6 events in Passaic County with a date

Here are some of the biggest and deadliest contaminated food outbreaks

By: David M. Zimmer
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... Waves of contamination and recalls involving deli meats, frozen waffles and organic carrots have raised alarm bells,.
..... At Trader Joe's , Walmart, Target and other stores, , millions of pounds of products have been pulled form shelves in 2024 due to pathogens including listerla and E. coli.
..... Beyond the corporate losses, the toll has been devastating. one of the most recent outbreaks, involving organic carrots sold under brands such as Wegmans and Nature's Promise and contaminated with E. coli, has spanned 18 states and hospitalized 15. One person has died.
..... An outbreak earlier in the year [2024] traced to Boar's Head deli meets and liverwurst resulted in the deaths of 10 people. It sickened 59 across 19 states. The company shut down its Virginia processing facility, where listeria - known for thriving in cold, damp conditions - was found.
..... A 2021 study of U.S. food-borne outbreaks between 2006 and 2016 revealed that E. coli outbreaks linked to beef and salmonella incidents in poultry and eggs, were among the most frequent triggers of recalls. It also found that nearly half of food recalls occurred only after outbreaks were detected.
..... The recent food-borne outbreaks in a way are just like those in the recent past. they are more than public health crisis. They expose cracks in food safety protocols, weaknesses in the supply chain and gaps in regulation. some of the largest led to sweeping change or massive penalties.

1993: Jack in the Box

..... In January 1993, an alarming spike in cases of the blood disorder hemolytic urenic syndrome, or HUS, among Seattle-area children was linked to E. coli O157 bacteria in undercooked hamburgers served at Jack in the Box restaurants.
..... As the outbreak spread in Idaho, California and Nevada, it sickened more than 700 people, hospitalized 171 and claimed four lives.
..... The source of contamination was traced to slaughterhouses supplying beef to the Von Corporation of California, through the exact origin was never confirmed. Further scrutiny reveled that Jack in the Box;s parent company, Food-maker Incorporated, had ignored warnings from health officials and employees about undercooked burgers. The incident prompted sweeping reforms in food safety, including stricter regulations for cooking ground beef to kill pathogens.

2006: Natural Selection Foods

..... Another E. coli outbreak in 2006 led Food and Drug Administration officials to issue a warning that triggered stores nationwide to remove all bagged spinach form their shelves.
..... The outbreak was linked to Natural Selection Foods, which issued a recall of 30 brands of bagged spinach. only one, the Dole brad, was contaminated, however. the FDA attributed the contamination to a specific farm and a processing flaw but could not determine the exact cause. The outbreak ended with 205 illnesses, 104 hospitalizations and four deaths across 26 states. Among them, there were 31 cases of HUS.

2008-2009: Peanut corporation of America

..... A salmonell outbreak linked to peanut products form the Peanut Corporation of America sickened more than 700 people and cause nine deaths across the United States in late 2008 and early 2009. A massive scandal, the PCA outbreak was facilitated by company executives who knowingly shipped products contaminated with salmonella, even falsifying lab results to assure customers of their safety.
..... The company's CEO, Stewart Parnell, was sentenced to 28 years in prison, marking the harshest penalty ever handed down for a food safety violation. His brother and another executive also faced significant prison time.

2010: Wright County Egg/Hillandale Farms

..... In 2010, a major outbreak of salmonella linked to Iowa-based Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms led to a recall of more than half a billion fresh eggs. The CDC investigate the outbreak after more than1,900 reported cases of illness. Though no deaths were recorded, the incident exposed significant sanitation lapses at Wright County Egg, prompting the FDA to develop stricter egg safety regulations to prevent future outbreaks.
..... Wright Country egg's owner, Jack DeCoster, faced prior legal troubles, including charges of animal cruelty and substantial fines. After the recall, both Weight County and Hillandela Farms improved their sanitation and animal health practices in order to continue operations.

2011: Cargill ground turkey

..... In August 2011, Cargill Meat Solutions recalled over 36 million pounds of ground turkey due to salmonella contamination, marking one of the largest meat recalls in U.S. history.
..... Cargill temporarily shut down the affected Arkansas plant to identify and fix the source of contamination. Operations resumed after passing U.S. Department of Agriculture inspections and under a new salmonella monitoring program.
..... However, less than a month after the reopening, inspectors detected the same salmonella strain in the company's ground turkey. this led to another, smaller recall.
..... The outbreak caused more than 135 illnesses and one death before it was over. Officials from the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service were ultimately criticized for delaying the recall.

2011: Jensen Farms cantaloupe listeria outbreak

..... Jensen Farms in Colorado was at the center of the deadliest food-borne illness outbreak in the U.S. since 1924.
..... Its contaminated cantaloupes sickened 147 people and killed 33 across 27 states in an outbreak traced to listeria bacteria in the farm's packing house. There dirty water and outdated equipment contributed to contamination, FDA officials said.
..... Farm owners Eric and Ryan Jensen were sentenced to probation and home detention for introducing adulterated food into intestate commerce. They were among the few ever criminally charged in connection with food poisoning and had faced six years in prison.

2015: Blue Bell Creameries listerai outbreak

..... In 2015, Blue Bell Creameries recalled all its products after investigators found listeria bacteria in its ice cream. The outbreak, which officials trace to factory conditions dating as far back as 2010, caused 10 illnesses and three deaths. Federal investigation revealed long-standing sanitation issues at Blue Bell facilities, including inadequate cleaning processes and contaminated productio0n lines. the company pleaded guilty to distributing adulterated food and paid $17.25 million in criminal penalties - the largest-ever fine in a food safety case.

2009: Nestle cookie dough

..... in 2009, Nestle recalled 3.6 million packages of its Toll House cookie dough after an E. coli outbreak sickened over 70 people across 30 states. The CDC noted that 65% or the victims were under 19 years old and 71% were female. Ten patients developed the severe blood condition HUS. The outbreak was traced to contaminated raw flour used in the dough. Nestle responded by updating its packaging with clearer warnings about the risk of consuming raw dough and began using heat-treated flour in 2010 to prevent future contamination.

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