Raw Milk Contaminated With E. coli, Microbiologist Says
Cheese made from raw milk on Hartmann Dairy Farm in Gibbon, Minnesota was contaminated with E. coli bacteria, a microbiologist testified Wednesday. According to news reports from local media sources, “Microbiologist Bryanne Shaw said tests found E. coli in at least two cheese samples produced on the Hartmann farm.”
The southern Minnesota farm was linked this spring to a raw milk E. coli outbreak, and state officials banned sales of Hartmann products. The farm’s owner, Michael Hartmann, is asking for the ban to be lifted.
Salmonella Egg Recall: More Minnesotans Sickened
Seven more Minnesota salmonella cases were reported by the Minnesota Department of Health. That brings the total number of reported Minnesotans sickened by tainted eggs to fourteen. Nationwide, nearly 2,000 people have been sickened by the same strain of salmonella bacteria. The CDC expects that number to grow because the eggs with possible contamination were still being distributed in August and illnesses occurring after mid-July may not have been reported and verified.
Restaurant Salmonella Outbreaks in Minnesota Linked to Eggs Recalled by Wright County Egg
Egg Recall in Minnesota Due to Salmonella Risk
Food Safety Lawyer Fred Pritzker To Speak at Food Poisoning Litigation Conference
Food safety attorney Fred Pritzker will be speaking at the American Conference Institute’s Fourth National Forum on Food-Borne Illness Litigation in Chicago this fall about cross-examination of epidemiologists testifying in foodborne illness outbreak cases. Recent reports indicate that $478,381,766 is spent annually on fighting E. coli O157:H7 and, according to the American Conference Institute, “… many experts within the industry are predicting that food-borne illness will soon become the #1 cause of litigation facing the food industry.”
Minneapolis Food Poisoning Attorney Ryan Osterholm Interviewed by WCCO
WCCO-TV interviewed Pritzker Olsen attorney Ryan Osterholm in a special news report on CBS Television affiliate WCCO-TV regarding the alarming state of food safety at major league sports stadiums. Osterholm was interviewed outside Pritzker Olsen’s downtown Minneapolis offices by WCCO news anchor Frank Vascellero. Click here to see the video.
According to an ESPN investigation series, more than half of the concession stands or restaurants in 30 sports stadiums across the country had been cited for at least one “critical” or “major” health violation. Such violations pose a risk for foodborne illnesses that can result in hospitalization and in extreme cases lead to death.
“That is alarming and quite frankly it shouldn’t happen,” Osterholm said. “It’s a simple matter of taking the time and making sure you have clean products.”
The ESPN report found mouse droppings in food stations, slime in ice machines, flies in iced drinks and many reports of undercooked food. The situation could result in food poisoning involving dangerous foodborne pathogens, including E. coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter. These pathogens can survive temperatures up to 160 degrees, resulting in painful diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, dehydration, hus syndrome, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), and Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Said Osterholm about stadium vendors: “They have to turn over a lot of food very quickly and it’s often part-time employees who are working there who may not be trained.”
Ryan Osterholm is a Minneapolis food poisoning attorney that represents outbreak victims throughout the United States. To contact Ryan, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our online form for a free consultation.
Food Safety Attorney Fred Pritzker on Raw Milk Debate
Food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker commented on Green Bay, Wisconsin’s NBC26 for a story on the debate surrounding the safety of raw milk–a debate that has been focused lately in Wisconsin. In May, Governor Jim Doyle vetoed a bill that would have legalized the sale of raw milk throughout the state.
While small farmers and the people who drink their raw milk contend that it has more health benefits than pasteurized milk, Pritzker cites the severe health risks of consuming raw milk:
