New York Listeria Lawyers

Alert – Listeria Outbreak – Contaminated Cantaloupes!

Through the end of September, 13 people had died and 72 had suffered illness in 18 different states after consuming Listeria-tainted Rocky Ford cantaloupes that were grown at Jensen Farms in Granada, Colorado, and supplied by Frontera Produce, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and CNN News.

The New York Listeria lawyers of Belluck & Fox, LLP, take this outbreak seriously. If you or a loved one has suffered illness from a Rocky Ford cantaloupe from Jensen Farms, call us today at 855-205-2014 or use our online form to receive a free evaluation of your legal options.

Listeria Illness

The CDC reports that the illnesses and deaths have resulted from consuming Rocky Ford cantaloupes that were tainted by four strains of Listeria monocytogenes – a type of bacteria that can grow at room and refrigerator temperatures and causes a condition called Listeriosis.

Listeriosis can take 2-3 weeks to make a person sick. The flu-like symptoms include fever, muscle aches, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal effects. It presents a serious concern among infants, older people, those with weakened immune systems and pregnant women. Listeriosis can cause miscarriages, premature deliveries, stillbirths and infections in newborn infants.

Rocky Ford Cantaloupes

According to the CDC, the Rocky Ford cantaloupes Listeria outbreak began July 31, 2011. Deaths have been reported in New Mexico (4), Colorado (2), Texas (2), Kansas (1), Maryland (1), Missouri (1), Nebraska (1) and Oklahoma (1). Illnesses have also been reported in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, North Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Jensen Farms has voluntarily recalled all Rocky Ford whole cantaloupes that were shipped between July 29 and September 10 and distributed in 17 states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wyoming, Tennessee, Utah, Texas, Colorado, Minnesota, Kansas, New Mexico, North Carolina, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Arizona.

The tainted fruit may bear a green-and-white sticker reading, “Product of USA-Frontera Produce-Colorado Fresh-Rocky Ford-Cantaloupe” or a grey-yellow-green sticker that reads, “Jensen Farms-Sweet Rocky Fords.” The cantaloupes may also be unlabeled. The New York Listeria outbreak attorneys Belluck & Fox, LLP, urge consumers to check labels and ask their supermarket before purchasing and eating any of the suspected cantaloupes.

Contact Us Today

If you or a loved one has consumed a Listeria-infected cantaloupe, see a physician immediately. You should also seek legal advice and representation. Belluck & Fox, LLP, provides personal legal assistance to individuals who have suffered serious injuries from unsafe food and other defective products. Call us today at 855-205-2014 or use our online form to learn more.

About Listeria

The Center for Disease Control estimates that food contamination causes 76 million illnesses, 325,00 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths each year. Yet the USDA does not have the authority to order recalls, issue civil fines against plant operators, close plants or disclose to the public which retailers received the contaminated products. Since 1998 the industry has been, for all intents and purposes, self-regulated. Since that time the number of recalls per year has tripled from 44 to 118.

Timeline and History of Listeria Contamination and Food Product Safety

1929 First human case of listeria monocytogenes documented.
 
Early 1980's Listeria monocytogenes associated with foodborne transmision. By 1986 listeria infection accounts for 1850 cases and 425 deaths per year in the United States.
 
January 21, 1999 The National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, the union representing meat inspectors, blasts the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point ( HACCP) program, as too lax in permitting the industry to regulate itself. The program permits a company to reprocess and resell contaminated meat. An inspector reports finding evidence of diesel fuel and shards of metal on meat in a Georgia plant. She also reported finding maggots in a product that was returned to the plant under HACCP , reprocessed and shipped back out to the consumer. A spokesperson for the Government Accountability Project referred to HACCP as "yanking the referees from the football field."
 
January 6, 2003 Obstetrician/Gynecologist Constance Bohon, M.D., advises pregnant women that it is no longer just soft cheeses that should be avoided but also deli meat. She advises that if pregnant women feel compelled to eat deli meat they should cook it to the point that it is "steaming."
 
January 25,2003 The Bush Administration proposes boosting the federal government's food safety budget by 5.3 percent in the wake of the two major meat recalls in 2002. This would add 80 inspectors to monitor plants in the $100 billion meat and poultry industry.
 
February 17, 2003 Research indicates that adding oregano extract to ready-to-eat meat products significantly slows the growth of listeria. Also, dipping products in a calcium sulfate solution, then packaging and refrigerating the products for three months, was shown to reduce listeria levels to a non-detectable amount, according to research at Texas A&M University.
 
March 15, 2003 President Bush opposes legislation that would force meat companies to disclose which stores received possibly tainted meat during an outbreak. The American Meat Institute agrees, stating that it is sufficient to disclose the product codes to the public during an outbreak. To date, Wampler has never disclosed to the public its list of stores receiving and selling the contaminated products to the public.
 
May 23, 2003 May 23, 2003 Senator Charles Schumer urges the Department of Agriculture to register all meat manufactured in the United States from the time of slaughter to the time it reaches the stores. This tracking system would enable the government to quickly find and pull any contaminated products that were the subject of a recall.

 

For more information on listeria, view the following sites:

National Library of Medicine Food Safety Page
USDA Food Safety Page
Center for Science in The Public Interest

< Back to What We Do