Minnesota Salmonella Death: 2 Minnesota Deaths Tied to Salmonella
A second death in Minnesota has been reported by health officials in connection with a nationwide Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak that has hit the state hard. The overall wave of 425 illnesses in 43 states has been tied to bulk packages of peanut butter by health investigators in Minnesota and at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Doug Schultz, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Health, told the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) that the second Minnesota patient who died with the Salmonella infection was a man in his 70s who lived in a nursing home and had numerous underlying health problems. Previously, a 72-year-old woman who also had underlying health conditions also died after being sickened by the bacteria. Two other outbreak-related deaths were reported in Virginia.
Top food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker of Minneapolis said Wednesday that he has been retained to represent the heirs of the Minnesota woman who died. Pritzker, whose firm is one of the few in the country that practices extensively in foodborne illness litigation, has experience in practically all major food poisoning outbreaks, including the 2007 Salmonella outbreak associated with Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter.
To contact Fred Pritzker, please call (612)-338-0202, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free) or submit our free consultation form.
Minnesota now has 33 confirmed cases associated with the outbreak, up from 30 cases last week, the state department of health said. Schultz told CIDRAP that 12 of the patients were living in nursing homes and 13 were hospitalized.
After Minnesota investigators found Salmonella Typhimurium last week in a five-pound tub of King Nut creamy peanut butter that had been in use at a nursing home, Ohio-based King Nut Companies announced a voluntary recall of all of its peanut butter products. The brand, made under contract by Peanut Corporation of America, is sold only to foodservice accounts like long-term care facilities, hospitals, schools, and other institutions. Additional testing of the peanut butter in Minnesota confirmed a genetic match between the Salmonella in the peanut butter and the Salmonella found in the 43-state outbreak.
On Wednesday, more recalls were announced.
Virginia-based Peanut Corporation of America recalled King Nut and Parnell’s Pride peanut butter produced in its Blakely, Georgia, processing plant “because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.”
Later, Kellogg Company of Battle Creek, Mich., said it was putting a hold on all of its inventories of Austin and Keebler branded peanut butter sandwich crackers, peanut butter and jelly sandwich crackers, cheese and peanut butter sandwich crackers and peanut butter-chocolate sandwich crackers.
Kellogg said it was taking the step as a precaution and was unaware of any illness complaints. The company said the move was prompted by the Salmonella outbreak because Peanut Corporation of America supplies some of the peanut paste that goes into the peanut crackers.
Tags: King Nut, Minnesota salmonella, peanut butter salmonella, salmonella death, salmonella lawsuit, salmonella lawyer, salmonella outbreak
