Foster Farms, the Western United State’s primary producer of raw chicken, remains the center of one of the largest and longest salmonella investigations of chicken products linked to salmonella food poisoning in America. There have already been seven different strains of salmonella linked to Foster Farms chicken by health officials, with at least 481 victims in over half of the United States. And this only represents the tip of the iceberg, as NBC News’ Jonel Aleccia recently reported, with as many as 16,000 consumers infected by consuming Foster Farms’ chicken, most either not seeking medical attention or not being tested for salmonella.
And if anyone thinks the troubled company is out of the woods yet, it seems things are going from bad to worse. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced only two months ago that it believed the outbreak was finally over, having identified 430 victims in 23 different states in one a number of investigations into Foster Farms. But no sooner had the CDC made the announcement than another 51 cases of salmonella food poisoning were linked to Foster Farms, bringing the total of recently confirmed cases to 480 in 25 states. Combined with other outbreaks linked to Foster Farms, the total victim count in the last year has now surpassed 550.
Massive Cockroach Infestation Shutters Foster Farms Livingston Plant
And that’s not all. In January an inspection of the Livingston, California processing plant found a massive infestation of live cockroaches that forced regulators to shutter the facility. The United States Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), a branch of the Unites States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), made the decision and is now monitoring the situation and assessing the facility. Although it remains unclear at this time if the cockroaches are linked to the salmonella outbreaks, cockroaches are a major contributing factor to the spread of diseases.
Foster Farms, however, remains optimistic, releasing a statement recently that states it has now managed to reduce the occurrence of salmonella in its product to below 10 percent, what is considers a low occurrence level.
Foster Farms’ Chicken Carries Antibiotic Resistant Superbug
This statement by Foster Farms, however, comes as a recent Consumer Report announced that nearly one half of sampled raw chicken breasts were infected with antibiotic resistant strains of salmonella. And although Foster Farms has not admitted it, some experts believe this is because the chickens that Foster Farms and other growers produce in their large facilities are heavily treated with antibiotics while being bred and raised.
This is a health disaster, says Salmonella Lawyer Ron Simon. “The fact that a company like Foster Farms can breed chickens so that they carry antibiotic resistant bacteria, and then sell the contaminated product to the unsuspecting public, in deplorable,” says Simon, who as a salmonella lawyer represents victims of the Foster Farms’ salmonella outbreak. Simon added that “for each victim of the Foster Farms’ salmonella outbreak I represent, I am working to use the law to expose the problems and to make sure the this never happens again.” As a salmonella lawyer, Simon is also going to make sure each of his clients who are victims of the Foster Farms salmonella outbreak is compensated for the ir medical treatment, lost wages, and for pain and suffering.
