3 Deaths in Salmonella Outbreak
According to USA Today’s latest figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, 425 people in 43 states have been sickened by the same genetically matched strain of Salmonella Typhimurium. The 4-month-old outbreak has become associated with three deaths: one in Minnesota and two in Virginia, according to the newspaper.
The CDC and health investigators from the state of Minnesota and other states are still investigating the outbreak. The CDC has said its own research has shown that commercially sold peanut butter — not retail brands purchased at grocery stores — is the likely cause of the outbreak. In Minnesota, officials have issued a product advisory against King Nut brand peanut butter because a container of the product that was in use at a Minnesota long-term care facility tested positive in a genetic match to the outbreak strain of Salmonella.
In addition, distributor King Nut Companies of Solon, Ohio, has recalled all King Nut peanut butter.
Minneapolis attorney Fred Pritzker, whose firm is one of the few in the nation practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation, has called on the responsible companies to quickly pay medical bills and wage loss benefits of victims. He said it is a sign of something wrong with the federal food safety system for this to be the second Salmonella outbreak involving peanut butter in less than two years. Read our press release below.
Pritzker, who has been involved in practically every major food poisoning outbreak including the Peter Pan peanut butter outbreak of early 2007, has collected millions of dollars on behalf of victims of food poisoning. For more information, visit http://www.pritzkerlaw.com/ or contact Fred Pritzker at (612) 338-0202.
Pritzker Press Release
Minneapolis, Minn. (January 12, 2009) — The second major U.S. Salmonella outbreak in less than 24 months involving peanut butter suggests an industry-wide problem and demonstrates the need for more intense regulation and faster detection of an outbreak’s source, leading food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker said.
“The American public should not have to guess about the safety of a product beloved by children,” said Pritzker, one of the nation’s most experienced practitioners of foodborne illness litigation.
King Nut Companies of Solon, Ohio, has announced a recall of its King Nut brand of peanut butter after the Minnesota Department of Health, working in conjunction with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, announced it found evidence that Salmonella Typhimurium found in a five-pound container of King Nut creamy peanut is a genetic match to the strains of Salmonella associated with the national outbreak.
King Nut peanut butter is manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America, a company based in Lynchburg, Virginia. The brand is sold to commercial foodservice accounts, including nursing homes and hospitals, not to retail stores.
Pritzker’s Minneapolis law firm has been closely monitoring developments in the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak that has sickened at least 410 people in 43 states since mid-September, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Three deaths are associated with the outbreak, the CDC has said. In early 2007, Pritzker witnessed first hand the suffering of clients sickened in a nationwide Salmonella outbreak caused by Peter Pan and Great Value brand peanut butter.
In that instance, ConAgra recalled the product, but not before it was linked to 628 Salmonella illnesses in 47 states, according to the CDC.
Pritzker said federal agencies have failed to readily find the cause of two consecutive Salmonella outbreaks, raising questions about the government’s effectiveness. Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration drew heavy criticism for falsely correlating a nationwide Salmonella outbreak with U.S.-grown tomatoes. After weeks passed and more than 1,400 people became ill, the same Minnesota investigators who zeroed in on King Nut peanut butter correctly linked last year’s Salmonella outbreak to jalapeno peppers grown in Mexico.
Pritzker said the record is evidence that more resources must be devoted to federal food safety — both in prevention of contamination and detection of outbreaks. The current system is undermined by too much fragmentation of responsibility and not enough coordination between federal, state and local agencies, Pritzker said.
“This means more money and more staff must be devoted to federal food safety,” Pritzker said.
“One also has to wonder if microbiological testing is lax,” Pritzker said, especially in manufactured foods such as peanut butter. “This isn’t a case involving fresh produce that is difficult to test. It’s about a food product with a long shelf life that should not be allowed to leave the manufacturer unless its safety is confirmed.”
Pritzker called on the companies involved in the latest outbreak to launch a major communications effort to alert consumers to the dangers associated with the products that have been recalled. The campaign should include instructions for handling and testing product believed to be associated with the outbreak, he said.
In addition, Pritzker called on the responsible companies to immediately agree to pay for medical expenses and wage loss benefits for victims linked to the outbreak. There also should be a prompt and robust plan for reimbursing purchasers for the cost of the recalled product, he said.
Salmonella in Peanut Butter Confirmed
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found evidence that commercially sold peanut butter is the “likely source” of a Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak that may have contributed to three deaths.
In all, the CDC said Monday that 410 people in 43 states have been sickened by the same genetically matched bacteria. The government health agency said it is still investigating the cause of the outbreak, but for the first time CDC officials said Monday that the King Nut brand of peanut butter was the only peanut butter in use at long-term care facilities, hospitals, schools and other institutions where clusters of infections occurred in several states.
“To date, no association has been found with common brand names of peanut butter sold in grocery stores,” the CDC said.
Ohio-based King Nut Companies has voluntarily recalled all King Nut and Parnell’s Pride containers of peanut butter that it sells. The company has said the products are only sold to commercial food service accounts, not retail stores. The peanut butter is manufactured by Virginia-based Peanut Corporation of America.
Health investigators in Minnesota first identified King Nut peanut butter as the possible source of the outbreak. Over the weekend, the state’s departments of agriculture and health did further testing of Salmonella bacteria they found in a five-pound tub of King Nut creamy peanut butter that was in use at a long-term care facility where one of Minnesota’s 30 illnesses was reported.
According to a press release, the lab analyses confirmed a genetic match between the strains of Salmonella bacteria found in the container and the strains of bacteria associated with the outbreak illnesses around the country.
But the Minnesota team will continue its investigation. Officials said they will test tubs of the peanut butter never before opened. There is a chance the open container that tested positive for the outbreak strain of Salmonella was cross-contaminated from something else.
The CDC did not provide information about the three outbreak illnesses where death occurred. A spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Health has said a Minnesota woman in her 70s who had other health conditions died with an infection.
Advice to consumers:
The CDC said persons who think they may have become ill from eating peanut butter should consult their health care providers.
In addition, if you have been sickened by this outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium, you may be entitled to compensation (King Nut Peanut Butter Lawsuit). To contact our law firm, please call 612-338-0202, 1-800-377-8900 (toll-free) or submit our free case consultation form.
According to the latest breakdown of known cases from the CDC, 410 people have been sickened in 43 states. The top four states are Texas with 55 cases, Ohio with 53, Massachusetts with 40 and Minnesota with 30.
Among 388 persons with dates available, illness began between Sept. 15, 2008, and Jan. 7, 2009. Most illnesses began after Oct. 1. Patients range in age from less than 1 to 98 years; 48 percent are female and 18 percent have been hospitalized.
