Tag: E. coli
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California Court Reverses $12-Million Verdict , Rules Spinach Contamination Not Insured
A California court of appeal has determined that a trial court erred in allowing a spinach seller to recover $12 million under the accidental contamination portion of its insurance policy. Fresh Express Inc. v. Beazley Syndicate 2623/623 at Lloyd’s, No. H035246 (Cal. Ct. App., decided September 8, 2011) (unpublished). According to the court, the produce…
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USDA Intends to Ban Six E. Coli Strains in Raw Beef Products
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently announced its intention to prohibit six serogroups of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) in addition to E. coli O157:H7. According to FSIS, the agency plans to begin testing for the additional STEC on March 5, 2012, at which time those six strains will…
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Mark Bittman, “Irradiation and the ‘Ick Factor,’” The New York Times, July 26, 2011
“The big question is this: How do we get the safest and most ethical food system possible while adequately feeding ourselves?,” asks New York Times columnist Mark Bittman in this latest opinion piece supporting “a massive overhaul of the food system.” Discussing recent E. coli outbreaks in Europe, Bittman concedes that the controversial process known…
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EC Promotes Fruit, Vegetable Consumption Following E. Coli Outbreak
The European Commission (EC) has launched a promotional campaign “to help address the difficulties faced by the fresh fruit and vegetables sector following the E. coli crisis.” Consisting of an advertorial and an audiovisual package for distribution in all European Union (EU) member states, the effort is reportedly an attempt to “win back consumer trust.”…
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Ongoing E. Coli Investigation Implicates Egyptian Fenugreek
The European Union (EU) has temporarily prohibited the importation of some seeds and bean sprouts from Egypt after a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) report linked the products to an E. coli O104:H4 outbreak that reportedly killed 51 people, including as many as six U.S. citizens. According to a July 5, 2011, EU press release,…
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Federal Agencies Address Salmonella in Meat, Poultry, Shell Eggs
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced an expansion of the Salmonella Initiative Program (SIP) to help industry reduce foodborne pathogens in raw meat and poultry products. The agency has extended the comment period to September 12, 2011. According to FSIS, the voluntary, incentive-based program allows “participating establishments…
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German Authorities Eye Bean Sprouts in Deadly E. Coli Outbreak
German authorities have finally narrowed the field of suspects in an E. coli outbreak affecting Europe, where a reported 31 people have died from a rare strain of the disease. Speaking at a June 10, 2011, press conference, Robert Koch Institute President Reinhard Burger confirmed that an organic bean sprout farm is the likely epicenter,…
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Taco Bell Appeals Insurance Coverage Case to Ninth Circuit
Taco Bell has requested that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals review a district court determination that three insurance companies are not required to provide coverage under commercial liability policies for economic loss allegedly arising from decreased patronage in the wake of a 2006 E. coli outbreak. Nat’l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, PA v.…