Salmonella Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark : Salmonella Blog

You have to admire a city like Yuma, AZ.   They do not waste food, especially when it comes to something like beef tri tip cuts.  It was served at the Hospice of Yuma roping roundup, barbecue and western dance at the Yuma County Fairgrounds. 

Then the left over tri tips were donated to the Crossroads Mission.

Then 92 people got sick from salmonella.  Many were treated at the Yuma Regional Medical Center. 

After getting back positive tests for salmonella, Yuma County health officials were urging anyone who still had any of the tri tips to throw them out.  The big Hospice event was Feb. 2nd.

There's a story about the salmonella outbreak in today's Yuma Sun.  It can be found online here.

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 The Honolulu Advertiser reported over the weekend that health officials in Hawaii have confirmed an additional case of illness on the island of O'ahu caused by Salmonella Paratyphi B.   The person who became sick ate raw ahi poke after purchasing it from a local market.  Name of the market was not disclosed.   The Advertiser reported that:

The DOH has notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about this new case and the FDA is conducting a product trace back to determine the source of the Salmonella contamination.

"The Department of Health is concerned about these continuing cases and with the help of the FDA we hope to identify the source so we can prevent any further illness," said Dr. Paul Effler, state epidemiologist

Since October 2007, the DOH has identified a total of 34 confirmed cases of Salmonella Paratyphi B infection on O'ahu. An exhaustive investigation by the DOH identified raw imported frozen ahi used in ahi poke as a possible source of illness. Confirmation of additional cases in Colorado and California related to the consumption of raw fish has prompted an investigation by the U.S. FDA.

Go here to find the Advertiser story.  Health officials are advising anyone whose recently been on the islands and who experiences diarrhea accompanied by abdominal cramps and fever to seek immediate medical attention.

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For several weeks we've been observing the return of Peter Pan peanut butter to store shelves.  We've noted two things.   One,  incredible price cutting.   A jar of peanut butter that normally goes for around $3 is available for under a dollar.   Two,  the shelve space grocery stores are giving to Peter Pan's return is tiny whether compared to competitors or the historic amount.

So, we were really interested in Albany, AL-based television station WALB's story marking the first anniversary of the closure of the Peter Pan processing plant in Sylvester, AL after it acknowledged was poisoning people with salmonella in its jars.

And, WALB noted the processing plant has now been back in business for six months.  And the spin from ConAgra Foods, which owns the Peter Pan label, is everything is going gangbusters, thank you very much!  Or as WALB put it:

Salmonella bacteria sickened more than 600 people in 47 states. It's been six months since production resumed. We sat down with the plant manager as ConAgra prepares to roll out the additional varieties of Peter Pan. ConAgra says business is better than it was before the salmonella outbreak.

The WALB story relies upon the word of Earl Ehret, the plant manager.  He says the plant is now operating 20 hour shifts, six days a week and is now shipping all varieties of Peter Pan. He told WALB that:

Over the next six months, ConAgra would learn it was a roof leak that lead to the salmonella contamination. They replaced the roof, reworked the floor plan which included separating the raw products from the finished peanut butter, installed a new roaster, and more.

"We put a new air system in the plant. The plant's now humidity and climate controlled, not only for the process but it's a more controlled environment for the people who work in the plant," said Ehret

We find it difficult to believe Ehret did not know the roof was leaking.  Of course, maybe he did, and  why ConAgra Foods keeps their loyal guy on the job.  WALB's story can be found here.  It's too bad they did not think of visiting a grocery store or two and speaking with some consumers.  They might also have probed to  find out how much ConAgra is spending to bring back the brand.

Marler Clark is a leader in the litigation that is pending against ConAgra, owner of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter that was traced as the source of a nationwide Salmonella outbreak. 

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Health officials in Hawaii are trying to find out what and who is responsible for 33 cases of the same strain of salmonella that were confirmed between October and December of 2007.  The strain---Salmonella paratyphi B---was linked to 'ahi tuna consumed raw, but none were linked to a specific restaurant, grocery store, or even one distributor.

Now Choyce Products of Honolulu has come forward to voluntarily recalling 5,452 pounds of frozen Yellowfin Tuna because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.  In a news release distributed by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Choyce said:

The frozen Yellowfin tuna was distributed on Oahu and most likely reached consumers in the form of a mixed, previously frozen, seafood product through its customers. Choyce Products received the tuna from a mainland importer who confirmed the tuna was sent from Indonesia.

Choyce Products' customers received the cubed tuna in frozen form. The frozen product is packaged in labeled white cardboard shipping boxes containing 22 pounds of product. These boxes each contain 11 2-pound packages of vacuum-packed product in unlabeled plastic bags. White stickers on the cardboard shipping boxes have the following code information:

• Lot Number 0727408005899 with Production Dates October 1 and 2, 2007
• Lot Number 0725008005899 with Production Date September 7, 2007
• Lot Number 0726408005899 with Production Date September 21, 2007

Choyce Products unknowingly sold the tuna to its customers before learning of the possible contamination. The FDA and the state of Hawaii are conducting a joint investigation of a variety of vendors due to the state receiving Salmonella illness reports between October 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007. The source has not yet been identified. Choyce Products will destroy all returned and inventoried recalled product.

Meanwhile,  the Honolulu Advertiser reports that FDA investigators are testing tuna samples from more than 40 distributors on the island.   They says its possible the recall is not not related to to the strain of salmonella that made people sick late last year.  That story can be found here.

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