By ANGELA DELLI SANTI
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J. (AP) - All 11 Taco Bells implicated in an E. coli outbreak in New York and New Jersey used the same food distributor, the restaurant chain said Tuesday as health officials tried to pinpoint the source of the dangerous bacteria that sickened at least three dozen people.
Nine people remained hospitalized in New Jersey and New York, including an 11-year-old boy in stable condition with kidney damage.
Taco Bell Corp. said it had sanitized its nine closed restaurants and planned to reopen them on Tuesday. At the same time, spokesman Rob Poetsch said: "We have no indication what the source is. We're looking into all possibilities."
The distributor, Texas-based McLane Co., said that Taco Bell representatives and state and federal health inspectors toured the distribution center in Burlington, N.J., that supplied the eight Long Island, N.Y., restaurants and the three in New Jersey....
Jamba Juice Warns Consumers About Smoothie Contamination (CA, AZ, NV - 12/5/06)
SAN FRANCISCO - Jamba Juice Co. warned consumers Tuesday that a potentially deadly bacterium may have contaminated smoothies that contain strawberries.
The warning, released in consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, applies to smoothies sold at Jamba Juice stores in Arizona, Southern Nevada and Southern California between Nov. 25 and Dec. 1.
San Francisco-based Jamba Juice issued the warning after one of its suppliers - Cleugh's Frozen Foods of Salinas - said that frozen strawberries from one of its facilities tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes....
STRAWBERRIES...I was just wondering if it was strawberries.
Thank you for the info all4one.
Right down the street from the same Taco Bell here in NJ.
March 9, 2006, 4:12 pm
The Case of the Bennigan’s Caesar Salad
Posted by Peter Lattman
“Did Caesar salad kill a healthy teen?” asks a headline in today’s Newark Star-Ledger. Though not quite comparable to the case of the flying shrimp (see posts here and here), here is yet another case that will transport you back to your first-year torts class (think Palsgraf). A two-week trial begins today in a New Jersey federal court brought by the family of a girl who got sick — allegedly from eating a Caesar Salad at her local Bennigan’s — and died three years later.
Here are the tragic facts, according to the Star-Ledger story:
* In June 1999, Tara Winnicki had just finished final exams and headed to the local Bennigan’s with a group of friends to celebrate the end of the school year. She ate a Caesar salad and drank a Dr Pepper. One of her friends ate a Caesar salad with chicken.
* The next morning, the 16-year-old from North Brunswick, N.J., woke up feeling sick to her stomach, but she still got into the family car for a roadtrip to Florida.
* The trip came to halt in Virginia when Tara became violently ill. Within two days, she was hospitalized with kidney failure, apparently the result of food poisoning that left her severely dehydrated. (Though no one else in her dining party got sick.)
* Over the next three years, Tara’s health continued to deteriorate. She underwent a kidney transplant, which ultimately failed. All the while, her family racked up $800,000 in medical bills. Tara died in December 2003.
The girl’s family says the Caesar Salad caused her death and filed a civil lawsuit against the restaurant chain. Lawyers for Bennigan’s deny the allegations and say there is no evidence to suggest the meal she ate caused her illness.
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/EastCoastFoods11_06.html
Recall -- Firm Press Release
FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.
East Coast Foods Inc. Issues an Alert on Uneviscerated Fish
Contact:
Mark Gorelik
(718) 372-1113
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE --. Brooklyn, N.Y. -- Nov. 28, 2006 --- East Coast Foods Inc., 2723 W. 15th St. Brooklyn, N.Y., 11224, is recalling 48 cans of Kaija brand uneviscerated Herring in Special Brine. The uneviscerated fish was discovered by New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets inspectors during a routine inspection and subsequent analysis of the product by Food Laboratory personnel confirmed that the fish had not been eviscerated prior to processing.
This product may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum spores, which can cause botulism, a serious and potentially fatal food-borne illness.
The sale of this type of fish is prohibited under a New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets regulations because Clostridium botulinum spores are more likely to be concentrated in the viscera than in any other portion of the fish. Uneviscerated fish has been linked to outbreaks of botulism poisoning. Symptoms of botulism include blurred or double vision, general weakness, and poor reflexes, difficulty swallowing and respiratory paralysis.
The recalled Kaija brand uneviscerated Herring in Special Brine in an uncoded 1300g metal can with Cyrillic but no English labeling, was sold nationwide.
No illnesses have been reported to date.
Consumers who have Kaija brand uneviscerated Herring in Special Brine are advised not to eat it, but should return it to the place of purchase. Consumers with questions should contact the company at (718) 372-1113
###
Adding two links to your post all4one:
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/sunopta12_06.html
Recall -- Firm Press Release
SNIPPET: "FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.
Cleugh's Frozen Foods Inc. Recalls Frozen Strawberries Sold to Jamba Juice"
===
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/jambajuice12_06.html
SNIPPET: "Recall -- Firm Press Release
FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.
Jamba Juice Issues Alert Regarding Strawberry Smoothies"
A successful food jobber then as now finds himself in a lucrative trade. McLane Co. gives this a whole new dimension. Today it’s the foods distribution sector of Wal-Mart Corporation, and McLane Co.’s revenues are in ever-increasing billions, even though it is the new kid among Wal-Mart divisions...
McLane Co. Inc. (Wal Mart Owned Food Distribution Company)