Botulism Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark Law Firm : Botulism Blog

We are waiting for the first sickness and death from Tipu's Tiger Chai Concentrate because it may be taited with Clostridium botulinum.   The product was recalled Tuesday by Tipu's Tiger Chai of Missoula, MT.

Consumers are warned not to use the product even if it does not look or smell spoiled as the bacterium can cause life-threatening illness or death.

Botulism, a potentially fatal form of food poisoning, can cause the following symptoms: general weakness, dizziness, double-vision and trouble with speaking or swallowing. Difficulty in breathing, weakness of other muscles, abdominal distension and constipation may also be common symptoms. People experiencing these problems after consuming this product should seek immediate medical attention.

Tipu's Tiger Chai Concentrate was distributed, primarily to stores and coffee kiosks in western Montana and one café in Prescott, Arizona using the concentrate for mixed beverages sold on-site. Limited distribution of the bottled product was made directly to consumers in Western Montana.

For more information, go here.

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Atlanta-based Bella Cucina, which sells through the mail, on the internet and in stores, is recalling 6-ounce glass jars of porcini and parmesan pesto because of possible contamination by Clostridium botulinum.

That's the bacteria that can produce the toxin that causes botulism, a potentially deadly form of food poisoning.

The porcini and parmesan pesto sells for $12 for each 6-ounce jar. Sure does sound tasty, though. Bella Cucina's website promises that  the "Porcini and Parmesan Pesto is a thick, hearty pesto combining Italy’s most treasured ingredients: dried porcini mushrooms and parmesan cheese. This earthy pesto melts in your mouth..."

No illnesses have yet connected with the "earthy pesto" that now maybe just a little too earthy.

The jars being recalled are marked by lot numbers 0081028 and 0081018.

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A frozen salted Croaker fish that may carry botulism is being recalled by a New Jersey food store, according to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.   Here's the poop from the company press release distributed by FDA:

Grand Supercenter, Inc. of Lyndhurst, NJ is recalling the following product because they have the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium, which can cause life-threatening illness or death.

HC Fresh, Frozen Salted Croaker,
Net. Wt.: 16.9 oz (480 gram),
Item # HC 0500402,
Expiration Date: Aug 02. 2009

Consumers are warned not to use these products even if they do not look or smell spoiled.

HC Fresh Frozen Salted Croaker was distributed through H Mart stores including H Mart and Super H Mart in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Texas area.

See the pr package on the FDA website here.

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WJBF-TV 6, the ABC affiliate in Augusta, GA, tonight (3/27/08) is reporting that the Castleberry's canning factory in that city will re-open on Monday.  According to the WJBF report:

Officials with Augusta's Castleberry's food plant say they're hoping to re-open the plant Monday. The FDA suspended the plant's temporary operating permit a couple weeks ago. That permit was issued after a July 2007 nationwide recall of hot dog chili made at the plant.

Last summer's recall came after botulism was found in some of the company's canned chili.  No recall was involved in the latest closure.  There were rumors within the food industry that the Canadian owners might be trying to sell the brand and the factory.

TV 6's report can be found here.

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Here's the company's statement issued after the news came out that Castleberry's Food Company has again closed its Augusta, Georgia canning factory: 

Castleberry’s Food Company has received notification that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspended the Temporary Emergency Operating Permit that was issued in September 2007. The permit granted permission for the Augusta, Georgia factory to commence production of FDA products, following a July 2007 voluntary product recall.

Castleberry’s will work closely with the FDA to promptly answer questions and address any possible concerns. Although formal notification has not yet been received, we understand that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) may also require responses.

During this time, Castleberry’s has decided to cease production of all products in the Augusta, Georgia factory. Factory work shifts are temporarily on hold.

We are cooperating fully with the agencies and look forward to a prompt resolution that we can resume operation and work shifts.

It is important to note that the suspension of our temporary permit does not involve any product recall.

For another pair of eyes on the closure, check out what Elizabeth Lee has to say in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Her story inluding the history of Castleberry's bout with botulism can be found here.

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 We said the Main Stream Media would be catching up with the "Bill Marler Blog" and we were right. One of the first to step up and tell the story of a botulism victim who has now filed a lawsuit against Castleberry's Chili is the Sandusky Register.  In the Ohio newspaper, reporter Cory Frolik writes:

Carl Ours Jr. won't be eating Castleberry Food Co.'s chili again

The New London resident planned to file a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday or today.

The civil lawsuit claims he developed botulism after eating some of the company's chili sauce in late June 2007.

Shortly after digging into a can of the chili on a camping trip, the 39-year-old man said he started having trouble chewing and swallowing food, and his muscles weakened.

The symptoms grew worse, and he was flown by helicopter to Cleveland Clinic, where he was diagnosed with the potentially fatal illness, a draft of the lawsuit states.

"He was in bad shape ," said his 72-year-old father, Carl Ours Sr. of Norwalk. "It was a life-or-death thing."

The rest of Frolik's story can be found here.

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Marler Blog, also known as Bill's Blog, often breaks food illness news ahead of the Main Stream Media.  Written personally by Bill Marler, managing partner of the Seattle-based Marler Clark law firm, Marler Blog is in the best position in the nation when it comes to knowing what's being done to advance the interests of victims of food-borne illness. 

Yesterday there was another example of this fact when Marler Blog reported:

A lawsuit was filed today against Castleberry’s Food Co., the company that recalled tens of millions of pounds of canned meat products sold under over 80 different labels after they were identified as the source of a botulism outbreak in July, 2007. The lawsuit was filed in Federal District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on behalf of Carl Ours, a New London, Ohio resident who became ill with botulism poisoning after consuming Castleberry’s Chili Sauce in late June of 2007. Mr. Ours is represented by Marler Clark of Seattle and Murray & Murray of Sandusky, Ohio.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiff alleges that he consumed Castleberry’s Chili Sauce on or about June 28, 2007, and began suffering from symptoms of botulism, including muscle weakness, inability of swallow, and choking while eating, on June 30. Mr. Ours’ symptoms worsened and within days he suffered weakness in his arms and legs that progressed until he had difficulty walking. He sought emergency treatment several times before being taken by “life-flight” helicopter to the Cleveland Clinic, where he was diagnosed with botulism poisoning. Mr. Ours was hospitalized from July 7 to August 3, and was then transferred to a nursing home to continue his recovery. He returned home on August 24, but continues to suffer physical injury as a result of his botulism illness.

Castleberry’s sold a product that was unsafe for human consumption and now owes a duty to its injured customers to compensate them for their injuries,” said William Marler, managing partner of Marler Clark. “It’s only right for Castleberry’s to offer restitution for Mr. Ours’ physical, emotional, and financial losses. His medical expenses and lost wages alone total over $100,000.”

Botulism is a rare but serious paralytic illness that is caused by a nerve toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum. Symptoms of botulism include double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and muscle weakness. The illness can cause paralysis, respiratory failure, and death.

Marler added, “Without proper medical care, Mr. Ours and others who were part of the outbreak might not still be with us today.”

Watch the MSM, they wll catch up soon!

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Unpasteurized carrot juice made by Bolthouse Farms was responsible for four cases of botulism in the United States and three in Canada in late 2006.  The Bakersfield, CA-based company dropped unpasteurized carrot juice from its product lineup after it caused the botulism outbreak.

The latest development is a lawsuit in Canada filed on behalf of Susanna Chen and her husband, Andy Valy.  Both nearly died after drinking the unpasteurized carrot juice in August 2006.   Ms. Chen drank the juice first, and was in the hospital when Mr. Valy drank the same product because he was not aware of what made his wife sick.

Both fell into comas and it weeks passed before health officials figured out they were dealing with deadly botulism poisoning.  Bolthouse Farms blames the couple for not keeping the juice cold enough.

The National Post reported that the couple's lawyer sees it differently. The NP says:

"Michael Shannon, a lawyer representing the couple, disagrees. “They refrigerated the product, they just drank a toxic cocktail that they weren’t aware of.”  Mr. Shannon refused to disclose the amount the couple is suing for, except to say they will be launching a suit in the United States for pain and suffering.

Ms. Chen remains in a rehabilitation center and Mr. Valy was only discharged from the hospital in January.  Health officials say they had among the most severe botulism anyone has survived.

Go here for the complete NP story.

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Botulism is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by a nerve toxin that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Clostridium botulinum is the name of a group of bacteria commonly found in soil. The bacteria are anaerobic, gram-positive, spore-forming rods that produce a potent neurotoxin. These rod-shaped organisms grow best in low oxygen conditions. The bacteria form spores that allow them to survive in a dormant state until exposed to conditions that can support their growth. The organism and its spores are widely distributed in nature. They occur in both cultivated and forest soils, bottom sediment of streams, lakes, and coastal waters, in the intestinal tracts of fish and mammals, and in the gills and viscera of crabs and other shellfish.

Foodborne botulism is a severe type of food poisoning caused by the ingestion of foods containing the potent neurotoxin formed during growth of the organism. The incidence of the disease is low, but the disease is of considerable concern because of its high mortality rate if not treated immediately and properly. Most of the 10 to 30 outbreaks that are reported annually in the United States are associated with inadequately processed, home-canned foods, but occasionally commercially produced foods are implicated as the source of outbreaks. Sausages, meat products, canned vegetables, and seafood products have been the most frequent vehicles for foodborne botulism.

Symptoms of Botulism

Classic symptoms of botulism include double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and muscle weakness. Infants with botulism appear lethargic, feed poorly, are constipated, and have a weak cry and poor muscle tone. These are all symptoms of the muscle paralysis caused by the bacterial toxin. If untreated, these symptoms may progress to cause paralysis of the arms, legs, trunk, and respiratory muscles. In foodborne botulism, symptoms generally begin 18 to 36 hours after consuming contaminated food, but they can occur as early as 6 hours or as late as 10 days after consumption.

Botulinum toxin causes flaccid paralysis by blocking motor nerve terminals at the myoneural junction. The flaccid paralysis progresses symmetrically downward, usually starting with the eyes and face, then moving to the throat, chest, and extremities. When the diaphragm and chest muscles become fully involved, respiration is inhibited and unless the patient receives treatment in time, death from asphyxia results.

Detection and Treatment of Botulism

Although botulism can be diagnosed by clinical symptoms alone, differentiation from other diseases may be difficult. The most direct and effective way to confirm the clinical diagnosis of botulism in the laboratory is to demonstrate the presence of toxin in the serum or feces of the patient or in the food the patient consumed. Currently, the most sensitive and widely used method for detecting toxin is the mouse neutralization test, which involves injecting serum or stool into mice and looking for signs of botulism. This test typically takes 48 hours. Culturing of specimens takes 5-7 days. Some cases of botulism may go undiagnosed because symptoms are transient or mild, or are misdiagnosed as Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

If diagnosed early, foodborne botulism can be treated with an antitoxin that blocks the action of toxin circulating in the blood. This can prevent patients from worsening, but recovery still takes many weeks. Physicians may try to remove contaminated food still in the gut by inducing vomiting or using enemas.

While botulism has been known to cause death due to respiratory failure, in the past 50 years the proportion of patients with botulism who die has fallen from about 50% to 8%. The respiratory failure and paralysis that occur with severe botulism may require a patient to be on a ventilator for weeks, plus intensive medical and nursing care. After several weeks, the paralysis slowly improves.

Preventing Botulism

The types of foods implicated in botulism outbreaks vary according to food preservation and eating habits in different regions. Any food that is conducive to outgrowth and toxin production, that when processed allows spore survival, and is not subsequently heated before consumption, can be associated with botulism. Almost any type of food that is not very acidic (pH above 4.6) can support growth and toxin production by C. botulinum. Botulinal toxin has been demonstrated in a considerable variety of foods, such as canned corn, peppers, green beans, soups, beets, asparagus, mushrooms, ripe olives, spinach, tuna fish, chicken and chicken livers and liver pate, and luncheon meats, ham, sausage, stuffed eggplant, lobster, and smoked and salted fish.

Botulinum toxin is heat-labile, or unstable if heated to a certain temperature, and can be destroyed if heated and held at 80 degrees Centigrade (176 degrees Fahrenheit) for ten minutes or longer.

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