Simon & Luke is currently prosecuting over 100 peanut butter salmonella claims and salmonella lawsuits across the United States. We continue to be contacted by individuals and families who contracted Salmonella Typhimurium after consuming products containing peanut butter products such as Austin and Keebler brand peanut butter crackers. Below is an update on the status of the peanut butter outbreak and litigation. To read our prior articles on this outbreak, click here.
How Did the Peanut Butter become contaminated with Salmonella Typhimurium?
Health officials at the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and numerous state agencies identified peanut butter and peanut paste manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) as the source of Salmonella Typhimurium that has poisoned over 714 people and killed nine in a salmonella outbreak that began on or about September 1, 2008. The contaminated peanut butter and peanut paste was manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America (“PCA”) at its peanut processing plants in Blakely, Georgia and Plainview, Texas.
Upon being contacted by numerous sickened individuals, the salmonella lawyers at Simon & Luke immediately began investigating the outbreak in conjunction with federal and state officials. On April 22 and 23, Ron Simon of Simon & Luke led a team of photographers and experts into PCA’s manufacturing plants in Texas and Georgia. His inspections revealed rats, insects, roaches, standing water and roof leaks inside the plants. The original footage of the inspection was featured on NBC, CNN, ABC, and CBS nationwide.
To see the shocking results of his investigation, watch the 3 minute NBC video below – you will not believe your eyes:
Both of PCA’s peanut butter plants have been closed, and PCA is no longer in business. In addition, the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) has fined PCA for violations of state food safety regulations. The violations included unsanitary conditions, product contamination, illnesses linked to consumption of peanuts from the plant and operating for almost four years without a food manufacturer’s license.
What is Salmonella Typhimurium, and how dangerous is it?
The genus Salmonella is subdivided into 50 serogroups (A, B, C1, C2, D, E, etc), which are further subdivided into over 2500 serotypes. Of these serotypes, Salmonella Typhimurium is the most common and accounts for approximately 20% of all salmonella infections in the United States every year.
Salmonella bacteria live in the intestinal tracts of many animals, and the bacteria is often found in these animals’ feces. Salmonella is transmitted to humans who unknowingly consume food contaminated with the feces. Typical food contamination occurs when rats, mice, birds, or other animals infiltrate food production plants (like PCA’s Georgia and Texas plants) and leave their droppings on raw or finished product which eventually finds its way to consumers’ tables.
Persons who consume the bacteria typically experience severe vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and abdomen pain. They usually recover in about a week. Children and the elderly are the most susceptible to a more severe infection, which can lead to dehydration, renal failure, extended hospitalizations, Reiter’s Syndrome, and even death. For more information about salmonella, click here.
In the current outbreak, we have seen an unusually high number of hospitalizations and severe cases even among normally healthy adults. This shows that the Salmonella Typhimurium strains found in the contaminated peanut butter are particularly potent – as further evidenced by the nine deaths attributed to the outbreak.
Austin and Keebler Peanut Butter Crackers Are the Primary Outbreak Vehicle
PCA distributed the contaminated peanut butter products in two ways: through the sale of raw peanut paste to hundreds of companies like Kellogg Company, and through peanut butter sold under the King Nut peanut butter label.
While PCA’s contaminated peanut butter and peanut paste were distributed to numerous companies for use as ingredients in over 3100 products, peanut butter crackers were determined to be the primary vehicle for this outbreak.
Over 95% of the known Salmonella Typhimurium illnesses arose from the consumption of Austin and Keebler brand peanut butter crackers (cheese crackers with peanut butter and toasty crackers with peanut butter), both of which are manufactured by Kellogg Company. Those crackers were manufactured with PCA’s peanut paste. Several batches of these crackers collected from victims’ homes (including those represented by Simon & Luke) have tested positive for Salmonella Typhimurium.
PCA’s raw peanut butter was sold under the King Nut brand label (owned by Kanan Enterprises, Inc.) to nursing homes, cafeterias, schools, and colleges where those most susceptible to salmonella poisoning — children and the elderly — were likely to have consumed the contaminated product. Health officials have detected numerous “clusters” of individuals that contracted salmonella poisoning at nursing homes across the United States. Those nursing homes served King Nut peanut butter to their residents.
The Peanut Butter Salmonella Outbreak Sickens over 714 people and kills 9
The CDC continues to work with state health officials and the FDA to monitor the outbreak. As of April 30, over 714 people infected with Salmonella Typhimurium had been reported from 46 states and Canada. Illnesses began on September 1, 2008. Patients range in age from <1 to 98 years. Among persons with available information, 24% reported being hospitalized. Nine deaths have been reported. A map illustrating the distribution of illnesses in the United States is shown below:
Salmonella Victims Must Assert Rights to collect Settlement Funds
Like most food producers, PCA carried liability insurance to cover food poisoning claims. Insurance proceeds from The Hartford Insurance Company (up to $24 million) will be used to pay the victims of this tragedy. Additional funds will be paid by Kellogg Company and Kanan Enterprises, Inc. depending on the product consumed – but only to persons who timely assert their rights.
About Simon & Luke
Ron Simon and Simon & Luke have represented thousands of people across the United States, Mexico, and Canada who have been victimized by contaminated food products. We have recovered over $400,000,000 for our clients, including numerous settlements in excess of one million dollars. We have handled over 2000 salmonella claims in the last 2 years alone.
We currently represent over 100 victims of this salmonella outbreak, including 2 families that lost a loved one.
Persons who tested positive for salmonella after consuming peanut butter products such as Austin and Keebler brand crackers should contact us toll free immediately at 1-888-335-4901 in order to protect their rights to settlement funds. We are happy to answer your questions and provide advice on how to handle your salmonella claim.
