Tag: pathogen

  • New FDA Bottled Water Rules Aim to Combat E. Coli

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule that requires bottled water manufacturers to face stricter standards to prevent E. coli contamination . All manufacturers are currently required to test source water for germs each week, but starting December 1, 2009, if tests prove positive for E. coli, companies must explain in…

  • UK Scientists Discover Salmonella’s Sweet Tooth Could Lead to Vaccination Against It

    UK scientists have shown in new research that the food-poisoning bug Salmonella relies on glucose for its survival, a discovery that could apparently provide a new way to vaccinate against it. Steven D. Bowden, et al, “Glucose and glycolysis are required for the successful infection of macrophages and mice by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium,” Infection and Immunity…

  • Tenth Circuit Refuses to Enjoin Use of Poultry Waste as Fertilizer

    The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s decision not to enjoin Tyson Foods, Inc. from using poultry litter as fertilizer. Oklahoma v. Tyson Foods, Inc., No. 08-5154 (10th Cir., decided May 13, 2009). Oklahoma’s attorney general sought a preliminary injunction to halt the practice, arguing that poultry litter contains E. coli,…

  • Maple Leaf Listeriosis Litigation Settled; Claims Process Established

    Courts in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec have approved a nationwide settlement of claims filed by those allegedly affected by consuming Listeria-tainted meat products produced by Maple Leaf Foods. The 2008 outbreak reportedly sickened 57 people in seven Canadian provinces, and the Listeria strain was purportedly ruled to be the “underlying or contributing cause” in the…

  • James E. McWilliams, “Free-Range Trichinosis,” The New York Times, April 10, 2009

    “Free range is not necessarily natural. In fact, free-range is like piggy day care, a thoughtfully arranged system designed to meet the needs of consumers who despise industrial agriculture and adore the idea of wildness,” writes James McWilliams in this op-ed article questioning claims that free-range products confer “indisputable” health benefits. According to McWilliams, a…

  • Marshals Execute Warrant at N.J. Company That Refused to Recall Peanut Products

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that U.S. marshals executed an inspection warrant at Westco Fruit and Nuts, Inc., in Irvington, New Jersey, after the company refused to recall its peanut products or provide access to distribution documents in the wake of the Salmonella outbreak involving peanuts from the Peanut Corp. of America…

  • Salmonella-Tainted Sprouts Spawn Nebraska Lawsuit

    Food litigator William Marler has reportedly filed the first lawsuit against CW Sprouts for a recent Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak that purportedly sickened more than 100 in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Stephen Beumler of Omaha apparently claims that he ate a sandwich with the company’s alfalfa sprouts and fell ill with the Salmonella strain…

  • Insurer Not on the Hook for Settlement of Bad Faith Claim Involving Listeria Outbreak

    Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. settled claims that its insurance carrier unjustifiably refused to pay a significant portion of coverage owed to the food company arising out of a Listeria outbreak. The insurance company that agreed to provide coverage to Pilgrim’s insurer for any bad faith claims successfully mounted against it has been granted a declaratory judgment…