Following a massive recall issued by Taylor Farms Retail Inc., the outbreak has reached a total of 39 states, nearly 80% of the country, including: Wyoming, Wisconsin, Virginia, Utah, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, New York, New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, Nebraska, North Carolina, Montana, Mississippi, Minnesota, Missouri, Maryland, Louisiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Idaho, Iowa, Hawaii, Georgia, Florida, Delaware, Colorado, California, Arizona, Arkansas, Alabama, Alaska, Washington and Oregon. While the CDC only reports 33 cases over five states, 13 of those have resulted in hospitalizations. The affected products include five-ounce packages of Simple Truth Organic  Baby Spinach with UPC 0-11110-91128-5 and “Best By” date of 2/24/2013, as well  as 16-ounce trays of Taylor Farms Organic Baby Spinach with UPC 0-30223-04780-3  and “Best By” date of 2/24/2013.

If you or a loved one have experienced health issues related to ingesting one of these products, the attorneys at Strong, Garner, Bauer P.C. are here to help. Call our office at (417) 887-4300, or email info@stronglaw.com for your free consultation.

For more information, visit:

http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2012/O157H7-11-12/index.html

Tri-Union Seafoods, LLC has issued a voluntary recall on various canned tuna products due to a manufacturing error that prevented the cans from meeting safety standards set by the company.  Cans that do not meet seam standards could result in product contamination by spoilage organisms or by pathogens, which could lead to illness if consumed. The specific product being recalled is Chicken of the Sea Brand 5-ounce chunk white albacore tuna in water sold at retail locations nationwide in single cans between February 4, 2013 and February 27, 2013.

If you or a loved one have come into contact with the products mentioned above and experienced illness as a result, the personal injury attorneys at Strong-Garner-Bauer P.C. can help you. Call our office at (417) 887-4300 or email us at info@stronglaw.com for a free consultation.

For more information on the recall, visit:

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm342650.htm?source=govdelivery

In the last month, multiple U.S. food-processing companies have been forced to recall various products due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, the bacterium responsible for causing Listeriosis. A few of the companies on the list are; Sprouters Northwest, GoldCoast Salads, Whole Foods Market, Knott’s Fine Foods Inc., and Delifish. The affected products range anywhere from cream cheese bagels and packaged chicken salads to cold smoked fish products and assorted sprouts, such as alfalfa, clover, etc.

Complications resulting from exposure to the Listeria bacteria are host-specific and can vary greatly from one case to the next. Most people experience symptoms commonly associated with ‘food poisoning’ such as fever and body aches, usually preceded by nausea or other gastrointestinal issues. That being said, listeriosis is considered an ‘invasive’ infection, meaning it can move beyond the gastrointestinal tract and infect other parts of the body. Those most at risk are older adults, children, and those with immunodeficient conditions. These people are susceptible to the normal symptoms as well as septicemia and meningitis in some cases. Pregnant women experience the same symptoms, but the stakes are higher as infection can also result in miscarriage, still birth, and premature delivery. Even babies that make it to term are at risk for serious infections, such as bacteremia and meningitis.

If you or someone you know have been affected by one of the products on this list, the attorneys at Strong-Garner-Bauer P.C. are here to help. Call our office at (417) 887-4300 or email info@stronglaw.com for a consultation.

For more information on Food Recalls, visit:

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm

Atlanta — The Centers for Disease Control is collaborating with public health officials in several states and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium infections. Joint investigation efforts indicate that cantaloupe grown in southwestern Indiana is a likely source of this outbreak.  As a result of the initial investigations by the state health departments in Indiana and Kentucky, a farm in southwestern Indiana has contacted its distributors, which reach outside Indiana into other states, and is withdrawing its cantaloupe from the market place.The farm has agreed to cease distributing cantaloupes for the rest of the growing season.

Public health investigators are using DNA “fingerprints” of Salmonella bacteria obtained through diagnostic testing with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, or PFGE, to identify cases of illness that may be part of this outbreak. They are using data from PulseNet, the national subtyping network made up of state and local public health laboratories and federal food regulatory laboratories that performs molecular surveillance of foodborne infections.

A total of 141 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from 20 states.  The number of ill people identified in each state is as follows:  Alabama (7), Arkansas (3), California (2), Georgia (1), Illinois (17), Indiana (13), Iowa (7), Kentucky (50), Michigan (6), Minnesota (3), Missouri (9), Mississippi (2), New Jersey (1), North Carolina (3), Ohio (3), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (3), Tennessee (6), Texas (1), and Wisconsin (2).

Among persons for whom information is available, illness onset dates range from July 7, 2012 to August 4, 2012. Ill persons range in age from less than 1 to 92 years, with a median age of 49 years old. Fifty-five percent of ill persons are female. Among 64 persons with available information, 31 (48%) patients reported being hospitalized. Two deaths have been reported in Kentucky.

Read More:

http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=689802

If you or someone you know has fallen ill with salmonella  from tainted cantalope, please contact the experienced Missouri injury attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

An article by the Columbian Daily Tribune has reported that two more individuals have become ill with e coli in Central Missouri. The article reads as follows:

Raw dairy products are cited as a “possible risk factor” in two more cases of a strain of E. coli that has now sickened seven people in Central Missouri.

State health officials reported yesterday that the same strain of E. coli bacteria has been confirmed in infections in Boone, Howard, Cooper and Camden counties. Three of the cases, including a 2-year-old girl who is still hospitalized, are in Boone County.

Five of the E. coli victims are adults. The hospitalized 2-year-old, in addition to a 17-month-old in another county, developed symptoms of hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, a severe condition that can lead to permanent kidney damage.

Symptoms of E. coli infection include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting. A fever is sometimes present but is not high. State health officials said most patients’ symptoms improve in five to seven days, but some patients go on to develop HUS, usually about a week after the diarrhea starts.

Gena Terlizzi, public information officer for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said consumption of raw dairy products has been identified as a “possible risk factor in some of these cases.” State and county health officials haven’t positively identified the source of the E. coli outbreak.

Terlizzi did not say whether other possible sources of contamination were being investigated.

Current Missouri law provides a limited exception to state milk inspection laws for farmers to sell raw milk or cream directly to consumers. Geni Alexander, public information officer for the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services, said a bill now under consideration in the Missouri Senate, SB 841, would expand the exception to allow a farmer to sell as much as 100 gallons of raw milk or cream per day at a farmers market.

The city/county health department advises consumers to avoid consumption of any raw dairy product. Alexander said raw milk producers are not subject to inspection by the local health department, which does not track or have a list of people who sell raw milk.

The only time local inspectors would encounter raw dairy products would be during an inspection of a retail food establishment, including farmers markets, mobile food markets and restaurants.

“If we find raw milk at a retail food establishment, we order it destroyed,” Alexander said.

Christine Tew, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Agriculture, said in jurisdictions where the sale of raw milk or cream is allowed, producers must first apply to the State Milk Board for a permit. The permit requires compliance with bottling, capping and labeling regulations. Tew said the only permitted facility in Missouri is located in Galena.

Read more: http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/apr/11/two-more-cases-of-e-coli-found-in-central-missouri/

If you or someone you know have become ill with e coli, please contact the experienced Springfield, Missouri e coli attorneys of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.

Missouri state health officials have confirmed that five people from central Missouri, including two toddlers, have become contaminated with E coli since March. Although the exact cause of the contamination is yet to be known, health officials did say that three of the patients reportedly ingested raw dairy products. The health department says that the two year and seventeen month old remain hospitalized with life-threatening conditions affecting their kidneys. The other cases are from Cooper and Howard counties.

If you or someone you love has become ill from an e coli contaminated product, please contact the experienced Springfield, Missouri e coli lawyers of Strong-Garner-Bauer, P.C. at 417-887-4300.