Author: Tony Coveny, Ph.D

100 Temple Law School Fundraiser Attendees Affected Food poisoning is not what attendees of a recent Philadelphia fundraiser bargained for. Approximately 100 lawyers, law students, and other members of the legal community are now part of what is likely to be one of Philadelphia’s largest outbreaks of food poisoning. According to reports, about 250 members of the legal community, including some family and friends, attended a celebration of the Lunar New year at the Joy Tsin Lau restaurant on February 27th. The eight-course dinner was a fund raiser for Temple University’s law students – sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Law Student…

Ron Simon filed the very first wrongful death lawsuit in the national hepatitis A outbreak that hit the western U.S. The CDC confirmed 165 victims were sickened, but many more are believed to have become ill but either were not properly diagnosed or not tested in a manner that confirmed recent, acute hepatitis infection. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Virginia Jolson’s estate and her six children. It named Townsend Farms, the product maker, Costco who sold the berries, and a number of distributors and importers who provided the tainted pomegranate seeds form Turkey to be used in the…

Blue Bell Ice Cream is expanding its recall of ice cream due to Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The company, located in Brenham, Texas, is recalling three 3 oz. food service ice cream cups with tab lids that come in various flavors, including chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. The recall includes only institutional product, and according to a Blue Bell Ice Cream statement this recall “in no way includes” their popular half gallons, pints, quarts, 3 gallons or other 3 oz. ice cream cups. The recalled product is not sold in retail establishments, this according to Blue Bell Ice Cream. Instead, it is…

In July of last year, Wawona Packing Company of Cutler, California, was compelled to recall a large number of peaches, plums, nectarines, and pluots – known as stone fruits – when testing showed that they could contain Listeria monocytogenes. Wawona issued the July 19th recall following its own internal testing, and then on the 31st expanded the recall to include all fruit packed at the facility in June or July of 2014. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in concert with state and local health departments and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began an investigation into…

At least five persons admitted to Via Christi-St. Francis Hospital in Kansas, three of whom have since died. The first case dates back to December 2013, with the latest case identified in January of 2015. These patients are believed to have consumed Blue Bell Creameries ice cream manufactures in Brenham, Texas. Blue Bell Creameries has removed from the market the following ice cream products: • Chocolate Chip Country Cookie • Great Divide Bar • Sour Pop Green Apple Bar • Cotton Candy Bar • Scoops • Vanilla Stick Slices • Almond Bar • No Sugar Added Mooo Bar (regular Mooo…

The Investigation into the Blue Bell Listeria outbreak is a tale of numerous departments working to put together disparate pieces of a complex puzzle. At the center has been the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) which identified at least five individuals who had contracted Listeria between December of 2013 and January of 2015 at Via Christi-St. Francis Hospital in Kansas. The victims, several of whom had been hospitalized for non-listeria health concerns, were residents of Ford, Harvey, Sedgwick, Shawnee and Wyandotte Counties. At least three of those identified at Via Christi-St. Francis Hospital died as a result of,…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reported today that at least five hospitalizations in a single Kansas hospital tested positive for one of four strains of Listeria monocytogenes. Three of the victims have died. Three of these strains are closely related and have been found in ice-cream manufactured and distributed by Blue Bell Creameries. Blue Bell Creameries is located in Brenham, Texas, west of Houston where Listeria Lawyer Ron Simon is headquartered. “What makes this outbreak so troubling,” says Texas Listeria Lawyer…

Health Department officials began to notice a large spike in salmonella cases in January and through interviews with the victims were able to identify X10 in Texas, or X in Texas, as the probable source. The family owned restaurant is located at 119 Cypress Drive, Dalhart TX. Health officials contacted the restaurant owners as the investigation unfolded, and on February 11th they made the decision to close the restaurant “voluntarily” for a seven day period, noting the closure would be at their own expense. At that time, X10 ownership stated that all environmental testing conducted at the restaurant had been…

In Dalhart Texas, and the surrounding areas, local and state health officials have been investigating a large number of salmonella cases. Most of the nearly 80 cases have been linked to Texas 10, or the X10 Steakhouse, in Dalhart, TX, where at least 57 victims have been identified as having salmonellosis after eating there at the end of last year into the first few weeks of this year. As Texas’ leading salmonella lawyer, food poisoning layer Ron Simon is representing victims in this outbreak. “We know the majority of the victims were infected directly from the Texas 10 restaurant, but…

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today that Rio Tex Wholesale Meats, a company in Mercedes, Texas, has been compelled to recall nearly 60 thousand pounds of ready-to-eat beef products due to the presence of Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled beef was mostly sold under the label Hausman Foods, and included Carne Guisada, Barbacoa, and taco filling. Also recalled is the Rio-Tex-Meats Baracoa. All of the recalled product were produced between March 25, 2014, and February 19, 2015. The product is sold for institutional use, including hotel kitchens, restaurants, and cafeterias, throughout Texas. FSIS Finds “Insufficient Sanitary Measures” in…