November 2004

The Leader Staff
ELMIRA | Patrons could be at risk from a food worker at Maple Lawn Dairy Family Restaurant who was recently diagnosed with Hepatitis A.
Anyone who ate at the restaurant, located on Maple Avenue in Elmira, between Sept. 26 and Oct. 10 may have been exposed, the Chemung County Department of Health announced Saturday.
The Heath Department is advising a trip to the doctor for anyone who ate at the restaurant between those dates that is experiencing symptoms such as fatigue, fever, poor appetite, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dark urine or yellowing of skin and eyes.Continue Reading Health officials warn of Hepatitis

“They say that time heals all wounds, but it will be a long time before this is healed. I’ll never really recover.” — Richard Miller
Sunday, November 07, 2004
By Christopher Snowbeck, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
On that fateful Sunday, it was a coupon that took Richard and Linda Miller to the Beaver Valley Mall Chi-Chi’s — a coupon that turned out to be invalid for the lunch they planned on sharing.
Not a regular at the restaurant, Linda Miller raised the possibility of going elsewhere to eat on Oct. 12, 2003, but Richard thought they might as well stay.
The Millers went on to become two of the 660 people sickened with hepatitis A in the largest outbreak of its kind in U.S. history. Four Chi-Chi’s patrons died from the disease and, short of those cases, Richard Miller’s sickness might have been the worst. Hepatitis A forced him to undergo a liver transplant, and the Beaver County man continues to struggle with a host of health problems to this day.
“They say that time heals all wounds, but it will be a long time before this is healed,” Miller, 58, said last week. “I’ll never really recover.”Continue Reading Hepatitis still hurts

By MICHAEL DOYLE
McClatchy Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON (SMW) – Dangerous food potentially stays on shelves too long because of ineffective recalls, a congressional watchdog agency warns.
Less than half of the recalled food studied was actually returned or destroyed, the Government Accountability Office noted in its new study. Moreover, federal officials can’t issue mandatory recall orders for food – a power other agencies have over dangerous toys or medical devices.
“Consumers may be vulnerable to serious illness, hospitalization, and even death, in part, because of weaknesses in (federal) programs for monitoring companies’ recalls of unsafe food,” the GAO said.
Even so, some of the proposed solutions might cause gagging among California’s politically attuned food processors. In particular, the GAO is urging Congress to grant the Agriculture Department and Food and Drug Administration the authority to flat-out order food recalls.Continue Reading GAO: Food recalls ineffective

JOE MANDAK
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH – One year ago, more than 600 people were sickened from hepatitis A-tainted green onions served at a Chi-Chi’s restaurant. Four of the victims died.
Since then, the Louisville, Ky.-based Chi-Chi’s chain has vanished and more than 300 legal claims have been settled for about $10 million.
Most important, the produce industry and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have taken steps to make the nation’s fresh fruit and vegetables safer. Industry officials and food safety experts say new voluntary guidelines have made the food supply safer than ever, but some consumer advocates say the public will be protected only if the rules become mandatory.Continue Reading Hepatitis outbreak increased focus on safety of produce