The following ground beef product is subject to recall:

• 5-pound approximate weight vacuum packages of “VT BURGER CO GROUND BEEF.”

These packages of ground beef products bear the establishment number “EST. 9558″ inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as a lot code of “090508A,” “090808A,” “091208A,” “091908A” or “092208A.” This product was shipped two packages per box, intended for restaurants, food service and institutional use and not available for direct retail purchase.

These ground beef products were produced on Sept. 5, 8, 12, 19 and 22 and delivered to distribution centers intended for restaurants and institutions in Vermont and Plattsburgh, N.Y.  The people sickened in the outbreak ate the recalled ground beef in a few Vermont restaurants.

To date, eight of the confirmed cases - including a child who was hospitalized, but has been released - had E. coli 0157:H7 with an exact DNA match confirmed by the Vermont Department of Health Laboratory.

“Our laboratory results tell us that each person became ill from the same source,” said Deputy State Epidemiologist Susan Schoenfeld. “And our epidemiology investigation has found that source to be ground beef that was contaminated before it was distributed to, prepared, and served at a few restaurants in Vermont.”

The Health Department has alerted health care providers statewide to be on the lookout for any new cases, and is working closely with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture and the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) to further investigate product processing and distribution. Health Department inspectors are working with the restaurants involved. All of the restaurants have changed their beef supply until the investigation is completed. It is possible, however, that distribution extended beyond these restaurants. The beef has NOT been available for sale in stores.

“Fortunately, all of the people that we know of who were ill are recovering,” said Schoenfeld. “It’s important to remember that eating undercooked meat - as well as consuming raw milk products - is always a risk for E. coli and other bacteria that can cause severe illness, especially in young children, the elderly or people with serious medical conditions.”

According to the Michigan Department of Community Health and the Illinois Department of Public Health, many of the people who contracted E. coli infections consumed Aunt Mid’s iceberg lettuce.

Also, according to James McCurtis, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Community Health, Aunt Mid’s lettuce is the only kind delivered to the Lenawee County Jail (5 inmates sickened) and the two restaurants in Illinois where the outbreak-strain of E. coli O157:H7 bacteria was also found.

If you or your child has been diagnosed with an E. coli infection or with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a severe illness that can develop from an E. coli O157:H7 infection, please contact our law firm regarding compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering and other damages. Liable parties could include farms, processors, distributors, a food service company, a restaurant and others

Our law firm has a national reputation in this area, and we handle E. coli cases throughout the United States. We are currently handling a number of E. coli cases, including cases involving E. coli-associated HUS. To contact our law firm for a free consultation, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free) or email attorney Fred Pritzker.

Product trace back and additional tests results are still in progress.  The results could point to other responsible parties and microbiological evidence that Aunt Mid’s iceberg lettuce was the source of the Michigan E. coli outbreak that has spread to include that states of Illinois, New York, Ohio and Oregon.  Read about E. coli outbreaks and produce.

The 26 genetically linked cases are present in eight Michigan counties including seven at Michigan State University (Ingham County), five inmates at the Lenawee County Jail, three students at the University of Michigan (Washtenaw County), four in Macomb County, three each in Wayne, two in Kent counties, and one each in St. Clair and Oakland counties. Of the E. coli O157:H7 cases that are genetically linked, 10 have been hospitalized. These linked cases range in age from 11 to 81 years old. Symptoms of these confirmed, genetically-linked E. coli patients began on Sept. 8. More confirmed cases could surface as the investigation continues.

Our law firm is one of the few E. coli litigation law firms in the United States.  We are currently representing victims of a number of E. coli outbreaks, including outbreaks involving lettuce.  To contact our law firm, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free) or email attorney Fred Pritzker.

Health officials are continuing to investigate the outbreak.  Trace back and additional testing may find other companies, including distribution companies involved in the outbreak.  Companies in the chain of distribution and others may be liable for damages, which could include medical expenses, pain and suffering and loss of income.

If health officials do not find lettuce that tests positive for E. coli, epidemiological evidence alone may be sufficient to hold MSU and other parties liable.  Epidemiological evidence includes interviews with those sickened, an analysis of food purchased with the sickened students’ MSU cards, and other evidence that would point to a common source of illness.

Our law firm represents E. coli victims throughout the United States.  To contact one of our lawyers, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free) or email attorney Fred Pritzker.

OSDH has also reported that of the 291 confirmed cases, “227 were adults and 46 were children; the ages of 18 cases have not yet been identified. One person has died. At least 67 persons have been hospitalized including 16 who have received dialysis treatment [because they developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS)]. Of that number, nine were children and seven were adults.”

We are representing a victim of this outbreak and her family.  The victim is a toddler who developed HUS.  To contact our law firm for a free consultation, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free), e-mail attorney Fred Pritzker, or submit our online form.

According to the latest OSDH update on the outbreak, at least 116 persons have become ill as a result of the outbreak, including 87 adults and 29 children. The previous update stated that 50 people had been hospitalized. To date, one person has died and at least three are on dialysis.

The focus of the investigation has centered on the Country Cottage restaurant in Locust Grove, OK, because interviews with people sickened indicated most had eaten there during the time period of Aug. 15-23. The young man who died also ate at the restaurant. According to news reports, E. coli has been found in the restaurant’s well water.

Most of the people who contracted E. coli infections, ate at the Country Cottage restaurant in Locust Grove, Oklahoma.  Health officials have not found the source of the outbreak.  The restaurant’s well water has been ruled out as a source.

According to OSDH, this is an outbreak of E. coli 0111 infections (not E. coli O157:H7).  One person has died, a 26-year-old man from Pryor, OK. At least 4 children are on dialysis due to renal failure (kidney failure), which resulted from E. coli-induced hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Our law firm has been contacted by people sickened in this outbreak. It is imperative for both medical and legal reasons for people experiencing symptoms of E. coli to seek medical attention. If you or your child is diagnosed with E. coli, you should immediately contact us regarding the additional testing that needs to be done to connect your or your child’s case of E. coli to this outbreak.

Keywords: Oklahoma E. coli, Country Cottage, Locust Grove, OK, Bixby, Pryor, Sand Springs, Locust Grove, Broken Arrow, Peggs, Tulsa, and McAlester, Restaurant Liability.

Although beef is the most common source of E. coli outbreaks, other foods can be the source of E. coli infections, including but not limited to leafy greens and unpasteurized apple cider and milk.

One of our recent E. coli wrongful death cases involved spinach. Another E. coli wrongful death case our law firm is handling involves a restaurant where a goat was slaughtered in the restaurant kitchen. (The goat-slaughter case was in North Carolina. We do not suggest that this is what happened at the Country Cottage in Oklahoma.)

To determine the source of an E. coli outbreak, health investigators interview those sickened and their families, test stool samples and test environmental samples. Environmental samples are taken from restaurants and other locations that have been associated with the outbreak. The E. coli tests include a test to confirm the presence of E. coli, an additional test to determine if the E. coli is O157:H7, and testing to determine if the genetic fingerprints of the E. coli isolates match. Matching genetic fingerprints mean the E. coli is part of the same outbreak.

When a restaurant has been associated with an outbreak, health investigators test samples of food, water, scum on countertops, dish rags and other things in the suspect environment. From these samples, any E. coli bacteria found is isolated and further tested. If the genetic fingerprint of an E. coli isolate from an environmental sample matches the genetic fingerprint of the isolates from the stools of those sickened, the restaurant is linked by microbiological evidence to the E. coli outbreak.

Even if E. coli is not found in the restaurant, it may still be possible to prove that the restaurant caused the illnesses with epidemiological evidence-the results of interviews with those sickened and their families.

Please contact our law firm if you have any questions:

• Call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free)
• Email our lawyers
• Submit our online form for a free E. coli case evaluation

One person remains hospitalized after developing hemolytic uremic syndrome, a severe kidney complication.

The USDA’s rated this recall “Class I,” which means that there is a “health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.”