E.coli Outbreak Prompts Raw Milk Recall In Oregon, Three Children Are Hospitalized
Raw milk produced for members of a herd-share program at Foundation Farm in Clackamas County, Oregon has been recalled after four children who drank the milk contracted E.coli 0157:H7 infections, according to health officials in Oregon.
Three of the children, who are all under the age of 15, have been hospitalized, two of them hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which causes kidney failure. Other members of the herd-share have aslo reported becoming ill.
Foundation Farm has voluntarily ceased distribution and its customers are being notified of the problem. The Oregon Public Health Division, the Oregon Department of Agriculture and several local health departments, are conducting an investigation. Raw milk laws vary from state to state. Retail sales of raw milk are not permitted in Oregon, but cow-shares or herd-shares are legal.
Food poisoning attorney, Fred Pritzker, has represented families whose loved ones have been sickened or hospitalized after drinking raw milk, a product they believed to be safe and healthy. Recently, Pritzker called for better consumer protections saying better regulation of raw milk is needed.
“Every raw milk product, whether purchased on the farm, at a farmer’s market or at a grocery store should have a label that warns consumers of the risk of severe illness and death,” said Pritzker. “Consumers of raw milk are told of the supposed benefits of raw milk, but too many of them are giving these products to their young children without knowing that raw milk can carry dangerous pathogens.”
Symptoms of E. coli O157 infections include abdominal cramps, and diarrhea which is often bloody. Symptoms usually develop within two to eight days of exposure. Kidney failure and related complications may occur, especially among young children and the elderly.
If you have legal questions about an illness or a hospitalization associated with this outbreak, contact the E.coli lawyers at the law firm of PritzkerOlsen P.A., a national leader in food safety law.
Jaquith Farm Lawsuit for E. coli Poisoning from Strawberries
Our attorneys are investigating a Northwest Oregon E. coli O157 outbreak that has been associated with eating strawberries from Jaquith Strawberry Farm in Newberg, Oregon (Washington County). Ten people were sickened. Four of them were hospitalized, and one of them died. Three Oregon counties are involved: Washington, Clatsop, and Multnomah. Six other people in northwest Oregon also have recently developed an E. coli O157:H7 infection and appear to be part of this outbreak.
The E. coli wrongful death involved an elderly Washington County woman. She developed a serious complication of an E. coli infection that causes kidney failure.
Jaquith has recalled its products. While investigating the farm, William Keene, senior epidemiologist with Oregon Public Health, saw dear roaming through the strawberry field. Keene is having deer feces tested for E. coli to determine if deer are the source of the E. coli contamination, Keene told the Oregonian.
“Families should be able to eat fresh strawberries without the risk of E. coli poisoning,” said food safety attorney Fred Pritzker. “If the owners knew deer were getting into the strawberries, they should have known the risk of E. coli contamination and taken measures. One of the problems is that people do not have a good enough understanding of how foodborne pathogens like E. coli are spread.” Contact attorney Fred Pritzker or another E. coli attorney at our law firm for Jaquith Farm lawsuit information.
Approximately 5 percent of people infected with E. coli O157:H7, especially young children and the elderly, develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and/or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) and suffer serious and potentially fatal E. coli kidney damage and failure. Our lawyers have represented many E. coli HUS and E. coli TTP victims and their families.
This outbreak affects Northwest Oregon. Major cities in that area include Portland, Salem and Eugene.
