Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Tag: pathogen

  • Discovery of New Listeria Species May Improve Food Testing

    Cornell University researchers have reportedly identified five new species of Listeria that they suggest could provide new insights leading to better methods of detecting soil bacteria in food. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the research was part of a larger study led by scientists at Colorado State University and Cornell to examine the…

  • Court Conducts Daubert Hearing in Criminal Case Against Peanut Co. Owner

    A federal court in Georgia presiding over a criminal action against the owner and employees of the now-defunct Peanut Corp. of America, purportedly involved in a 2009 nationwide Salmonella outbreak, conducted a hearing on March 13, 2014, to determine whether the expert testimony proffered as to owner Stewart Parnell’s ability to form the intent to…

  • FDA Refuses to Stay Effective Date for Use of Irradiation

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule denying requests for a stay of the effective date and for a hearing on the final rule concerning the use of irradiation in food production, processing and handling. Originally appearing in the August 22, 2008, Federal Register, the rule amended food additive regulations to…

  • Foodborne Illness Toxin Allegedly Linked to MS

    Weill Cornell Medical College scientists have reportedly presented an abstract at the 2014 American Society for Microbiology (AMS) Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting, positing that “multiple sclerosis [MS] may be triggered by a toxin produced by common foodborne bacteria.” According to a January 28, 2014, AMS press release, “MS is an inflammatory disease of…

  • Cantaloupe Farmers Sentenced, No Jail Time

    A federal magistrate in Denver, Colorado, has sentenced Eric and Ryan Jensen, who owned the cantaloupe farm linked to a deadly Listeria outbreak in 2011, to five years of probation, with the first six months in home detention, 100 hours of community service each, and the payment of restitution—$150,000 each—with the money awarded to their…

  • Jensen Brothers Ask Court Not to Impose Jail Time

    Eric and Ryan Jensen, who owned the cantaloupe farm linked to a deadly 2011 Listeria outbreak, have reportedly urged a court, following their pleas to charges related to the incident, not to sentence them to prison. Additional details about the plea and charges appear in Issue 500 of this Update. They apparently claim that they…

  • Suit Fails Against Cantaloupe Farm Auditor

    A federal court in Oklahoma has dismissed, without leave to amend, claims filed against the company that audited Jensen Farms before a 2011 Listeria outbreak sickened dozens of consumers, including the plaintiff, who allegedly contracted listeriosis from the strain linked to the farm’s cantaloupe and was hospitalized for a month. Underwood v. Jensen Farms, No.…

  • FSIS Issues New Compliance Guidelines for Hog Facilities

    The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is requesting comments on its draft guidance for controlling Salmonella in hog slaughter facilities. Intended to “provide information on best practices to prevent, eliminate or reduce levels of Salmonella on hogs at all stages of slaughter and dressing,” FSIS issued the guidance in response to recent Salmonella outbreaks…