Foodborne illnesses are caused by eating food or drinking beverages contaminated with bacteria, parasites, or viruses. Harmful chemicals can also cause foodborne illnesses if they have contaminated food during harvesting or processing. Most foodborne infections are undiagnosed and unreported, though the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that every year about 76 million people in the United States become ill from pathogens, or disease-causing substances, in food. Of these people, about 5,000 die.

Some of these can be avoided by identifying the symptoms, the type of illness, and deciding to seek help sooner than later.

Symptoms of a Food Borne Illness

The symptoms of a foodborne illness is very similar to that of the stomach flu virus, which can be just as dangerous. Though it may not last as long, foodborne illnesses can be more violent and excruciatingly painful. These reasons alone are a good reason to go to the emergency ward for relief.

Abdominal cramps – The cramping for a foodborne illness is somewhat unique as it can come in waves, but you may find yourself lying on the floor in fetal position begging for relief about every five or ten minutes. If it stays constant, go to the hospital.

Nausea and vomiting – Many times the illness comes after everything is digested, so you may find yourself dry heaving or even spitting up stomach acid. If you are extricating yellow or bloody substances, seek immediate medical attention.

Diarrhea – This is probably the largest culprit to dehydration, a major problem with foodborne illnesses. If there is blood at any time in the stool, seek immediate medical attention.

Fever – Fevers are common and you should take your temperature. Once you are over 102º, you are dangerously hot and should seek medical attention.

Dehydration – Like we said above, this is one of the largest concerns for medical professionals and can be alleviated through drinking lots of liquids or IV solution administered at the hospital.

Types of Food Borne Illnesses

Some illnesses get more airplay in the media, not because they are more common, but because they are more familiar. Many people can get varying exposures to each of the ailments listed below throughout their lifetimes and not even know that they’ve been run the gamut.

E. coli O157:H7 – This is a bacterial pathogen humans typically get ill from following the consumption of food or water that has been contaminated with microscopic amounts of cow feces. The symptoms are often severe and bloody diarrhea and painful abdominal cramps, without much fever. In 3% to 5% of cases, a complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) can occur several weeks after the initial symptoms. This severe complication includes temporary anemia, profuse bleeding, and kidney failure.

Salmonella – This is also a bacterium that is widespread in the intestines of birds, reptiles and mammals. Humans can catch it via a variety of different foods of animal origin.  The illness typically includes fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. For people with poor health or weakened immune systems, it can invade the bloodstream and cause life-threatening infections.

Campylobacter – This is considered the most commonly identified bacterial cause of diarrheal illness in the world. It is a bacterial pathogen that causes fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. These bacteria live in the intestines of healthy birds, and most raw poultry meat has Campylobacter on it. Eating undercooked chicken, or other food that has been contaminated with juices dripping from raw chicken is the most frequent source of this infection.

Calicivirus, or Norwalk-like virus – This is also an extremely common, yet fairly underpublicised cause of foodborne illness. It is rarely diagnosed, because the laboratory test is not widely available. It causes an acute gastrointestinal illness, usually with more vomiting than diarrhea, that resolves within two days. Unlike many foodborne pathogens that have animal reservoirs, it is believed that Norwalk-like viruses spread primarily from one infected person to another.  Infected kitchen workers can contaminate a salad or sandwich as they prepare it, if they have the virus on their hands.  Infected fishermen have contaminated oysters as they harvested them.

Listeria – Listeriosis is a serious infection usually caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. The disease primarily affects older adults, pregnant women, newborns, and adults with weakened immune systems. If you develop fever and chills while pregnant or if you are very sick with fever and muscle aches or stiff neck, consult your doctor immediately. A blood or spinal fluid test (to look for the bacteria) will show if you have listeriosis.

Product Liability Lawyers

Contracting these illnesses are very common in places like BBQs and restaurants that may not properly store or prepare their food. I know, it may seem crazy , but it happens. Further, the products that are both grown and manufactured, if not properly handled and transported, can end up with serious contamination over a whole shipment causing people across whole states or sections of the country to become sick. Coming in contact with these instances it is absolutely critical that you inform the CDC immediately to avoid further illness or death.

If you or someone you know has became seriously ill and had to be hospitalized as a result of product contamination, then it is important that you find an experienced Product Liability Attorney to represent you so that you receive the compensation you deserve. Call the Product Recall Attorneys at Phillips Webster for a free consultation.

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• Manufacturer Defect Lawsuits and Liability
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Preliminary results of the investigation of a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections indicate a link to eating Tiny Greens’ Alfalfa Sprouts at Jimmy John’s restaurant outlets, a chain of popular subshops. Approximately half of the illnesses occurred in Illinois, where nearly all of the ill individuals ate sandwiches containing sprouts at various Jimmy John’s outlets.

The FDA is recommending that consumers not eat Tiny Greens brand Alfalfa Sprouts or Spicy Sprouts. Restaurant and food service operators should not serve them. Consumers, retailers and others who have Tiny Greens Alfalfa Sprouts or Spicy Sprouts should throw them away in a sealed container since the disease can spread through insects, vermin, and stray house pets.

What is the Danger?

Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment. However, some individuals may require hospitalization from severe diarrhea.

Salmonella infection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream and then to other body sites. It can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics. The elderly, infants and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to become severely ill from Salmonella infection.

Consumers who think they may have become ill from eating contaminated sprouts should consult their health care providers.

Sprouts are a known source of foodborne illness. Since 1996, there have been at least 30 reported outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with different types of raw and lightly cooked sprouts. Most of these outbreaks were caused by Salmonella and E. coli.

But experts estimate that there are as many as 2 million foodborne illnesses every year in the United States and as many as 650,000 hospitalizations, many of these elderly and children. Food born illnesses are said to cost both employers and tax payers billions of dollars every year from lost time at work and health care subsidies for uninsured people.

Product Recall Attorneys Protect the Rights of Consumers

Currently, the FDA is investigating the problem in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Illinois Department of Public Health and other states and is working with Tiny Greens. Jimmy John’s restaurants have voluntarily suspended serving sprouts at their Illinois franchise locations.

The authorities have suggested that the distribution could have been considerably wider and since the Jimmy John’s chain has entered the Washington State market in recent years, consumers should be aware of the recall and perhaps avoid ordering sprouts on your sandwich until the FDA is done with its investigation.

If you or someone you know has consumed sprouts from Tiny Greens Organic or Jimmy Johns and has became seriously ill and had to be hospitalized as a result, then it is important that you find an experienced Product Liability Attorney to represent you so that you receive the compensation you deserve. Call the Product Recall Attorneys at Phillips Webster for a free consultation.

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• Manufacturer Defect Lawsuits and Liability
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A local cheese producer just over the mountains from Puget Sound is fully aware of that, but unfortunately they’re feeling the heat as some of their raw goat cheese product has apparently been recalled after making as few as 8 people in Washington, Oregon, and California sick from the food borne illness, E. coli.

Earlier this month, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was informed of an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections by the Oregon Public Health Department (OPHD), WSDA, and the Washington Department of Health (WDOH). An investigation by these agencies in conjunction with Public Health of Seattle and King County has identified eight ill persons with the outbreak strain who were ill between September and November.

Food Borne Illness Outbreak

The investigation found that of the seven patients for whom food history is available, one person reported consuming Sally Jackson cheese, and four others may have consumed Sally Jackson cheese. Three of the four ill persons who may have consumed Sally Jackson cheese ate cheese from two restaurants serving Sally Jackson cheese, while the fourth tasted several cheeses that may have included Sally Jackson cheese. The remaining two patients consumed artisanal cheeses but do not know if it was Sally Jackson cheese. Analysis of cheese samples is currently in progress. This warning is to protect consumers until more information becomes available.

Sally Jackson brand cheeses made from raw cow, goat, and sheep milk were distributed nationwide. The cheeses were distributed to restaurants, distributors, and retail stores. The three types of cheese are all soft raw milk cheeses in various sized pieces. The products do not have labels or codes. The cow and sheep milk cheeses are wrapped in chestnut leaves, the goat cheese is wrapped in grape leaves and all are secured with twine. The cheeses may have an outer wrapping of waxed paper.

Unpasteurized raw milk in raw milk cheese is obtained from cows, sheep, or goats and is not pasteurized to kill harmful bacteria. This raw, unpasteurized milk can carry dangerous bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria, which are responsible for causing millions of food borne illnesses every year. These harmful bacteria can seriously affect the health of anyone who drinks raw milk or eats cheese and other foods made from raw milk. The bacteria in raw milk can be especially dangerous to pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.

Symptoms of E. coli:

• Diarrhea (Watery then Bloody)
• Severe Stomach Cramps
• Vomiting
• Kidney Failure (renal failure)

Product Liability Lawyers Protect Victims

Sally Jackson Cheeses are produced on a 140 acre farm on fairly high elevation outside of the little town of Oroville in Washington. They say on their website that they are fully aware of the FDA regulation and stringently adhere to the FDA requirement of a 60 day aging process for raw milk cheeses. They have not specifically made a statement to address this recall.

The FDA has warned that if you have any Sally Jackson cheese products, you should place it in a sealed plastic bag, opened or unopened and return to the place of purchase. You can also dispose of the cheese, but it must be placed in a closed plastic trash can because animals can further spread the bacteria if they get to the product. Retailers and distributors should immediately pull all Sally Jackson cheese from their shelves. Restaurants should not serve Sally Jackson cheese and it should be properly disposed of. This will help prevent the spread of E. coli.

If you or someone you know has been rendered severely ill leading to debilitating medical issues or death it is imperative that you find skilled legal counsel right away to assure that you receive the compensation you deserve. Call the defective product lawyersat Phillips Webster.

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• Manufacturer Defect Lawsuits and Liability
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The manufacturer of the popular Bumble Bee products is the Suter Company, Inc., of Sycamore, Ill. They are recalling approximately 72,000 pounds of canned chicken salad products that may contain foreign materials, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The problem was discovered after consumer complaints about finding hard plastic in the product. FSIS confirmed that they have not gotten any reports of personal injury, but anyone concerned about an injury from consumption of this product should first contact a physician for an examination and then seek legal counsel concerning their next course of action to seek compensation for their injury.

The products subject to recall include:

• 8.2-ounce packages of “BUMBLE BEE LUNCH ON THE RUN CHICKEN SALAD COMPLETE LUNCH KIT.” The package contains a 2.9-ounce can of Bumble Bee Chicken Salad along with crackers, mixed fruit, a cookie and a spoon. The package label indicates the product is “Mixed and Ready to Eat.” The product package indicates a “Best-by” date of 07/11.
• 3.5-ounce packages of “BUMBLE BEE CHICKEN SALAD WITH CRACKERS.” The package contains a 2.9-can of Bumble Bee Chicken Salad and crackers. The package label indicates the product is “Ready to Eat.” The product package indicates a “Best-by” date of 01/12 or 02/12.

The cans of chicken salad bear the establishment number “P-169″ inside the USDA mark of inspection and the lot code “0225XXQBC” printed on the package. The chicken salad products were assembled between Aug. 14 and Aug 28, 2010, and shipped to distributors and retail stores nationwide.

Seattle Recall Lawyer Protects Consumer Rights

The FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers on the shelves of the retailers. It is best that you take any Bumble Bee Chicken Salad product you may have and discard of it.

These kinds of manufacturing problems can lead to serious health consequences through not only choking, but a sharp object can cause irritation or ulceration of the digestive and gastrointestinal tract leading to internal bleeding and possible infection. We commend the company and FSIS for recalling the product upon hearing of the risk, but prior proper consumer safety procedures may have been able to prevent this recall.

If you or someone you know has consumed a product made by Suter Company, Inc. and has became seriously ill and had to be hospitalized as a result, then it is important that you find an experienced Product Liability Attorney to represent you so that you receive the compensation you deserve. Call the Product Recall Attorneys at Phillips Webster for a free consultation.

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• Manufacturer Defect Lawsuits and Liability
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Many will be picked up by family members, others will take public transit, but then there are those who must rent cars to get to their destination. This is where the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) comes in. U.S. safety officials have launched an investigation to determine how quickly rental car companies repair vehicles that have been recalled for safety issues.

They have sent letters to GM, Chrysler and Ford asking for details on the recall repair status of almost 3 million cars that are among the vehicles most commonly rented. The government agency says crackdown was prompted by “incidents involving allegations of personal injury and death” allegedly caused by “safety defects” on rental vehicles.

Legal Action Prompts Government Action

The NHTSA investigation was prompted by a highly publicized case concerning Raechel Houck, 24, and Jacquie Houuck, 20, the sisters who died in 2004 after their car caught fire and hit an oncoming semi-tractor trailer on Highway 101 in northern California. The sisters had rented their Chrysler PT Cruiser in October 2004 in Santa Cruz, California to visit their parents in Ventura County.

This was one month after Enterprise received a recall notice that an under-hood engine fire could result from a possible leak in the vehicle’s power steering fluid. Enterprise chose to do nothing about it and rent the cars to customers anyway, despite the risk. The result was the family winning a long drawn out wrongful death lawsuit for $15 million.

The lawsuit also yielded an uncharacteristic admittance of wrong doing by Enterprise, the largest car rental company in the country and owners of other large rental operations such as Alamo and National.

“When demand called, we rented out recalled vehicles, it happened, I won’t lie,” said Mark Matias, a former Enterprise area manager in San Francisco, in an affidavit filed for the case in 2008. “If all you have are recalled vehicles on the lot, you rent them out. It was a given. The whole company did it. Enterprise’s corporate offices look the other way regarding this fact.”

No federal law requires that rental companies fix recalled cars before handing the keys to consumers, and as the ABC News report documented, not all firms have policies in place to ensure that vehicles under safety recall are repaired before they’re rented.

Enterprise competitors, Avis and Hertz, had no such companywide policies either, according to their spokespeople. Both companies said they assessed safety recalls on a case-by-case basis, and work closely with the car manufacturers to make sure repairs are done in a timely manner.

This, of course, doesn’t mean that they don’t rent recalled cars, but Hertz has confirmed that it is their policy not to rent out recalled vehicles until after they have been repaired. But, with no laws governing that behavior, as lots empty and managers see profit sit dormant they are not currently breaking the law in deciding to rent those vehicles anyway.

Rental Recall Legislation

As is the American way, the response to the Houck incident and the rental recall issue as a whole has been slow and mostly reactionary. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is currently considering a petition filed by the Center for Auto Safety that would prevent Enterprise Holdings from renting out vehicles that are still subject to a safety recall such as brakes, steering, airbag, seatbelt, and fuel line recalls.

Senator Charles Schumer, D.-New York, has called on the FTC to expand on the Enterprise petition from the Center for Auto Safety by requiring all of the rental car companies to repair recalled vehicles before they rent them.

“By knowingly renting recalled vehicles, rental car companies have shown a brazen disregard for the safety of their consumers,” said Schumer in his letter to FTC commissioner Jon Leibowitz. “This gap in the current law is wrong, and the FTC should immediately fix this problem so that there are no more preventable tragedies. If the FTC can’t or won’t act, Congress will.”

In its return letter to Schumer, the FTC acknowledged that the “alleged practices could pose serious safety concerns to consumers,” and said agency staff are still reviewing the issue.

How to Assure a Safe Drive

The key to all driving is patience. A zen-like state of balance between calm and alert. Of course most of us have neither found our chi nor sought after it since there is an endless wall of traffic in front of use holding us back from inner peace. But, patience can begin before you even get into the car, especially when renting a car. Take a moment, breath deep, and follow the instructions below, you will be safer in the long run.

Safety and Rental Cars –

• Service – Rental car people are generally nice and helpful if you don’t ask them to do anything out of the ordinary other than signing yellow copy paper and exchanging money. But get their name and find out some information from them that they don’t normally give such as when the car was last rented and whether the car is from that location’s fleet or an out of state fleet. This could indicate a car that may not be on a regular maintenance schedule and could have slipped into the recall repair cracks
• Contract – Take 15 minutes to look at the contract focusing on maintenance and if there is any verbiage of recalls.
• Research – If you have a phone with a data plan or a laptop that can get a wifi connection, then go to http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls/recallsearch.cfm and look up the car they are about to rent you to see if there are any issues with the car.
• Inspection – Certainly look for blemishes and dings inside and out, but also check seatbelts, check the spare tire, check tire changing equipment, adjust the seats to see if they lock in place. Also ask about tire chains and road-side assistance.

Recall Lawyer Represents Victims Rights

There is an issue of profit here. A recall could mean millions of dollars in lost revenue for rental companies. Even before the Enterprise lawsuit verdict in June, new fleet contracts with car manufacturers started showing stricter recall verbiage, but in the interest of profit, not customer safety.

What the efforts of the interest groups and Senator Schumer are intended to do is create some standards. This would not only help consumers, but now that rental car companies are fully aware that they are just as much a target for lawsuits in a recall as the car’s manufacturer, it also helps the rental industry as a whole.

Rental car companies are liable for the service and product with which they profit. If you or a loved one are injured or killed due to the negligent recall policies of a rental car agency then it is important that you find skilled representation that is experienced in Product Liability Lawsuits and Wrongful Death Lawsuits. Call the Recall Lawyers at Phillips Webster for a free consultation.

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• Toyota Recalls
• Crashworthiness
• Defective Tires

That’s right; toys aren’t inspected prior to entering shelves. In the past retailers rarely had standards with which they could produce toys such as with lead or other hazardous materials. In fact just this year toys and children’s accessories were recalled on two different occasions because the substances they were produced with were found to be slightly radioactive.

But the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) wants parents and consumers to know that safeguards put in place in recent years are making a positive impact and helping to restore confidence in the safety of toys in the marketplace. The new toy safeguards include:

• Establishing the lowest lead content and lead paint limits in the world
• Setting limits on the use of certain phthalates (a plastics additive that makes plastic bendable, but breaks down easily and has been linked to the development of autism in children)
• Converting the voluntary toy standard into a mandatory standard
• Working with Customs and Border Protection data systems to track shipments as they are in transit from other countries thereby increasing our effectiveness in discovering dangerous products coming into U.S. ports

“By limiting metals and chemicals in toys and making the voluntary standard mandatory, CPSC has put safeguards in place for toys to better protect children,” said Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “The increase in injuries is a concern, and we want parents to make safe purchases and for children to be safe at play.”

That’s fantastic news, even though we’ve known about the detriments of lead poisoning for about 300 years. And finally the policy of leaving the safety standards up to companies and then reacting to the crisis once a child is personally injured or killed is over with. It took a while. But thankfully, the CPSC is now entering an era of responsibility, proactive policies, and accountability as shown in their latest study that they released to the public today.

CPSC Data Study

The CPSC Report (pdf) went through and compiled the last three years worth of data and found some good and bad trends. Their research found that there were 44 toy recalls in fiscal year 2010. This is down from 50 recalls in 2009 and 172 recalls in 2008. Toy recalls related to lead in 2010 were down to 3, which is far fewer than 9 in 2009 and 19 in 2008.

With the decline in recalls, toy-related fatalities also decreased in 2009. The CPSC today notes that for 2009 CPSC received reports of 12 deaths to children under the age of 15, which is down from 24 toy-related fatalities in 2007 and 2008. Riding toys were associated with almost 60% of the reported deaths in 2009: 3 with tricycles, 2 with powered riding toys, and 2 with nonmotorized riding toys or unspecified riding toys. Most deaths were from drowning (generally in swimming pools), motor vehicle accidents, or airway obstruction from a small toy or small part of a toy (the largest cause of CPSC toy recalls).

While recalls and deaths have declined, new data shows that toy-related injuries are increasing as you can see from the chart below. Frequently these injuries involved lacerations, contusions, and abrasions that most often occurred to a child’s face and head. Importantly many of the incidents were associated with, but not necessarily caused by, a toy.

Three Pronged Approach

“To help keep what has been called the most wonderful time of the year happy and incident-free,” Tenenbaum said, “CPSC is encouraging consumers to adopt a three-pronged safety approach.”

These Three Safety Recommendations From the CPSC are:

1. Which Toy for Which Child – Always choose age appropriate toys.
2. Gear Up for Safety – Include safety gear whenever shopping for sports-related gifts or ride-on toys, including bicycles, skates, and scooters.
3. Location, Location, Location – Be aware of your child’s surroundings during play. Young children should avoid playing with ride-on toys near automobile traffic, pools or ponds. They also should avoid playing in indoor areas associated with hazards such as kitchens and bathrooms and in rooms with corded window blinds.

Here are some additional safety steps that consumers can take while shopping this holiday season:

• Scooters and other Riding Toys – Riding toys, skateboards, and in-line skates go fast, and falls could be deadly. Helmets and safety gear should be worn properly at all times and be sized to fit.
• Small Balls and other Toys with Small Parts – For children younger than age three, avoid toys with small parts, which can cause choking.
• Balloons - Children can choke or suffocate on deflated or broken balloons. Keep deflated balloons away from children younger than eight years old. Discard broken balloons at once.
• Magnets – For children under age six, avoid building or play sets with small magnets. If magnets or pieces with magnets are swallowed, serious injuries and/or death can occur.

Once the gifts are open:

• Immediately discard plastic wrappings or other packaging on toys before they become dangerous play things.
• Keep toys appropriate for older children away from younger siblings.
• Charging batteries should be supervised by adults. Chargers and adapters can pose thermal burn hazards to young children. Pay attention to instructions and warnings on battery chargers. Some chargers lack any mechanism to prevent overcharging.

Recall Lawyers Protecting Consumer’s Rights

CPSC says that they are working with foreign and domestic toy manufacturers, importers, and retailers to help them understand and comply with these requirements while keeping their doors open and their businesses competitive. This is great, but the safety of children should always trump profit 100% or the time.

The only way to truly convince companies that they need to take the safety of their products seriously is for consumers to utilize their right to seek compensation for injuries sustained by their children while riding or playing with the products. This will force companies to realize that they need to be more diligent in the design and testing of each of their products that they introduce into the youth marketplace.

If you or a child are seriously injured or killed due to the defective design of a child’s toy then you need a skilled lawyer with experience in Product Liability Litigation to assure that you get the compensation you deserve. Call the Recall Lawyers at Phillips Webster for a free consultation.

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• Manufacturer Defect Lawsuits and Liability
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• Defective Design

A Texas-based meat processor, New Braunfels Smokehouse, is recalling about 2,600 pounds of cooked, ready-to-eat smoked turkey breast products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes – a germ that can cause a potentially fatal illness called listeriosis.

The recall covers the following products:

• 1-pound packages of New Branufels Smokehouse Sliced Smoked Turkey labeled with package code 2210;
• 4- to 6-pound packages of New Braunfels Honey-Glazed Spiral Sliced Smokehouse Hickory Smoked Boneless Breast of Turkey with package code 2180;
• 4- to 6-pound whole breast packages of Stegall Boneless Hickory Smoked Turkey Breast with package code 2210;
• 4- to 6-pound whole breast packages of Stegall Spiral Sliced Hickory Smoked Turkey Breast with package codes 2180 or 2210.

Each package bears the USDA mark of inspection and the number P-975. The packages were produced on August 4, 2010, and distributed nationwide.

Defective Design Lawyers Protecting Consumers

Listerosis can cause a range of symptoms, including high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. It can also cause miscarriage and stillbirth, as well as serious and sometimes fatal infections in people with weak immunity, such as infants, elderly people, and those with HIV infection or cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

If you or someone you know has consumed a turkey product made by New Braunfels Smokehouse and has became seriously ill and had to be hospitalized as a result, then it is important that you find an experienced Product Liability Attorney to represent you so that you receive the compensation you deserve. Call the Product Recall Attorneys at Phillips Webster for a free consultation.

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• Manufacturer Defect Lawsuits and Liability
• Recall
• Defective Design

The FDA is recalling nearly 44,000 lbs of Orval Kent products because they contain fresh cilantro produced and distributed by EpicVeg, Inc. of Lompoc, CA.  Last Wednesday (November 3, 2010) Epic Veg, Inc. issued the notice to recall one lot of cilantro with the UPC code 033383801049 and lot 6127R because they found that this lot of cilantro has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. EpicVeg, Inc. distributed the cilantro to Field Fresh Foods, a produce supplier to Orval Kent.

Thought there are no reports of illness associated with this recall the FDA and Center for Disease Control (CDC) take these issues very seriously because, according to the CDC, foodborne diseases like Salmonella and E.coli have been estimated to cause 6 million to 81 million illnesses and up to 9,000 deaths each year in the United States.

Salmonella is a common foodborne pathogen that can cause severe illnesses, including fever, abdominal cramps and diarrhea.  While most individuals recover in three to five days without medical intervention, the infection can be life-threatening to young children, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.

The Recalled Items Are:

• Bistro 28 Cranberry Mango Pico de Gallo – use by Dec. 12, 2010
• CA Pizza Kitchen BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad – use by dates Nov. 24, 25, 27, and Dec. 1-2, 2010
• Chef Solutions Mexican 5 Layer Dip 12 oz. – use by Dec. 11, 2010
• Fish House Foods Ceviche 5 lb. - use by Oct. 30 and Dec. 7, 2010
• Fish House Foods Fajita Chicken Salad Kit 1 lb. – use by Jan. 28 or Feb. 4 2010
• Fish House Foods SW Fajita Bean Salad w Chk – use by Nov. 21, 2010
• Fry’s Krab Ceviche Fry 12 oz. – use by Dec. 9, 2010
• Orval Kent Chipotle Chicken Pasta Kit – use by Jan. 2, 2011
• Orval Kent Cilantro Pecan Dip 8 oz. - use by Dec. 1, 2010
• Trader Joe’s Cilantro Dressing 12 oz - use by Feb. 9, 2011
• Trader Joe’s Cilantro Pecan Dip 7 oz – use by Nov. 20, 2010 (West Coast Stores Only) use by Nov. 24, 2010
• Trader Joe’s Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette 12 oz. - use by Jan. 9, 2011

If you or someone you know has consumed a cilantro product made by Orval Kent, and has became seriously ill and had to be hospitalized as a result, then it is important that you find an experienced Product Liability Attorney to represent you so that you receive the compensation you deserve. Call the Product Recall Attorneys at Phillips Webster for a free consultation.

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• Manufacturer Defect Lawsuits and Liability
• Recall
• Defective Design

Children’s car seats have saved hundreds of thousands of children’s lives, but when they malfunction or are in some way defectively designed it can bring tragedy down upon a family that could potentially rip it apart. That’s why the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has chosen to recall thousands of Britax infant car seats.

The company received four reports of the chest clip breaking and, as is good protocol, reported them to the CPSC. Injuries from three reports included minor lacerations and scratches to arms and a finger; and one report involved an infant placing the clip in his mouth, posing a serious choking hazard.

This is a bad defect since these hazards can occur while the car is in motion, thus putting both the infant and the driver in jeopardy once the child starts choking or bleeding. If the driver does not react calmly, the result of an already hurt child in a car seat with a broken harness getting into a car accident could turn out to be a nightmare.

The Britax Chaperone infant car seat recall involves model numbers:

• E9L95P2 (Red Mill)
• E9L95P3
• E9L95P5 (Cowmooflage)
• E9L69N9 (Moonstone)

The units were manufactured between April 2009 and May 2010 and sold at retailers nationwide and on the Britax website from June 2009 to October 2010 for about $230. The white serial label with the seat’s serial number, model number, and manufacture date can be found on the underside of the car seat.

The CPSC is recommending that owners of Britax Chaperone Infant car seats should immediately contact Britax for a free repair kit, which includes a replacement chest clip. Owners who have registered with the company have been directly contacted by Britax.

The infant car seats have also been recalled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), showing how serious this recall is.

As Product Liability Attorneys we are serious about protecting consumers, particularly the smallest ones. We have long been monitoring stroller recalls and dangerous drop-side cribs. We represent families of children who have been seriously injured or killed because of defective design and inadequate testing.

If you or a child are seriously injured or killed due to the defective design of your infant car seat then you need a skilled lawyer with experience in Product Liability Litigation to assure that you get the compensation you deserve. Call Phillips Webster for a free consultation.

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• Manufacturer Defect Lawsuits and Liability
• Recall
• Defective Design

Not only did this new financing plan waft through the industry, but also the “recall early and often” policy, which seemed to be very much the opposite prior to Toyota’s woes. Before it was only pressure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that prompted companies reluctantly announce recalls.

Then came the death of two young sisters in a recalled PT Cruiser that they rented from the largest rental car company in the United States, Enterprise Rent-a-car. The PT Cruiser had been recalled for a defective power steering hose that could cause engine fires. The car caught fire while the sisters traveled on a California highway in 2004, causing them to lose steering. The vehicle struck a semitrailer truck head-on, killing the two women. Enterprise later admitted to liability in their deaths and the jury reached a verdict of $15 million in their wrongful death lawsuit June.

All of this, the recalls and the sister’s deaths, have inspired two consumer groups and in conjunction with senior lawmaker Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. have asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to force the company, Enterprise Holdings Inc., to fix vehicles under recall before renting them out. Enterprise Holdings is the parent company of three large popular rental car brands Enterprise, National and Alamo.

Recalls and Rentals

The two groups, the Center for Auto Safety and Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, petitioned the FTC in August of this year to direct Enterprise Holdings to change its policies and take recalled vehicles out of the rental fleet until they are fixed. They contend rental car companies put off recall repairs because it hurts business.

They cite that most business travelers or those renting cars for long trips don’t know whether the vehicle they pick up at the rental lot has been the subject of a recall, posing a potential safety threat.

Schumer asked the FTC today to end the practice of renting recalled vehicles across the industry, telling the federal agency in a letter that “if automotive dealers are not allowed to sell recalled vehicles without first fixing the safety issues, then rental car companies should be held to the same standard.”

“If a car is not safe enough to be bought and driven off the lot, then it is not safe enough to rent,” Schumer wrote. Threatening legislation, he said that if the FTC “can’t or won’t act, Congress will.”

Rental Company Resistance

Enterprise Holdings has the nation’s largest fleet with 1.1 million vehicles. In response to the request made to the FTC, the company said it already has a policy in place that has them park vehicles when auto manufacturers make that recommendation and they decline to rent them until either fixed or released.

The problem with this policy is that automakers typically tell owners to contact their dealers to schedule a service appointment but rarely tell all owners to stop driving their vehicles until they do so. Car manufacturers may also be reluctant to cost their largest fleet accounts to take their cars out of service.

Enterprise spokeswoman Laura Bryant said the company’s “practice frequently goes above and beyond what is required” and noted that Enterprise grounded more than 30,000 recalled Toyota and Pontiac vehicles earlier this year. “In most cases, we place a ‘hold’ on recalled vehicles so they are not rented until the recall work is completed,” she said.

Defective Vehicle Lawyers

As mentioned above, there is also an issue of profit here. A recall could mean millions of dollars in lost revenue for rental companies. Even before the Enterprise lawsuit verdict in June, new fleet contracts have already started seeing stricter recall verbiage, but in the interest of profit, not customer safety.

What the efforts of the interest groups and Senator Schumer is create some standards. This would not only help consumers, but now that rental car companies are fully aware that they are just as much a target for lawsuits in a recall as the car’s manufacturer, it also helps the rental industry as a whole.

Rental car companies are liable for the service and product with which they profit. If you or a loved one are injured or killed due to the negligent recall policies of a rental car agency then it is important that you find skilled representation that is experienced in Product Liability Lawsuits and Wrongful Death Lawsuits. Call the Recall Lawyers at Phillips Webster for a free consultation.

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• Toyota Recalls
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