MINNEAPOLIS 5/2/2010 1:41:01 PM
Pritzker Olsen Monitors Campus Food Poisoning Probe
Food safety law firm urges USDA to broaden E. coli protections
National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen has learned that ground beef is not high on the list of foods suspected of causing an outbreak of E. coli O145 in Michigan, Ohio and New York, where approximately 50 university students and other people are believed to be infected.
Health officials are investigating a cause that likely comes from a shared foodservice supplier or foodservice item at Ohio State University, University of Michigan and Daemen College, said Fred Pritzker, founder and president of the firm. Regardless of what food ultimately is confirmed as the cause, Pritzker is calling on USDA to immediately take steps to broaden E. coli protections where beef is slaughtered and processed. Contaminated ground beef is currently the most common source of E. coli infection.
E. coli O157:H7 is the most prevalent type of E. coli in U.S. food poisoning cases. Since 1994, the beef industry has been required to test for it, and it has been illegal to sell ground beef containing the pathogen.
But since then, USDA has failed to put the same restrictions on six additional strains of shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STEC), which include E. coli O145, 045, 0121, 0103, 026 and O111. "This university outbreak of E. coli O145 shows the need for the USDA to take a major step forward in keeping potentially deadly E. coli strains out of the U.S. beef supply," Pritzker said. "Non-O157 STECs are every bit as hazardous as E. coli O157:H7 and they all need to be regulated."
Pritzker's firm represents many food poisoning clients, including a survivor of E. coli O111. The CDC estimates that non-0157 STECs cause 36,700 illnesses, 1,100 hospitalizations and 30 deaths in America each year. These strains can cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), kidney failure, and E. coli death, just like the O157 strain.
Pritzker Olsen law firm, headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, represents individuals and families nationwide in cases involving foodborne illness. The firm is involved in virtually every major foodborne illness outbreak and has obtained some of the largest verdicts and settlements in foodborne illness cases. Attorney Fred Pritzker can be reached at 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE).
For more information on food safety and food defense for schools, visit School Safety Partners at www.SchoolSafetyPartners.org.
