Attorneys have filed a lawsuit against the Peanut Corporation of America on behalf of a Vermont family whose 7-year-old son became ill after eating peanut butter cracker sandwiches linked to the ongoing salmonella outbreak.
The boy presented to the emergency room with fever, vomiting and frequent bouts of diarrhea, which turned bloody. During his hospital stay, he tested positive for the salmonella strain identified in this outbreak. He is now recovering.
“We learned a lot in the last peanut butter outbreak, and it’s sad that we have to put that knowledge to use,” says plaintiff’s attorney William Marler of Marler Clark, a law firm specializing in foodborne illness that handled plaintiffs’ cases in the 2006–2007 Peter Pan/Great Value outbreak, which was traced to a Georgia plant owned by ConAgra.
“We have to make sure all possibly contaminated product is promptly recalled and that the responsible companies step up to pay the medical bills of the victims, as well as the cost of government investigations,” he adds. “In addition, the public needs to know what safety precautions the Peanut Corporation of America was taking, especially after the 2007 outbreak. Finally, they need to show the public what will be done to prevent the next outbreak.”
Marler says the current outbreak is similar to the Peter Pan case.
“The signs started pointing to something like peanut butter with a longer shelf life,” he says. “It started to look a lot like the pattern that emerged in the 2007 outbreak.
“In that outbreak as well, we saw illnesses in many states over a long period of time,” he adds. “But I’m as surprised as the next guy that we’re seeing this again.”
Latest Product Recalls
Whole Foods Carob Energee Nuggets
9-oz. clear plastic package with a label reading “Whole Foods Carob Energee Nuggets,” UPC: 999482-000274, all lot codes. Products were distributed to Whole Foods Market stores in California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada.
From Our Blog (Chronological Coverage)
- Salmonella Outbreak Hits 42 States
- Is Peanut Butter to Blame for the Salmonella Outbreak?
- FDA Urges Consumers to Avoid Peanut Butter
- Organic Company Voluntarily Recalls Products in Wake of Salmonella Scare
- Second Organic Company Recalls Product Containing Peanut Butter
- More Food Recalls Announced
- Health Valley Recalls Some Organic Granola Bars; Salmonella Source Positively Confirmed
[...] take your mind off peanut butter deprivation spiked by salmonella fears and enter to win today! Go to: Lauren Barth’s GlamBuzz blog, and post a comment…just [...]
I find it curious that several of the recalled products are branded as organic, but there has been no mention of the facility as processing organic nuts. If not, it might have been disclosed on the product packaging. OR….
I’ve been sitting on the same question since the first organic company was named in the outbreak. As the dust clears, it’s a question we’re going to pursue. It’s possible PCA processed both organic and nonorganic peanuts, but we’ll clarify this as more information becomes available.
A recall doesn’t necessarily mean that the company itself sourced peanuts from PCA. Larabar, for example, was forced by parent company General Mills to recall two products, because Larabar did business with a vendor who did business with PCA.
[...] on the CDC’s and FDA’s investigations of the ongoing salmonella outbreak, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services wants consumers to continue taking precautions [...]
PCA did sell organic peanut products: http://www.peanutcorp.com/pdf/PCA%20Expanded%20Product%20Recall%201_18_09.pdf