Author: Tony Coveny, Ph.D

Vermont state investigators have now identified the DNA of Shiga toxin in packages of unopened beef used at the Worthy Burger in South Royalton, and now believe that the source of the food borne illnesses, E. coli, linked to the restaurant came from under-cooked hamburgers. The investigation is ongoing, however, because when the bacteria were cultured, they grew a “slightly different strain” than the stool cultures in the victims of this outbreak. Nonetheless, one of the lead health surveillance epidemiologists with the Vermont Department of Health, Bradley Tompkins, has confirmed that health investigators believe the beef to be the source…

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is currently investigating an outbreak of Salmonella linked to patients at one of the largest hospitals in Detroit, the Henry Ford Hospital. So far, there are 14 patients, all staying in the same unit of Henry Ford Hospital, who have developed salmonellosis. Seven of the victims have now been discharged but another seven remain hospitalized in an isolation unit at Henry Ford. And while investigators have indicated that the outbreak does not appear to be food related, at this time they are offering no information as to the likely source. According…

The Mediterranean cuisine Fig & Olive restaurant at City Center in Washington, D.C., and the Fig & Olive at Melrose Place in West Hollywood. California, have been linked to approximately 175 Salmonella illnesses in five states. The majority are in the D.C. area, and linked to the City Center restaurant – health officials had interviewed 135 suspected victims in that outbreak by September 16th, and determined that truffle oil was the likely source of the outbreak. Then, last week, another dozen illnesses appeared in California, with at least nine of the confirmed cases being infected with the same strain as…

The Vermont Department of Health (VDH) is investigating an outbreak of E. coli that has sickened six so far – there are five confirmed cases and one presumed case. The VDH has not announced the source, but at least two local reports indicate that source is the Worthy Burger in South Royalton, Vermont, a restaurant which voluntarily closed for several days. Jason Merrill, who is the executive chef at Worthy Burger, admitted that the VDH asked the restaurant last week to switch some of their food vendors – a request ostensibly intended to avoid the further spread of contaminated food.…

Official numbers put the cucumber salmonella outbreak victim count at 558 and rising, but that is only the tip of the iceberg says cucumber Salmonella lawyer Ron Simon who filed a wrongful death Salmonella cucumber lawsuit last week in San Diego. As a long-time food safety advocate and food poisoning lawyer, Ron Simon notes “the official count is normally only a small fraction of the overall number of victims.” Simon points to one statistic, put forward by the CDC, that often only one in thirty victims in a food borne outbreak are identified – often only the most seriously ill…

Sierra Sanford’s 1-year old is now facing kidney failure, a serious and dangerous result of E. coli contamination. After two days in a local ER, he was air-lifted to Saint Louis for additional care. In addition to the 1-year old, another child, the first victim’s five year old, has also been hospitalized. The source, according to Dallas County health official, remains elusive. The county is testing the well water and considering other sources, such as food or animals. The e. coli lawyers at Ron Simon & Associates are monitoring the outbreak to see if a source is identified or if…

According to Pima County health officials, a woman has died after eating the Andrew & Williamson cucumbers now linked to 418 illnesses in 31 states. The woman was in a Tucson hospital at the time of her death. The cucumbers, imported from Mexico by the San Diego company are known as American cucumbers, or “slicer” cucumbers, and have been found to be contaminated with Salmonella Poona. A wrongful death lawsuit in the cucumber Salmonella outbreak was filed last week by food poisoning lawyer Ron Simon in federal court on behalf of a San Diego victim who also died. A third…

A Karoun Wrongful Death Lawsuit, or a wrongful death lawsuit against another producer of soft cheeses, is likely following reports of the first death among the two dozen Listeria victims liked to the consumption of soft cheeses in recent years. Karoun is one of the cheese makers to have been linked to the Listeria outbreak by the FDA, CDC and/or other health agencies. The CDC now says 24 victims (in the last five years) have been identified in California (14), Colorado (1), Illinois (1), Massachusetts (2), Michigan (1), New York (2), Ohio (1), Tennessee (1), and Washington (1). The victims…

Karoun Dairies, Inc. has issued a recall of cheese linked to Listeria monocytogenes cases after listeriosis victims were identified by the CDC and FDA and associated with the company’s products. The recalled cheeses come in vacuum packed pouches, in jars, and in pails sold under the following brands: Karoun, Arz, Gopi, Queso Del Valle, Central Valley Creamery, Gopi, and Yanni. The packages weigh between 5 ounces and 30 pounds, and include Ackawi, Ani, California, Cotija, Farmers Goat Fresh, Fresco, Fresh Cheese/Panela, Feta, Goat Milk Feta, Mozzarella, Paneer, Queso Blanco, Nabulsi, String Cheese, and Yanni Grilling cheeses. The cheeses were widely…

Ron Simon filed a wrongful death lawsuit in San Diego, CA stemming from the Salmonella-contaminated cucumbers that have sickened many hundreds and caused the death of at least two – one a resident of San Diego and the other a resident of Texas. The Andrew & Williamson cucumbers were imported from the Baja region of Mexico and distributed widely to many grocery stores and restaurants. Victims have been identified in 30 states. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Southern District Court of California in San Diego, where the decedent Mildred Hendricks resided and where Andrew & Williamson is headquartered.…