Salmonella Blog - Surveillance & analysis on salmonella news & outbreaks

The national law firm of Marler Clark has filed its fourth salmonella lawsuit against Brinker Restaurant Corp., owner of the now-closed Vernon Hills Chili's Grill & Bar.

The federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of Claude McDermott, who became seriously ill with a salmonella infection and suffered permanent injury after eating catered, take-out food from Chili's, according to Marler Clark attorney Denis Stearns.

Stearns said Thursday the "Chili's Party Platters" were served as part of a celebration at his place of work, a "celebration turned-bad that resulted in Claude and a host of co-workers falling ill."

The lawsuit, in addition to seeking compensation for past medical bills, and general damages for pain and suffering, seeks punitive damages, alleging Chili's "acted in a grossly negligent manner.
 

Penzeys Spices is recalling its packages of Hungarian Half-Sharp Paprika, sold in Texas and elsewhere, because of the possibility of salmonella contamination.

The Brookfield, Wis., company said the recall involves 1,724 pounds of the spice sold since last August in a variety of sizes, according to the Associated Press.

The company distributes spices through mail order and Penzeys Spices stores in Texas, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The company said no reports of illness have been received but the recall was initiated after routine testing by the state of Florida revealed the presence of salmonella in some 2.5-ounce jars of the paprika.

Production of the product has been suspended.
 

Kar Nut Products Company of Ferndale, MI, is recalling various Kar Nut branded packages of mixes containing raw almonds because they have the potential to be contaminated with salmonella, according to a press release.

The recalled product was manufactured with almonds received from Paramount Farms and were distributed nationwide in vending machines and retail stores. This recall is in follow-up to a voluntary recall announced in mid-May by Paramount Farms of California of whole and diced raw almonds based on over 20 possible cases of illnesses associated with the almonds.

Production of the affected product has been suspended while the FDA and Paramount Farms continue their investigation as to the source of the problem.
 

Attorney William Marler has filed a U.S. District Court lawsuit against Paramount Farms of California for a Kennewick family who ate tainted raw almonds in February.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a recall last week of 5 million pounds of the raw almonds after five cases of salmonella poisoning in which they were the common denominator were identified in Oregon.

Paramount Foods voluntarily expanded the recall Saturday to include 13 million pounds and eight other countries after investigators in other states uncovered more cases.

So far, 18 victims have been confirmed, but others are anticipated.

The Kennewick family bought raw almonds at a Costco store in January. Three of them became sick enough to need hospitalization. The youngest, a 9-month-old boy, is recovering slowly, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit contends Paramount Farms was negligent by not pasteurizing its product.
 

Melissa Plantenga, who tracks food-borne diseases for the Oregon Department of Human Services, detected a pattern that would force Los Angeles-based Paramount Farms Inc., the nation's largest almond grower, to recall 13 million pounds of almonds over the last week, equivalent to about a quarter of its annual production.

Soon after the Department started receiving calls about illnesses, she, armed with a 400-question survey, started calling the five Oregon residents who had been stricken with salmonella poisoning, according to the Los Angeles Times.

By the third call, Platenga learned that the victims had all eaten shelled raw almonds purchased at a Costco Wholesale Corp. store. Costco's ability to use membership numbers to track every purchase helped confirm Plantenga's deduction.

After learning of the recall, Costco sent more than 1 million letters to customers who purchased the almonds asking them to return any remaining nuts, a Costco spokesman said.

Using Costco's data, investigators traced the nuts back to Paramount Farms.

California farmers supply about 80% of the world's almonds, up from 60% a decade ago, growth fueled in part by opening up new markets, such as India and Eastern Europe. The recall -- the largest ever of California almonds -- has roiled the state's $1.2-billion industry.

Paramount Farms has started to sterilize all its raw almonds with propylene oxide gas.

Doug Youngdahl of Blue Diamond said that some method of pasteurization or sterilization should become the industry standard for raw nuts.

It is a prudent move, he said, considering that the nuts are harvested by shaking the tree until they fall to the ground, where there can be microbes and other germs.

"No one wants to sell a product that makes the customer sick," Youngdahl said.
 

Evans Food Products of Chicago, Illinois is recalling nearly 25,000 pounds of pork rinds because the pork rinds may be contaminated with salmonella.

The affected brand names are Old Dutch, Bac'n Puffs Brand; Original Oriental Delight; Better Made; Higglets; Simms; Hot & Spicy Flavored Pork Rinds; Salt & Vinegar as well as Barbecue Flavored Pork Rinds.

No illnesses have been reported.