Hepatitis A Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark : Hepatitis A Blog

Marler Clark client Richard Miller, who became ill with a hepatitis A infection after eating at a Chi-Chi's restaurant in 2003, was interviewed for a story that appeared today at MSNBC.com titled, "Restaurant industry battles wave of illness." An excerpt from the story follows:

"Three years ago, an ambulance rushed Richard Miller to the hospital, where he had an emergency liver transplant after contracting Hepatitis A from a special dinner platter at Chi-Chi’s restaurant in Beaver, Pa. So the recent food illness outbreaks at Taco Bell, Taco John’s and Olive Garden restaurants hit him hard.

'It’s sort of like, 'Oh no, not again,'' said Miller, 60. 'There needs to be more regulation of the food supply.'"

Miller's sentiments have been echoed recently by other food safety advocates, such as his attorney, Bill Marler, on his blog at www.marlerblog.com.

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What is the future for California grown? 

Commentary from Christine M. Bruhn

Advice to buy locally grown has new appeal as California is associated with recurring outbreaks. Restaurants selling tainted food also suffer. A restaurant chain in Pennsylvania went out of business as a result of a 2003 hepatitis A outbreak traced to green onions. Food service establishments don't want to be part of a food-borne illness story. The public and the food service industry want this to stop. So do growers.

But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that the proportion of illness traced to fresh produce is increasing. Growers can expect more outbreaks in the future. This is because one in four Americans are at increased risk for food-borne disease. People are eating more fresh produce. Fresh produce does not undergo a pathogen "kill step." When eaten raw, any pathogen would still be viable. Health officials also have better reporting and surveillance techniques than in the past.

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Commentary from Lorraine Heller

A number of Democratic senators have called for the establishment of a joint task force to examine recent outbreaks of E.coli, and suggest legal changes designed to prevent future problems....

Produce has also been linked to previous foodborne disease outbreaks. In 2004, an outbreak of Hepatitis A was traced to lettuce and tomatoes in California. The outbreak made 14 people ill. In 2003, an outbreak of Hepatitis A in Pennsylvania was traced to green onions from a Chi-Chi's restaurant. The outbreak killed 4 people and sickened 600.

And although the FDA has issued voluntary food safety guidance to the produce industry over the years, these recent outbreaks indicate that this voluntary approach may be insufficient to protect the public, said the senators in their letter.  Full story

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The latest E. coli outbreak may be linked to green onions distributed by McLane Co.  Tainted green onions also caused the 2003 Hepatitis A outbreak at a Chi Chi's restaurant that killed four people.  Full Story

Green onions grown in Mexico caused a November 2003 hepatitis A outbreak that killed four people and sickened 556 others, who ate or worked at a now-closed Chi-Chi's Mexican Restaurant in Center, Beaver County.

McLane Co. is the sole distributor of all ingredients including cheese, meat and produce for Taco Bell restaurants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York's Long Island. A company representative said federal investigators planned to test green onions, regular onions, cilantro, tomatoes and lettuce from its southern New Jersey warehouse.

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Click here for more on the hepatitis A scare in Llyodminster from the CBC News:

Health warning issued for Lloydminster eatery November 30, 2006 CBC.CA News Public health officials are urging anyone who ate at a Lloydminster restaurant to contact their local health office for a hepatitis A vaccination.

A worker at the KC Steakhouse in Lloydminster has tested positive for hepatitis A.

"Given Lloydminster is on a well-travelled route, there may be people across Alberta who have eaten at the restaurant between Nov. 20 to Nov. 28," Dr. Karen Grimsrud, deputy provincial health officer for Alberta, said in a release Thursday.

"It's important that people contact public health as soon as possible for a vaccine as it can prevent the disease."

Lloydminster is on the Saskatchewan border, east of Edmonton.

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