When Bidart Bros. shipped Granny Smith and Gala Apples to its customers, including Merb’s Candies, California Snack Foods, and Happy Apples, and then Happy Apples, California Snack Foods, and Merb’s Candies shipped them to grocery stores across the nation, they set in motion a Listeria outbreak that would affect at least 35 families in 12 U.S. states. The outbreak has been linked to as many as 7 deaths, 11 pregnancies Listeria is especially dangerous to pregnant women), and the hospitalization of at least 34 of the 35 victims. “Listeria,” says Caramel Apple Listeria Lawyer Ron Simon “is a very serious and potentially deadly pathogen. Unlike outbreaks of Norovirus, Campylobacter or Salmonella where a majority of the victims recover either without medical care and do so in a matter of days or a couple of weeks, most all victims who contract Listeriosis require hospitalization, and the impact on victims lives can last for many weeks or even months.” It remains unclear if new cases will be identified at this time, but it is also believed that most of the potentially deadly apples and caramel covered apples have been removed for the market. But the CDC is strongly warning patrons of Caramel Apples that some product may yet be in people’s homes, and customers who consume them could still be sickened.
In addition to the pregnancy related illnesses (pregnant women are ten times as likely to develop listeriosis than the average consumer), there have been at least 3 cases of invasive meningitis in children. All of the victims interviewed except three recalled eating commercially prepared and packaged caramel apples, while the other three recalled eating green apples in the days leading up to their illnesses. Given this fact, it is presumed some of the Gala and Granny Smith apples suspected of carrying the Listeria bacteria were distributed to the general public, though there is, so far, no tracking information or this part of the analysis. The Gala and Granny smith apples from Bidart Bros. were the common ingredient in the Caramel Apples prepared by Merb’s Candies, California Snack Foods, and Happy Apples.
For more information, contact the lawyers at Ron Simon & Associates at 1-888-335-4901.
