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Lawsuit in E. coli Cookie Dough Outbreak
Filed by Marler Clark Source of
Article: http://www.marlerblog.com/2009/06/articles/legal-cases/lawsuit-in-e-coli-cookie-dough-outbreak-filed-by-marler-clark/ A young woman who was
hospitalized for seven days after eating raw cookie dough made by Nestle USA
filed suit today against the company in California Superior Court, San Mateo
County. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 18-year-old Jillian Collins by her
attorneys, William Marler of the Seattle-based foodborne illness law firm
Marler Clark and Terry O’ Reilly of the San Mateo firm Reilly Collins. San Mateo resident Jillian
Collins ate uncooked Nestle Toll House cookie dough in late May, 2009. On May
26, she fell ill with painful abdominal cramps and diarrhea that soon turned
bloody. Her symptoms worsened to the point where she sought urgent care. She
was later admitted to the hospital, where tests revealed that she was
infected with E. coli O157:H7. The genetic fingerprint of her test matched
that of the outbreak strain which has infected 65 people in 29 states to
date. This outbreak is an example
of how virulent E. coli bacteria can be, and how many people can be affected
when it enters the national food supply, Nestle USA is a company with a
good food safety record, and they worked very quickly to get a voluntary
recall of the product started. But even that isn’t enough for those who were
sickened in this outbreak. It points to how vigilant we need to be in our
food safety regulation and oversight. The first announcement
about the multi-state outbreak was made on Thursday, June 18 by the Colorado
Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE), warning consumers about
consuming the uncooked Nestle Toll House cookie dough product, and revealing
that more than sixty were confirmed ill in 28 states. It wasn’t until late
Friday, June 19 that the CDC released their outbreak information, which updated
the totals to 65 ill in 29 states. Nestle has stopped
production at the Virginia facility that produced the cookie dough.
Everyone I talk to is stumped by how a bacteria normally associated with
cattle feces made its way into the facility, and then into such a highly
processed product. We may not solve that mystery; what we can do is work to
prevent this type of event from happening again. The way to do that is better
food safety surveillance – and that comes down to legislation and funding. |
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