establishment number 630. This firm provided trim to the Topps Meat Company. While the firm, which had been located in Balzac, Alberta, ceased operations on August 15, 2007, some product remained in storage and was collected and tested by CFIA as part of the joint investigation of the Topps recall and as part of CFIA's own investigation into 45 illnesses in Canada from E. coli O157:H7.

The press release continued:

Today, PulseNet provided verification to FSIS that this PFGE pattern matched those from patients who were ill and from positive tests conducted by the New York Department of Health on product (both intact packages and open packages from patients' homes) that was later recalled by the Topps Meat Company on September 29. PulseNet is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) searchable database of all PFGE patterns from patients and food products in the United States.

On September 29, Topps expanded an earlier recall to include 21.7 million pounds of ground beef products for possible E. coli contamination.  The recall was initiated after illnesses associated with the products were reported in New York, Pennsylvania, and several other states.  As of October 26, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had identified 40 illnesses under investigation as being part of the outbreak. 

Marler Clark has filed lawsuits on behalf of two people who were confirmed part of the Topps E. coli outbreak, and represents several other people in claims that are being investigated as potentially associated with the outbreak.

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In yesterday's New York Times, Chris Drew and Andy Martin's article, "Many Red Flags Preceded a Recall of Hamburger" detailed what is known about the Topps ground beef E. coli outbreak and recall.  The story contained the following:

Federal investigators said they had recently learned that the company failed to require adequate testing on the raw beef it bought from its domestic suppliers, and it sometimes mixed tested and untested meat in its grinding machines.

The Agriculture Department acknowledged that its safety inspectors, who were in the Topps plant for an hour or two each day, never cited the company for these problems.

Additionally, Topps, like many other beef processors, had bought an increasing amount of meat from overseas. Some types of meat from foreign countries — where E. coli has not been prevalent — are not required to be tested for contamination. But the Agriculture Department said the Topps case had prompted it to consider requiring such checks.

In response to the problems, the Agriculture Department directed its inspectors on Oct. 12 to conduct a nationwide survey of what meat plants are doing to fight E. coli., and it plans to send special assessment teams into any plants that seem to be lagging to urge them to adopt more stringent measures.

Those more stringent measures were discussed at a news conference held by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service yesterday.  In conjunction with the news conference, FSIS posted a list of new "key initiatives" for federally inspected plants that produce raw beef products.  USA Today reported on those key initiatives today, putting them in perspective of what has happened in the meat industry in the last year with regards to E. coli O157:H7:

There have been 15 E. coli O157:H7 recalls in beef this year, eight of which caused illnesses. That's up from eight recalls last year and no related illnesses.

The rise in recalls and positive E. coli tests for the first time this decade indicate "something has changed," said Richard Raymond, the USDA's undersecretary for food safety.

The USDA now will test meat at large plants about 12 times a year, up from seven. Plants with more problems also will be tested more. Well-run smaller plants may be tested less often than they have been. Before, the USDA tested all beef plants' products about seven times a year.

Meat plants have been required since the late 1990s to have good E. coli controls. Companies had to reassess those plans in 2002. Given conditions at Topps, the USDA says more supervision is needed to ensure compliance and that USDA inspectors can adequately check plants. As of next month, plants must verify that they're effectively controlling E. coli O157:H7. "We can and must do better," Raymond says.

Herb Weisbaum of KOMO 4 TV in Seattle also reported on the state of the meat industry and the USDA's new initiatives.  Notice the last sentence from this excerpt:

As of November, all beef processing plants and slaughter houses will be expected to verify that they are effectively controlling e.coli during processing and slaughter.

Inspectors, who are in meat plants every day, are being retrained to do a better job of making sure proper food safety procedures are being used.

But even the most aggressive testing programs won't catch all the e.coli that could be in the meat. So to be safe, you need to treat all ground beef as if it is contaminated. [emphasis added]

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The Ithaca Journal's coverage of an E. coli lawsuit filed against Topps by Marler Clark highlights the firm's decision to ask the Court to award punitive damages to an 8-year-old child and his mother, who both became ill with E. coli infections after eating Topps ground beef patties at a barbecue.  The Journal quotes Dave Babcock, attorney for the Goodwins, on the decision to seek punitive damages and the USDA's recall policy:

“The USDA knew a child had gotten sick with E. coli for weeks ... in late August,” said Marler Clark Attorney David W. Babcock.

Topps did not make a recall until Sept. 25, he said.

While the Food and Drug Administration is a pro-consumer agency, it has no jurisdiction over meat and poultry.

“The USDA does not even have the statutory authority to force a recall. They cannot recall a product; they can only ask Topps to do so. In this case they didn't,” he said.

According to an Oct. 12 Associated Press article, consumer groups, including Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America, are asking that the U.S. Department of Agriculture gain the authority to issue recalls.

Bill Marler of Marler Clark also commented on the punitive damages issue in a press release about the second E. coli lawsuit the firm has filed against Topps:  “We are asking for punitive damages because had the company acted responsibly and recalled its products the day they discovered the E. coli contamination, Kristin and Lucas’ infections could have been prevented.  It was poor judgment on the part of Topps, and although Topps paid for this mistake by going out of business, consumers like the Goodwins paid with their health.”

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SEATTLE, WA (October 17, 2007) – A lawsuit seeking punitive damages was filed today against Topps, the New Jersey beef supplier that recalled nearly a year’s supply of frozen ground beef patties after its products were identified as the source of an E. coli outbreak in September.  The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Groton, New York, residents Keith and Kristin Goodwin and their 8-year-old son, Lucas, in Tompkins County Supreme Court by Seattle-based Marler Clark and Rochester-based Underberg & Kessler.

In the lawsuit, the Goodwin family’s attorneys state that Topps had knowledge of consumer illness tied to its products and a positive E. coli sample from its ground beef patties no later than September 8^th, seven days before Kristin and Lucas Goodwin ate Topps hamburgers.  Both mom and son were hospitalized on September 24^th, and both later tested positive for a genetically indistinguishable strain of E. coli O157:H7 from that isolated from Topps ground beef patties.  Kristin was released from the hospital on September 26^th, but Lucas developed hemolytic uremic syndrome and remained hospitalized for eight days.  While they were hospitalized, Topps recalled 332,000 pounds of ground beef products.  The company later expanded the recall to include 21.7 million pounds of ground beef. 

“We are asking for punitive damages because had the company acted responsibly and recalled its products the day they discovered the E. coli contamination, Kristin and Lucas’ infections could have been prevented,” said attorney William Marler, managing partner of Marler Clark.  “It was poor judgment on the part of Topps, and although Topps paid for this mistake by going out of business, consumers like the Goodwins paid with their health.”

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:  Marler Clark has represented thousands of victims of E. coli, Salmonella, and other foodborne illness outbreaks since 1993.  Marler Clark and Underberg & Kessler have combined efforts to represent victims of a number of outbreaks, including 72 victims of the Brook-Lea Country Club Salmonella outbreak in 2002, a young child who contracted E. coli and HUS after eating a Topps hamburger purchased at an Albany Price Chopper in 2005, and several victims of the Dole spinach E. coli outbreak in September, 2006.  For further information, contact Suzanne Schreck at (206) 346-1879 or sschreck@marlerclark.com.

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Reporter Stephen Hedges questions the way the Topps E. coli recall was handled in an article published today in the Chicago Tribune.  He chronicles the E. coli outbreak investigation and the response by USDA, giving the timeline from the first reported E. coli illness to confirmation of that illness and confirmation of E. coli in Topps hamburger patties and finally the recall and its expansion. 

One of the points Hedges makes in the article is that USDA knew of a positive E. coli test from a meat sample and a human sample over two weeks before the recall was initiated:

Amanda Eamich, a USDA spokeswoman, said that the USDA's recall committee first met on Sept. 25 to consider the Topps case, 18 days after E coli was confirmed in a Topps hamburger, according to Robertson's e-mail, which was provided to the Tribune.

The committee, comprised of department officials, concluded then that it should request a Class I recall of the Topps meat, she said.

Class I is the USDA's most serious recall class. It means that there is "a reasonable probability that eating the food will cause health problems or death."

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SEATTLE, WA (October 1, 2007) – A lawsuit was filed today against Topps Meat Company, the meat producer whose ground beef products have been identified as the source of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, and who expanded a ground beef recall to include 21.7 million pounds of meat over the weekend. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Albany County, New York, residents Robert and Catherine McDonald and their young daughter, who became ill with an E. coli O157:H7 infection and was hospitalized after eating a hamburger made of Topps Meats ground beef on August 17^th. The McDonald family is represented by the Seattle law firm, Marler Clark, and the upstate New York law firm Underberg & Kessler.

According to the lawsuit, the McDonalds’ daughter fell ill with symptoms of an E. coli infection, including nausea, diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, chills, and muscle aches on August 20. On August 22, she was admitted to the hospital, where she provided a stool specimen that later returned positive for E. coli O157:H7. She was released from the hospital on August 24, and continues her recovery at home. 

“We saw massive recalls and countless illnesses and deaths due to E. coli-contaminated ground beef in the 1990s,” said William Marler, attorney for the McDonald family. “Between 1993 and 2002, my clients were awarded $250 million in verdicts and settlements from the meat and restaurant industries. But in 2002, meat producers cleaned up their act. I touted the meat industry as a model for what an industry could do that was right to protect consumers.”

“Aside from sporadic cases, outbreaks traced back to meat products have been largely absent in the last five years,” Marler continued, noting that together with Underberg & Kessler Marler Clark represented another young Albany County child in a lawsuit against Topps two years ago. “2007 has been an anomaly in the meat industry, but now that outbreaks are happening, the industry needs to once again step up to the plate and compensate consumers for their injuries.”

BACKGROUND: 

Marler Clark and Underberg & Kessler have together represented hundreds of New York citizens who have become ill with food- or water-borne illnesses. The firms represented seventy victims of the Brook-Lea Country Club Salmonella outbreak in Rochester in 2002. They have also teamed up to represent a six-year-old girl from White Plains, New York, who developed HUS and nearly died after eating an E. coli-contaminated hamburger made with meat purchased from BJ’s Wholesale Club and the family of a man who died of an acute hepatitis A infection after eating at the Maple Lawn Dairy in Elmira, New York. The firms currently represent thousands of victims of the Cryptosporidium outbreak traced to contaminated water at the Seneca Lake State Park in central New York in 2005 and several victims of last year’s spinach E. coli outbreaks.

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At least 21 people in eight states are suspected to be part of an E. coli outbreak that has been traced back to consumption of ground beef products produced by Topps Meats, of Elizabeth, New Jersey.  The CDC has confirmed three cases linked to Topps, and is awaiting lab testing for confirmation of an additional 18 cases.  An Associated Press article from today offered more details about the outbreak investigation and products involved in the recall:

Contaminated burgers were found in one New York victim's home freezer by health officials.

The boxes recalled carry the number "Est. 9748" inside the USDA mark of inspection and were produced on June 22, July 12 or July 23, the USDA said.

The recalled products include certain 10-pound boxes of Butcher's Best 100% All Beef Patties; certain 10-pound boxes of Kohler Foods burgers; certain 10-pound boxes of Sand Castle Fine Meat; some 2-pound boxes of Topps 100% Pure Ground Beef Hamburgers; and some 3-pound boxes of Topps 100% Pure Ground Beef Hamburgers.

The company, the leading U.S. manufacturer of frozen hamburgers, said this was its first recall in its 65-year history.

Just over two weeks ago, Marler Clark filed an E. coli lawsuit on behalf of a Washington state resident who became ill after eating E. coli-contaminated ground beef produced by an Oregon company.  As in the current outbreak-situation, the earlier outbreak, traced back to meat products produced by Interstate Meats, was a multi-state outbreak with people in several states becoming ill with E. coli infections.  As a result of the outbreak, Interstate Meats recalled approximately 41,300 lbs. of ground beef products for potential E. coli O157:H7 contamination. The ground beef products were produced between July 19 and July 30, 2007, and had been distributed in retail stores in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington with a sell-by date between August 1 and August 11, 2007. Due to the timing of the recall, health officials urged consumers to check their freezers for recalled ground beef.

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The United States Department of Agriculture announced yesterday that Topps is recalling 331,582 pounds of frozen ground beef.  The recall was announced after an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak investigation identified Topps ground beef products as the source of an E. coli outbreak.

According to the Albany Times/Union, the E. coli outbreak was discovered by the New York Department of Agriculture, which was investigating several E. coli cases among New York residents. 

The agency discovered the contamination after people in Albany and Rensselaer counties got sick with a potentially deadly strain of E. coli. Officials tested the Topps hamburgers remaining in the victims' home freezers and found the same strain of the bacteria in the leftover meat as was found in one of the Albany County residents who got sick.

"It's the same strain that matches a multistate outbreak," Health Department spokeswoman Claudia Hutton said.

Information about the recall, supplied by the USDA, is as follows:

Each package also bears the establishment number “Est. 9748” inside the USDA mark of inspection.

The frozen ground beef products were produced on June 22, July 12 or July 23 and were distributed to food service institutions in the New York metropolitan area and to retail establishments nationwide.

An investigation into a cluster of illnesses in the Northeast region carried out by the New York State Department of Health in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention led to a positive product sample collected by the New York Department of Health.

For a list of products recalled, view the USDA recall release.

A previous Topps / Price Chopper E. coli outbreak:

In August, 2005, an eight-year-old Albany, New York girl became ill with an E. coli O157:H7 infection after eating a hamburger purchased from Price Chopper. The ground beef used in the hamburger had been supplied to Price Chopper by Topps Meats. Marler Clark filed an E. coli lawsuit on behalf of the girl, who developed Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome secondary to an E. coli infection.

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