Long Beach Personal Injury Lawyer - Food Poisoning

Salmonella in Chocolate Forces Recall

Shannon Weidemann — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:10:16 GMT

Kraft Foods has announced a recall of Baker's Premium White Chocolate Baking Squares. The chocolate may have been contaminated with salmonella. 24,000 cases of baking chocolate is affected by the recall.

The recall came after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration detected salmonella in some packages of Baker's Premium, Kraft said. Salmonella is a bacterium that can cause fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps, and can create life-threatening infections in people with weakened immune systems.
Kraft has had no reports of consumers getting ill from the affected baking squares, said Cathy Pernu, a Kraft spokeswoman.

The baking chocolate was made in Canada. It comes in six-ounce packages. If you have the recalled chocolate do not use it and throw it away.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Children Fall Ill from Food Poisoning

Shannon Weidemann — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 19:58:03 GMT

Over 200 children fell ill from food poisoning in a Chinese kindergarten on Thursday. It is unknown what caused the food poisoning. The school is in the province of Gansu. All of the children spent some time in a hospital for treatment.

The 147 boys and 113 girls, between the ages of 4 and 6, are students of Shiyan Kindergarten in Wuwei City. They were taken to the city's two hospitals starting on Wednesday for vomiting, fever and stomachaches.
Government officials said on Thursday that 244 have recovered and 16 are still suffering from a fever. The management of the kindergarten refused to comment on what happened.

The food poisoning is being investigated and authorities hope to know soon what caused it.

If you would like to learn more about food poisoning, please visit InjuryBoard's Food Poisoning information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Baby Carrots Recalled for Shigella

Shannon Weidemann — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 12:20:15 GMT

Baby carrots sold at grocery stores such as Trader Joe's and Krogers have been recalled because of possible contamination with Shigella. Shigella can cause food poisoning if ingested and is especially harmful to the elderly and babies and children. The baby carrots were distributed by Los Angeles Salad Co.

The product was sold under two labels -- "Los Angeles Salad Genuine Sweet Baby Carrots" and "Trader Joe's Genuine Sweet Baby Carrots."
The recall was initiated after it was discovered the same product sold in Canada was contaminated with Shigella.

The recalled baby carrots were sold in California, Nevada, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and Arizona. They had sell by dates of August 8 and August 16.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Tainted Ginger Found in California

Shannon Weidemann — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 13:02:03 GMT

Fresh ginger that was imported from China and distributed to stores in California may be tainted with aldicarb sulfoxide. The aldicarb sulfoxide was used as a pesticide, but it can be harmful if ingested by humans. Food poisoining symptoms associated with aldicarb sulfoxide can mimic the flu and usually appear one hour after eating.

According to the CDPH, the product is known to have been distributed to Albertson's stores and Save Mart stores in northern California by Christopher Ranch of Gilroy, Calif.
CDPH and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are tracing the imported ginger from the importer, Modern Trading Inc. in Alhambra, Calif., to determine the full distribution of the product and to identify other retail stores that may have received the product, according to the CDPH.

If you are experiencing any flu-like symptoms or worse after eating fresh ginger, then you should contact your doctor right away. No one has reported aldicarb poisoning, but the CDPH is asking people to discard any fresh ginger.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Botulism Outbreak Prompts Canned Food Recall

IB Contributor — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 12:24:35 GMT

This recall by Castleberry's Food Co. of Augusta, Georgia is the second by the company in a week after their products were linked to four cases of botulism the first in commercially canned foods in years.

According to the Augusta Chronicle, Dave Melbourne, Castleberry's senior vice president, stressed that all other foods under the Castleberry's name are safe but the company decided to go ahead and recall 20,000 cases of potentially contaminated products.

A second recall in a week and the public is to believe that "all other foods under the Castleberry's name are safe"? Not at my house. If we have ANY of their products they will be in the trash as soon as I finish this article.

Botulism isn't something to be taken lightly, it can be fatal. According to the Center For Disease Control And Prevention, it can take 18 to 36 hours after eating contaminated food for botulism symptoms to show up. Initial symptoms of botulism include muscle weakness, dry mouth, difficulty swallowing, slurred speech, blurred vision and double vision, according to the CDC's website. Check out what else the Center For Disease Control And Prevention has say about botulism (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/botulism_g.htm).

If you have questions about the recall, call Castleberry's at 1-888-203-8446.

According to the Associated Press, the brand names of the recalled products include Austex, Best Yet, Big Y, Black Rock, Bloom, Bryan, Bunker Hill, Castleberry's, Cattle Drive, Firefighters, Food Club, Food Lion, Goldstar, Great Value, Kroger, Lowes, Meijer, Morton House, Paramount, Piggly Wiggly, Prudence, Southern Home, Steak N Shake, Thrifty Maid, Triple Bar and Value Time. The recall also includes four varieties of Natural Balance dog food.

Luckily there are only about 100 reported botulism cases in the United States a year. I suspect that there a many more that either go reported or undiagnoised.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by IB Contributor

Food Tasting Event in Chicago Marred by Salmonella

Shannon Weidemann — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 12:01:14 GMT

The Taste of Chicago food tasting festival was held at the beginning of July. The event has been running every summer for over 20 years. A large number of people have reported falling ill after eating at the event. Their food poisoning has been linked to Salmonella. The food poisoning has been linked to one booth run by the Pars Cove restaurant.

It was the first confirmed outbreak of a food-borne illness associated with the Taste of Chicago in at least 20 years, the health department said in a release. The 10-day outdoor festival, which ended Sunday, brings out food from more than 70 restaurants and concerts.
Mike Bambouyani, manager of Pars Cove, said the restaurant is cooperating with health officials to determine the cause of the outbreak.

It is unknown how many people ate at the booth, but the number of people reporting food poisoning is expected to grow. Salmonella is a potentially fatal illness that can cause vomitting and diarrhea.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Veggie Booty Recalled For Food Poisoning

Shannon Weidemann — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 18:40:08 GMT

A popular snack food has been recalled after it has been linked to a multi-state outbreak of Salmonellosis. The recalled product is Veggie Booty. There have been 51 reports of the food poisoning around the country starting in March. The salmonellosis has mostly affected children and babies.

Robert's American Gourmet, the makers of Veggie Booty, today announced an immediate recall of all Veggie Booty products.
"At this time we don't have enough information to be able to limit the recall to particular production lots," says William E. Keene, senior epidemiologist in the Oregon Department of Human Services Public Health Division. "Anyone who has packages of Veggie Booty in their home should return it to the store or throw it away."

Symptoms of Salmonellosis include vomitting, diarrhea, and fever. You should contact your doctor if you have eaten the recalled food and have any of these symptoms.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Food Poisoning Can Come in Many Forms

Shannon Weidemann — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 14:55:22 GMT

Food poisoning can come in many forms and there are more that 250 food-borne illnesses. Most have the following symptoms though: nausea, vomitting, cramps, and diarrhea. It is important to know the signs and what to look for if you ever encounter

Food-borne illnesses generally fall into two categories: those from food poisoning and those from an infection. Food poisoning is technically a sickness caused by chemicals, sometimes produced by microorganisms.
The symptoms of food poisoning typically appear from 30 minutes to two hours after ingesting food and usually include vomiting. The rare disease botulism results from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, which produces a paralytic toxin.
An infection, by contrast, is caused by the microorganisms themselves. The symptoms usually don't appear until 12 to 24 hours after ingesting food and tend to include diarrhea, he said.

If you think you have been the victim of a food borne illness it is important to contact your doctor or local county health department.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Seafood Warning Given in California

Shannon Weidemann — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 11:33:58 GMT

There has been a rash of birds falling ill and dying from a naturally occuring domoic acid poisoning and California health officials have issued a warning against eating certain seafoods. Domoic acid can be found in shellfish and fish caught off the southern California coast.

The seafood warning pertains to bivalve (two-shelled) shellfish such as oysters, clams and scallops, as well as anchovies taken off the coast of Los Angeles, Orange, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
The warning applies to seafood caught from shore and boats.
The fishing season for some of the creatures covered by the warning is ending. But other species now quarantined, such as mussels and Pismo clams, are harvested throughout the year, according to state sportfishing regulations.

Signs of domoic acid poisoning in humans can happen up to 24 hours after injesting it. They include diarrhea, cramps, vomitting, dizziness, and headache. Severe cases can lead to coma and death. Please contact your doctor if you think you have domoic acid poisoning.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Safety Inspections Not Done on School Cafeterias

Shannon Weidemann — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:57:36 GMT

Starting with the 2005-06 school year Congress required all school cafeterias to have two health inspections a year. 30 percent of schools in the last year only received one inspection. Health inspections are important to check for conditions where germs may grow, to make sure employees are washing their hands, and other food safety violations.

Schools in the Long Beach Unified School District are subject to the same health standards that the city sets for restaurants, said district spokesman Chris Eftychiou. Cafeterias are inspected by the city health department.
"They do those reviews and make sure that everything is in compliance," he said. "We have an outstanding food service operation with a great safety record."
Jackie Hampton, food program supervisor in the department, said the Long Beach Health Department has met with the LBUSD to discuss the federal inspection requirements.
The health department is "on target" to inspect school facilities twice this school year, she said.

Sixty one percent of schools were in compliance with the new regulations and received two health inspections. It is not the responsibility of the school district to be inspected, but the local health department.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann