Hannaford Ground Beef Salmonella Outbreak Expands to 19 Victims
The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) continue to investigate a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium infections linked to eating ground beef purchased from Hannaford Supermarkets.
The outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium is resistant to several commonly prescribed antibiotics. This antibiotic resistance may be associated with an increase in the risk of hospitalization or possible treatment failure in infected individuals.
Through January 5, the CDC has identified a total of 19 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium. the individuals reside in 7 states, as follows: Hawaii (1), Kentucky (1), Massachusetts (1), Maine (4), New Hampshire (6), New York (5), and Vermont (1). The illnesses began on or after October 8, 2011. Victims range in age from 1 year to 79 years old, with a median age of 44 years old. Fifty-three percent are male. So far, 7 have been hospitalized and no deaths have been reported.
Hannaford Salmonella Strain Resistant To Antibiotics – Officials Concerned
The Hannaford strain of Salmonella Typhimurium has developed a resistance to antibiotics that is concerning health officials. As of January 5, 2012, investigators collected isolates from 5 ill persons, and found that the isolates are resistant to multiple antibiotics, including amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, ampicillin, ceftriaxone, cefoxitin, kanamycin, streptomycin, and sulfisoxazole; some are also resistant to tetracycline.
Isolates are sensitive to several common antibiotics used in clinical practice such as ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. This antimicrobial resistance can increase the risk of hospitalization or possible treatment failure in infected individuals.
Hannaford Salmonella Victims in New Hampshire Represented by Simon & Luke
National food safety law firm Simon & Luke has already been retained by several of the 19 confirmed victims of the Hannaford Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak. The firm was retained last week by the Dugan family of Manchester, New Hampshire.
On October 31, the Dugans purchased ground beef from the local Hannaford grocery store in Manchester. Mr. Dugan cooked the ground beef and placed it into a spaghetti sauce which he served for family dinner on November 1. The next day, his wife began to experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdomen pain, and fever. When the symptoms did not subside, she was forced to seek help from the Elliot Urgent Care Center. There, she provided a stool culture which later came back positive for Salmonella Typhimurium. Officials from the Manchester Health Department informed her that her salmonella isolate was a genetic match to the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium linked to Hannaford’s ground beef.
Mrs. Dugan is still under the care of her primary care physician as the effects of her salmonella illness persist. Although her husband and son also contracted salmonella poisoning, their illnesses were not as serious and they have since recovered.
Ron Simon Calls Upon Hannaford to Pay All Medical Expense and Lost Wages of Victims
This morning, food safety lawyer Ron Simon called upon Hannaford to immediately begin paying all medical expenses and lost wages to the families of those who had fallen ill: “When a company sells a product that poisons our citizens, the company should step up and do what’s right – and that includes paying all medical bills and lost wages incurred by the victims. Simon & Luke will make sure that happens for all of the clients we represent, along with enough money to compensate all of the victims for what they have had to endure.”
Hannaford Issues Ground Beef Recall – Officials Find Lack of Records Disturbing
On December 15, 2011, Hannaford, a Scarborough, Maine-based grocery chain, issued a recall of an undetermined amount of fresh ground beef products with sell-by dates of December 17, 2011 or earlier.
Based on an examination of Hannaford’s limited records, the FSIS was unable to determine the suppliers of the contaminated ground beef. Accordingly, the FSIS has not yet been able to identify FSIS-regulated suppliers of raw beef ground at Hannaford Stores related to the outbreak that could be subject to recall action. The FSIS is now pursuing rulemaking options to address this safety concern.
Hannaford, which has 179 stores in the Northeast, contends that it complies with industry standards for record-keeping.
Hannaford Alters Its Meat Grinding Process
On Thursday night, Michael Norton, a spokesman for Hannaford, said, “We are now doing more than what’s required and we were doing before.”
Norton said Hannaford has simplified its grinding practices so that its records will be clear about the source of the ground beef.
Before the recall, some packages of ground beef contained meat from more than one source, which is allowed by the USDA. Norton said that Hannaford stopped that practice on Dec. 15.
If you Contracted Salmonella Let Simon & Luke Help You
If you or a loved one contracted salmonella after eating ground beef from Hannaford stores, and have been contacted by the health department, then you are likely related to this outbreak. If so, you are entitled to significant compensation from Hannaford and its insurers, including payment for all of your past and future medical bills, pharmacy bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and other damages.
Simon & Luke’s groundbreaking work on behalf of victims in national food borne illness outbreaks has paved the way for numerous upgrades to the US food safety system. Some of the recent outbreaks in which Simon & Luke has represented clients include:
- ConAgra Peter Pan peanut butter – Salmonella Tennessee
- ConAgra pot pies – Salmonella I 4, [5], 12:i:-
- National water supplier – Bacillus cereus
- Castleberry’s chili – Botulism
- Sushi King – Salmonella Enteritidis
- National Hotel – Norovirus
- Union Foods / Harris Freeman white pepper – Salmonella Rissen
- Nestle cookie dough – E. coli O157:H7
- Peanut Corporation of America Peanut products – Salmonella Typhimurium
- JBS Swift beef – E. coli 0157:H7
- Golden Nugget Casino – Salmonella Javiana
- Freshway Foods romaine lettuce – E. coli 0145
- Subway sandwiches – Shigella
- Luxe Burger hamburgers – Salmonella Newport
- Daniele salami – Salmonella Montevideo
- Subway sandwiches – Salmonella Hvittingfoss
- Brother’s Deli – Salmonella Enteritidis
- Sangar celery – Listeria monocytogenes
- Sprout outbreak – Listeria monocytogenes
- Wright County Egg / Hillandale Farms eggs – Salmonella Enteritidis
- Tiny Greens / Jimmy John’s alfalfa sprouts – Salmonella I 4, [5], 12:i:-
- SOL Energy Drinks – Bacterial contamination
- Rolf’s Patisserie – Staph Aureus
- Lavon Farms – Salmonella Meunster
- Jason’s Deli – E. coli O157:H7
- Cargill ground turkey – Salmonella Heidelberg
- Agromod papayas – Salmonella Agona
- Rite Aid cookies – Bacillus cereus
- Church’s fried chicken nuggets – Salmonella Enteritidis
- El Gran Burrito tacos – Salmonella Newport
- Jensen Farms – Listeria monocytogenes
- Schnucks romaine lettuce – E. coli 0157:H7
- Hannaford ground beef – Salmonella Typhimurium
Ron Simon’s work and commentary on these outbreaks has been featured on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX and virtually all other major television networks and print media.
The firm has represented over 3000 victims of food-borne outbreaks in the past four years alone, and has collected over $500,000,000 for its clients.
The firm regularly publishes articles about food safety and litigation at www.myfoodpoisoninglawyer.com, which are read by viewers in over 150 countries.
Simon & Luke Accepting Hannaford Ground Beef Salmonella Cases – Call Us Toll-Free
Simon & Luke is actively investigating this Hannaford ground beef salmonella outbreak and represents several victims who have become ill from salmonella poisoning. Simon & Luke’s salmonella and food poisoning lawyers and attorneys can help you with your Hannaford ground beef salmonella outbreak, claim, lawsuit, and settlement in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and all other affected areas.
If you have questions or information about this outbreak, please call us toll free at 1-888-335-4901 or contact us by email at ron@simonluke.com – we are here to help you.
