Author: Tony Coveny, Ph.D

The Bellingham Herald has now confirmed that as many as 1,325 Whatcom County school children, their teachers and parents, attended the late-April event at the Northwest Washington Fair & Event Center. And now the number of victims infected with E. coli has grown to 41, with at least seven hospitalized and one youngster on dialysis due to failing kidneys. While the majority of the victims are first graders, there are reports of some older children and adults among the E. coli victims. Investigators have zeroed in on the Lynden Milk Makers Festival, but the health department is still looking for…

Between 2004 and 2012, health officials in Oregon and Washington warned the U.S. Department of Agriculture that they had on a number of occasions linked outbreaks of salmonella bacteria to consumption of Foster Farms chicken. The occurrence became common enough for health officials in Oregon to refer to the “Foster Farms strain.” By 2012, what had been a regional problem, became a national epidemic, with confirmed cases of salmonellosis in 10 states – by 2013, dozens of states were counting over 600 victims of the Foster Farms strains. And even then, Foster Farms refused to admit fault or order a…

Social media is now becoming the platform for pushing for better sanitation at food service establishments. According to self-reported cases of food poisoning, allegedly caused by ingestion of salmonella, individuals who ate at Don Antonio’s on Thursday, March 19 and Friday March 20 2015, turned to the internet’s Yelp! and Trip Adviser to tell their harrowing tales. One victim spoke of a friend having to spend three days in the hospital, while another commiserated being ill and, along with five others, ending up in the emergency room. Yet another consumer claims that she was forced to go to the doctor…

The E. coli outbreak in Lynden, Washington State, has grown to at least a 17 as local hospital testing confirms cases of E. coli poisoning among first graders who attended the Milk Makers Fest in Whatcom County. According to Karen Taylor, of KGMI News, local doctor Greg Stern has indicated that food and beverages are “less likely” the source, and that some form of surface contamination is more likely. According to E. coli lawyer Ron Simon who has represented thousands of food poisoning victims, including filing numerous E. coli lawsuits on behalf of victims, “Dr. Stern is probably right, even…

According to the Whatcom County Health Department, located in Bellingham (north of Seattle in Washington State), there has been an E. coli outbreak among first-graders – three confirmed and one suspected so far. The three confirmed cases all attended the Milk Makers Fest, sponsored by the Whatcom County Dairy Women (WCDW), at the Northwest Washington Fair and Event Center in Lynden. According to reports, these kids were among about 1,000 first-graders who attended the April 20-24 event. According to a Whatcom County Health Officer, Greg Stern , the source has not been definitively established. What we do know is that…

The Columbus-based ice cream company Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams has temporarily closed its down its retail stores and recalled the associated product citing the “possible presence of Listeria.” The establishments, which are in Columbus, Chicago, Cleveland, Nashville, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Charleston, have temporarily closed – following major news coverage of another ice cream manufacturer and retailer, Blue Bell Creameries. Blue Bell was forced to close following multiple Listeria illnesses and reports of as many as three related deaths. Although not common in ice cream, Listeria is unique in that it can survive in cold temperatures, and is a major…

According to Blue Bell Listeria Lawyer Ron Simon, who appeared on CBS News, Fort Worth – Dallas last evening, the company is now producing some flavors of ice cream again, but not for sale to the public. The company is now producing the ice cream for testing and to see if they have finally managed to eliminate the Listeria infection that has plagued its facilities for as many as five years now. According to Blue Bell Listeria Lawyer Simon, cases that have been linked to this outbreak go as far back as 2010, and many hundreds of customers are now…

Ron Simon discusses Blue Bell Listeria outbreak with CBS News, Fort Worth – Dallas, Texas. So far, at least 10 cases of Listeriosis have been linked to Blue Bell Ice Cream., resulting in numerous listeria lawsuits. To watch the video, CLICK HERE Blue Bell Listeria Lawyer: Recall Expanded

The initial Blue Bell ice cream recall was limited to product that was known to be contaminated with Listeria. Listeria Lawyer Ron Simon predicted that the recall would likely be expanded, and it has been. “The problem,” says Listeria Lawyer Simon, “is that in this outbreak the contamination seems to be wide-spread. Anytime more than one product is affected, and it seems to have been affected for some time, it is likely that a good deal of the rest of the product is in danger of being infected too.” In this case, in addition to the five victims in Kansas,…

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH), in conjunction with other state and local health agencies, is currently investigating an outbreak of a rare strain of salmonella bacteria. So far at least 80% of the reported victims (and 25 have been confirmed so far) have identified eating sushi, and in particular sushi made with raw tuna, in the days leading up to the onset of salmonellosis. This particular strain of salmonella has not been found in humans or animals prior to this outbreak – as such, according to county Health Officer Robert Levin, “we are not flying with the experience…