Washington Injury Attorney Blog

The New York Times reports that Nestlé corporation has shut down its Danville, Virginia plant because traces of E-coli has been found in two samples of Toll House refrigerated cookie dough.

Nestlé plans to keep the plant closed until it takes measures like changing its recipe and production processes to insure that E-coli cannot survive. Nestlé will now test all ingredients for the cookie dough as they enter the plant.

After last summer's cookie dough recall, Nestlé has been testing every batch of cookie dough for E-coli O157:H7 bacteria, the most potentially deadly form of the bacteria.

E-coli can cause severe illness and the most vulnerable patients can have severe illness including kidney failure and other potentially life-threatening symptoms.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been serious illness due to foodborne illness including E-coli and salmonella food poisoning.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or attorney@hgfarber.com to schedule a free and confidential case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

Burnt Ridge Orchards located in Onalaska, Washington, is recalling just under 100 pounds of shelled hazelnuts sold between Nov. 17 and Dec. 14 at the Olympia Farmers Market for fear of salmonella contamination reports The Olympian.

The recall comes after routine testing made by the Food and Drug Administration at the shelling company. The unnamed processing company has halted the nut processing until the FDA finds the source of the contamination.

Salmonella is a type of food borne illness that can cause from mild to serious illness in affected people. Outbreaks of salmonellosis has made the news in the past few years because of contaminated ice cream and bags of spinach.

In cases of severe illness, a victim may seek the aid of a personal injury attorney who specializes in food borne illness. A knowledgeable and experienced personal injury attorney can work to obtain compensation for medical expenses and for pain and suffering. At The Farber Law Group, we have more than 30 years experience representing victims and their families.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or attorney@hgfarber.com to schedule a free and confidential case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The Everett HeraldNet.com reports that two Everett women -- Sally Ring and Jean Jubie -- have filed lawsuits against the Ixtapa restaurant in Lake Stevens claiming that their illness was caused from E-coli, a form of food poisoning, contracted by eating at the restaurant. Last year a lawsuit was filed on behalf of Alison Riojas, age 9, who also contracted E-coli.

Ring's and Jubie's lawsuits did not specify damages but they are asking for medical and other expenses. Ring was treated at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett for her illness. Jubie was hospitalized for two days at the same hospital for gastrointestinal bleeding, colitis and dehydration.

E-coli is a bacterium that can be found in meat products and hamburger. Foodborne illness can cause a lifetime of health problems and kills approximately 5,000 people in the US every year. Children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems experience the worst symptoms but even for the healthy, E-coli can be "no walk in the park." Victims often have to be hospitalized for dehydration and other complications.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have serious illness due to foodborne illness. Contact us and we will work to help you obtain the compensation you deserve for medical costs and for pain and suffering.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or attorney@hgfarber.com to schedule a free and confidential case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

We are glad to see that Issaquah-based Costco is taking a lead in food safety by checking beef trimmings for E-coli before they grind it into hamburger. Costco is one of the few meat grinders to test ingredients for E-coli and other pathogens as they arrive at its plant reports an article in The Seattle Times.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has encouraged testing practices like Costco's to ensure that hamburger is safe to eat. Costco has recently reached an agreement with Tyson foods which allows Costco to test the meat trimmings that Tyson provides to Costco.

According to The Times, hamburger patties made by meat processor Cargill was responsible for 16 outbreaks of E-coli O157:H7 since 2007. This type of E-coli can have serious healthy consequences which can be irreversible or result in death.

Foodborne illness including E-coli and salmonella sicken hundreds of thousands of people every year and kill about 5,000 people. Safety by food handlers and manufacturers is paramount to keep people safe.

If you or a loved one has suffered serious illness due to a foodborne disease because of the negligence of a food handler, you should contact a personal injury attorney. The Farber Law Group has more than 30 years experience representing food poisoning victims and their families.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or attorney@hgfarber.com to schedule a free and confidential case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest lists the top 10 foods regulated by the FDA that provide the greatest risk of causing foodborne illness. The irony of this list is that many of the foods on the list have the most nutritive value. Foodborne illnesses are usually caused by pathogens such as Salmonella and E-coli O157:H7 and less common pathogens including Campylobacter, Scornbrotoxi, Norovirus and Vibrio. Illness caused by these pathogens can be mild such as stomach pain and diarrhea or serious illness such as kidney failure or death.

List of Riskiest Foods

These 10 foods are responsible for 40% of all foodborne illness outbreaks linked to FDA-regulated foods since 1990. The number of reported cases is based on data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and collected between 1990 to 2006.

1. Leafy greens - 13,568 reported cases of illness
2. Eggs - 11,163 reported cases of illness
3. Tuna - 2, 341 reported cases of illness
4. Oysters - 3,409 reported cases of illness
5. Potatoes - 3,659 reported cases of illness
6. Cheese - 2,761 reported cases of illness
7. Ice cream - 2,594 reported cases of illness
8. Tomatoes - 3,292 report cases of illness
9. Sprouts - 2,022 reported cases of illness
10. Berries - 3,397 reported cases of illness

One has to realize that this data only relates to reported and investigated cases. Most people do not seek treatment by a physician for a foodborne illness nor do they have the testing which is required to determine the cause of the illness. There, these cases reported are only a sampling of the actual number of people who became ill. Health officials estimate that unsafe food causes more than 10 million illnesses, hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths in the United States each year.

See the complete CSPI Report.

If you or a loved one have become severely ill due to a foodborne illness, or a loved one has died, you should contact a personal injury attorney with experience in representing food poisoning victims and their families. At The Farber Law Group, we have more than 30 years experience representing foodborne illness victims and helping them obtain compensation for their medical costs and damages.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or attorney@hgfarber.com to schedule a free and confidential case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

Seattle's King.5 reports that residents of the Riverbend community near North Bend, Washington have been advised to boil their tap water before using it to brush teeth, cook, wash dishes or make ice. The Washington State Department of Health made the advisement after it was found that the tap water may be contaminated with E-coli.

E-coli is a food or water-borne bacteria which can cause severe illness in people. Symptoms of a foodborne illness may include dehydration, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, fatigue, fever, headache, nausea and severe abdominal cramping.

Most people recover quickly from an infection of E-coli, however, in some cases it is known to cause severe illness and life-threatening complications. In the young, the very old and people with weakened immune systems, E-coli can require the victim to be hospitalized. Severe complications can include HUS kidney failure which causes a victim's kidneys to shut down.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent victims of E-coli whose illness has caused severe health issues including lengthy hospitalizations. In cases where E-coli infection can be linked back to negligence in the manufacturing, distribution or food service, victims may have recourse and be able to obtain compensation for their damages. We provide a free and confidential case evaluation.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or attorney@hgfarber.com to schedule a free and confidential case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The Tapps Island Association along with the Washington State Department of Health's Office of Drinking Water has advised Tapps residents to boil their drinking water after testing confirmed the presence of E-coli bacteria in the water.

According to a report in >The Tacoma News Tribune, the association supplies 535 homes on the island and 10 off the island with treated well water.Residents are advised to use bottled water or boil water before using it for drinking, brushing teeth, dish washing, making ice and preparing food.

E-coli bacteria can make people including abdominal cramping and severe diarrhea. At this time, there are no reports of illness.

The association said chlorine will be added to the entire water system and then the system will be flushed out.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber law Group. We represent people who have become seriously ill due to foodborne illness such as E-coli and salmonella. With our help, you may recover compensation for your injuries including medical costs, loss of wages and for pain and suffering.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com to schedule a case consultation.

Consumer advocates are urging the Food and Drug Administration to place more oversight on bottled water. In a hearing before the Energy and Commerce Committee, consumer advocates asked that FDA force water bottlers to provide more information to consumers, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Bottled water is a $11.2 billion industry. Many consumers believe that bottled water is safer than most tap water. An organization, Think Outside the Bottle, says that the bottled industry has undermined people's confidence in municipal tap water systems.

However, the bottled water industry is not as regulated as the municipal water departments. By September, the bottled water corporations will be required to "report test results that show a serious health threat." By December, they must eliminate E-coli from their product.

Representative Bart Stupak, chairman f the Energy and Commerce Committee said, "Many American believe that water they drink from a bottle is healthier than water that comes from their faucets. Consumers may not realize that many regulations that apply to municipalities responsible for tap water do not apply to companies that produce bottled water."

In fact, there have been bacterial and chemical contamination problems with bottled water in the past few years. Bottled water producers often use words like "spring" and "pure" to advertise their water. Often times these water products come from a municipal tap or pumped from a well.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been injured by dangerous products and those who have become ill because of food borne illness like E-coli.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

Costco, the Issaquah-based big box store, is sending letters to customers who purchased JBS steaks, ribs and ground beef between April 28th and May 28th after the meat has been linked to E-coli infection in 23 people across nine states. Costco is asking that customers return all affected products still in consumer's possession to Costco for a full refund.

Specific information about the recall can be found on the JBS Swift web-site at www.jbsswift.com.

The Centers for Disease Control says they have linked 23 cases of E-coli infection to JBS beef. Of the 23 people who have become ill, 12 people have had to be hospitalized and two people have developed the serious and sometimes deadly HUS kidney condition.

It is costly and sometimes difficult to sue for damages after cases of E-coli infection. However, patients who develop severe kidney problems, which may be a life-long condition, may be able to obtain compensation for damages it there was negligence in the food preparation or handling of the food product.

If you or a loved one has become seriously ill due to a foodborne illness, contact The Farber Law Group to discuss your case. We have successfully obtained compensation for victims of E-coli illness. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

Nestlé USA's Baking division has issued a recall of Nestlé® TOLL HOUSE® refrigerated cookie dough products after there have been reports of people sickened with E-coli 0157:H7 , a foodborne pathogen, after eating the raw cookie dough.

The Food and Drug Administration says that the strain of E-coli has not been detected in the product but due to health and safety concern, the company is voluntarily recalling the products.

The FDA advises people that raw cookie dough should never be eaten and that message is written on the product packaging.

Washington State Department of Health said that they believe five people in our state have been made ill by the cookie dough and two of those five had to be hospitalized.

The recall includes all varieties of Nestlé TOLL HOUSE refrigerated Cookie Bar Dough, Cookie Dough Tub; Cookie Dough Tube; Limited Edition Cookie Dough items; Seasonal Cookie Dough and Ultimates Cookie Bar Dough.

Escherichia coli (E-coli) O157:H7 is a food-borne bacterium which can cause severe illness including hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) which is a life threatening-condition which can cause permanent kidney damage, life long health problems and even death. Every year there are approximately 60 deaths in the United states caused by E-col O157:H7.

Signs and symptoms of severe symptoms include severe and acute bloody diarrhea and severe abdominal cramping.

People who have become seriously ill because a negligence during the manufacturing or product packaging are entitled to file a civil suit to ask for compensation for damages including medical costs and for pain and suffering.

If you or a loved one has become seriously ill due to a foodborne illness such as salmonella and E-coli, you should contact a personal injury attorney who has experience in representing people with serious illness because of food contamination.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The Food and Drug Administration and the California Department of Public Health are investigating a possible Salmonella contamination of pistachio nuts sold by Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Incorporated.
Setton, a California company, is the second-largest producer of pistachios in the U.S.

According to Seattle's local television station, King5.com, the FDA is warning consumers to avoid eating pistachios or foods that contain the nuts until the investigation provides definitive proof as to source of the contamination.

The FDA reports that the contamination is not limited to just one strain of Salmonella.
The Salmonella bacteria is a food borne illness which can sicken people with symptoms of stomach cramps, diarrhea, bloody diarrhea and fever. Usually, symptoms are gone within 7-10 days. However, in the elderly and frail, young children and babies and those with compromised immune symptoms, Salmonella can cause serious illness if it gets into the blood stream including arthritis, endocarditis, arterial infections and even death.

The roasting of nuts should kill Salmonella if it is done properly but the nuts can become contaminated after roasting by mice, rats or birds reports King5.

For more information, see What is FDA Advising Consumers Regarding Pistachios and Pistachio Products.

If you or a loved one has serious illness due to food borne illness, you should contact a personal injury law firm with experience in this area of law. The Farber Law Group has more than 30 years experience in representing victims of food poisoning and food borne illness. With our help, you may be able to obtain compensation for your medical costs and for pain and suffering.

Contact The Farber Law Group today.

The Seattle Times reports that Union International Food Co., of Union City, California, issued a recall on March 30 of some of their spice products which are sold in Washington State and other Western States because of potential Salmonella infection. The spices are mainly sold to wholesalers, distributors, restaurant suppliers and restaurants. However, their white and black pepper are packaged 5 oz retail containers .

According to the report, 42 people have become ill including four in the Portland, Oregon area. Health officials initiated an investigation after a multi-state Salmonella outbreak and discovered the Salmonella in an open container of Lian How White pepper at a restaurant where several victims of the illness ate.

Salmonella bacteria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in the young, the frail and elderly and those with compromised immune systems. Symptoms include bloody diarrhea, fever, nausea, vomiting and severe abdominal cramping. In the young and elderly, the Salmonella infection can get into the bloodstream and cause severe illness including arterial infections, endocarditis and arthritis.

Lian How brand spices and Uncle Chen brand white pepper and black pepper are effected by the recall. Check the www.ufunionfood.com web-site for more information or call the company information line at 510-471-6799.

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious Salmonella infection which required hospitalization, you should contact a personal injury attorney with experience in representing people with food borne illness. With the help of The Farber Law Group, you may be able to recover your medical costs and compensation for pain and suffering.

Contact The Farber Law Group today at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com.

Food borne pathogens such as Salmonella are in the news a lot lately with the massive peanut products recall. How would you know if your illness was caused by Salmonella or another food borne pathogen?

There are two categories of food poisoning:

1. A toxin in the food that has spoiled. A classic example of this is a church picnic where everyone got ill after eating the potato salad that had not been refrigerated properly.
   
2. A bacteria or virus that has contaminated the food. Salmonella and e-coli are examples of these.

Salmonella is mostly commonly found in under cooked eggs and poultry but the Georgia peanut case has show us that it can also be in other food items.

Symptoms of salmonella:

• Symptoms usually occur 12 to 72 hours after eating the food.
  
• Symptoms will include nausea, vomiting and severe diarrhea, and sometimes bloody diarrhea.
  
• A fever may or may not be present.

If you have these horrible flu-like symptoms, make sure you do not become dehydrated and drink plenty of fluids. It is often very difficult to tell the difference between the flu and a food-borne illness unless you go see your doctor or go to the emergency room and they take a specimen test of the patient's stool.

Approximately 40,000 cases of salmonellosis are reported in the U.S. every year but the number of infections probably 30 times higher than that. One interesting thing to note is there are more cases in the summer than winter.

A person should recover from salmonella in 1-2 weeks. However, in some cases -- the elderly, small children and people with compromised immune symptoms, the illness can become very severe and even life threatening. Children five years old or younger have the highest rate of diagnosed infections. Around 400 persons die each year due to acute salmonellosis.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have become seriously ill due to food borne illness. If you or a loved one has had a serious illness requiring hospitalization, or a loved one has died, due to a food borne illness, you should contact a personal injury lawyer. A personal injury attorney specializing in cases such as these can help you recover compensation for your medical costs, damages and for pain and suffering. At The Farber Law Group, a personal injury firm with offices in Seattle and Bellevue, we have more than 30 years experience representing victims and their families.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com.

A Kent, Washington company, Lucy's Enterprises , has issued a recall on their chicken burger product. The recall includes 13,776 pounds of frozen ground chicken products because they may contain plastic and bone fragments. Specifically, the company is recalling chicken burgers distributed nationally by Trader Joe's markets. The chicken burgers are sold in 16-ounce packages as "Trader Joe's, Chile Lime Chicken Burgers" with the date code "3158" on the side of the box.These may be dangerous products and pose a choking hazard.

Trader Joe's and Lucy's have received some customer complaints about finding the foreign materials in the chicken patties. There have been no reports of injuries at this time. Lucy Enterprises Customer Relations Department number is (253(872-0783 and Trader's Joes number is (626)599-3817.

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a Class I Recall and considers the product a High health risk. Check their web-site to find out more: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_008_2009_Release/index.asp

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have serious injuries due to defective products. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured, contact The Farber law Group today. With our help, you may recover your medical bills and compensation for damages.

Call us at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that Cougar Mountain Baking Co., based in Seattle, is another company voluntarily recalling products due to the recent salmonella outbreak caused by peanut products distributed by the Peanut Corporation of America. They are recalling boxes of their Gourmet Cookies that contain peanuts or peanut butter. They are also recalling a cookie dough product.

No illnesses have been linked to products distributed by Cougar Mountain in stores in Washington, Oregon, California and New York and also distributed through mail-order.

The list of products in the Salmonella Typhimurium recall is very lengthy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration office has a Recall List which can be searched. Click here to search the list: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm

We have written several articles about the peanut recalls in the past month. More than 636 people have been made ill and nine deaths have been traced to a type of salmonella found in a Peanut Corporation of America plant in Georgia. There have been more than 2,000 products recalled

OUR RECOMMENDATION

Check the FDA Recall list often as products are being added to the recall list on a daily basis. We recommend you check packaging and look for the contents. Throw out foods in your home are on the recall list. Skip foods with peanuts or peanut products for now. Err on the side of caution.

Salmonella can be deadly. People with compromised immune symptoms, the very young and the elderly are especially susceptible to severe illness.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a personal injury attorney firm with offices in Seattle and Bellevue and we represent people who have become seriously ill from foodborne illness and the families of those killed.

Contact us today if you have questions about your case.

The Seattle Times reports today that Crown Pacific Fine Foods of Kent, Washington is recalling their sugar free milk chocolate peanuts because the peanuts used were recalled by Peanut Corporation of America. The Peanut Corporation of American is a Georgia-based company whose peanuts products have been associated with a recent outbreak of foodborne illness.

The Food and Drug Administration has linked an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium illness to peanut butter and peanut paste produced by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) at a processing plant located in Blakely, Georgia. The FDA found the same strain of Salmonella Typhimurium associated with illness in an unopened container of peanut butter which indicates that the peanut butter was contaminated at the processing plant. To-date, illness has only been linked to peanut butter and peanut paste, not peanuts.

The milk chocolate peanuts produced in Kent were distributed by the Houghton Market in Kirkland in 5-pound bags. The brand name is Koppers, Sugar Free Milk Chocolate Peanuts. There are no known illnesses due to this product.

The PCA salmonella outbreak has sickened more than 500 people in 43 states and at least one death has been connected. The family of a 73-year-old woman who died has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Peanut Corporation of America. Salmonella is a bacterium which can make people ill with severe stomach cramps, diarrhea and high fever. In severe cases, it can cause death.

If you or a loved one has become seriously ill from a foodborne illness or a loved one has died, you should contact a personal injury attorney with experience in foodborne illness. At The Farber Law Group, we have more than 30 years experience in represent personal injury cases. With offices in Seattle and Bellevue, we are here to help you.

Contact The Farber Law Group today for a free case evaluation.

The family of Shirley Mae Almer, age 72, whose death may have been as a direct result of the salmonella- tainted peanut butter she ate, have filed a wrongful death suit in Hennepin County District Court in Minneapolis. The family is asking for damages of more than $50,000 according to Forbes.com.

In filing the lawsuit, Almer's family says that the negligence of Peanut Corporation of America, the manufacturer, and King Nut, the distributor, caused Almer's death.

More than 390 products containing peanut butter or peanut paste manufactured at Peanut Corporation of America's Georgia plant have been recalled including snack cakes, ice cream, cookies and dog biscuits. The CDC has found four separate strains of salmonella bacteria at the plant and have traced one strain in common with 501 people in 43 states who have been sickened after consuming peanut butter products manufactured at the plant. For a complete list of recalls, check the FDA's web-site here: "Search for Peanut Butter Product Recalls."

Salmonella is a foodborne illness which causes abdominal cramping and severe diarrhea in infected people. It can be deadly to the young, the elderly or people with compromised immune systems. According to the report, Almer was recovering from cancer treatments and other ailments when she became sickened because of salmonella.

A wrongful death suit can be filed on behalf of a deceased person by their family. A family may be able to recover damages if it can be proved that a person or entity's negligence caused their loved ones death.

The Farber Law Group, an experienced personal injury attorney firm with offices in Seattle and Bellevue, may be able to help you if you have had a family member die due to someone else's negligence. Wrongful death can arise from car accidents, work-related injuries, falls at property that was not properly maintained or due to foodborne illness provided by a food manufacturer or restaurant.

Contact The Farber Law Group today for a free and confidential case evaluation.

The Seattle Times reports that dog treats sold in Washington State and seven other states are being recalled due to fear that they might contain peanut paste or peanut butter. Peanut butter and paste and products that contain it have been linked with over 486 cases of salmonella infection in humans in the last few months including six deaths. More than 100 people have had to be hospitalized as well. There have been at least three cases in King County linked to the outbreak.

The article says that Albertson is voluntarily recalling a pet treat called Happy Tails. PetSmart is recalling varieties of its Great Choice dog biscuits. The fear is that the pet food treats might contain salmonella contaminated with the peanut butter or peanut paste. While veterinarians don't think that pets are in danger because most of them are immune, their owners who feed them the dog treat might get infected with the bacteria.

Salmonella is a foodborne bacteria which can cause severe stomach cramping and diarrhea in people who come in contact with it. The elderly, young children and people with compromised immune systems may contract severe illness requiring hospitalization and some cases even result in death.

For a list of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Peanut Butter Product Recalls, click here:
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm/ .

If you or a loved one has become seriously ill or a loved one has died due to foodborne illness, you should contact a personal injury attorney. The Farber Law Group, with offices in Seattle and Bellevue, has more than 30 years experience representing victims of food poisoning. With our help, you may recover compensation for medical costs, loss of wages and damages caused by the food poisoning.

The largest O111 E-coli outbreak in U.S. history happened this past year in northeastern Oklahoma. In this outbreak, more than 300 people became ill after eating at the Country Cottage restaurant in Locust Grove. Locust Grove is about an hours drive from Tulsa. Now, five months later, scientists are saying they will probably never be able to pinpoint how the bacteria got into the restaurant reports The Tulsa World.

In this outbreak, of the 300 sickened, one man died and more than 70 people became so ill that they had to be hospitalized. The outbreak caused millions of pounds of beef products to be recalled, most distributed by Nebraska Beef, Ltd. The beef was recalled because it is often the source of E-coli infections along with leafy greens and unpasteurized dairy products and apple juice.

Department of Health scientists have been pretty smart in tracking down the culprit in an E-coli outbreak. With advances in DNA testing, a single source of infection can often be identified. However in this case, the state epidemiologist for the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Dr. Kristy Bradley, says they believe they will never be able to pinpoint exactly how the bacteria got into the restaurant. She says, “We feel we did a very complete epidemiological investigation. We looked at numerous specimens from employees who had fallen ill to water to the food and environmental surfaces.”

E-coli O111 is a form of bacteria that is usually foodborne. It can cause mild illness in some including stomach cramping, fever and diarrhea. In others -- especially the very young, the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions -- the bacteria can be very serious leading to complications which can result in death.

This information is brought to you by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We have experience in representing people who have serious illness due to foodborne illness. In one case, we recovered over a million dollars for a young boy who contracted E-coli from a Washington fast food restaurant.

Contact The Farber Law Group for a free case evaluation.

An article in The Seattle Times reports that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers to avoid foods that contain peanut butter including cookies, crackers, snack cakes and ice cream. This warning comes after one strain of salmonella bacteria is suspect in making at least 500 people sick across the United States, three of them in King County, Washington.

The spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Health, Donn Moyer, says of those made sick in our state, none have had to be hospitalized.

For now, the FDA is saying that the cause of the salmonella traces back to a production facility in Blakely, Georgia and the Peanut Corporation of America. While the salmonella does not appear to be in jars of peanut butter sold through grocery stores, it has been traced to peanut paste and peanut butter which is used in an ingredients in other products including Perry's Ice Cream products, Little Debbie sandwich crackers, Keebler cookies and crackers, and other products made by Kellogg. To see the complete list of recalled products, click here: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/salmonellatyph/products.html If you have any of these products in your house, the FDA urges you to throw them away.

In our previous blog posting, we discussed that the Salmonella Bacterium, of type Typhimurium has been conclusively linked to the King Nut brand of peanut butter through genetic testing. Since then, the FDA has widened the brands and types of foods they are scrutinizing as the contamination seems more widespread.

For more information about the recall,you may want to read the FDA web-site http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/salmonellatyph.html

Salmonella is a bacterium which can cause severe stomach cramping, diarrhea, high fever and illness in people. In the very young, elderly and those with compromised immune systems, the infection can even cause severe illness and even death if not treated correctly and promptly with antibiotics.

This information is provided by The Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a personal injury firm in Seattle and Bellevue and we have successful recovered compensation for clients who have become seriously ill due to foodborne illness. The effects of foodborne illness can be seriously debilitating and have impact that compromises a person's health for a life time. We help our client recover compensation for medical costs and for pain and suffering.

Contact The Farber Law Group if you or a loved one has become seriously ill due to a foodborne contaminant.