“Should I eat the chicken?”: Responses to Food Safety Challenges in the US Professor Kif Augustine-Adams Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer, Renmin University Law School Charles E. Jones Professor of Law, J. Reuben Clark Law School Brigham Young University
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“Should I eat the chicken?”: Responses to Food Safety Challenges in the US Professor Kif Augustine-Adams Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer, Renmin University.
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“Should I eat the chicken?”:
Responses to Food Safety Challenges in the US
Professor Kif Augustine-AdamsFulbright Distinguished Lecturer, Renmin University Law SchoolCharles E. Jones Professor of Law, J. Reuben Clark Law School
• As of the end of February, a total of 481 persons infected with Salmonella Heidelberg have been reported from 25 states and Puerto Rico.– 38% of ill persons have been hospitalized– No deaths have been reported– Multi-drug resistant
• Likely actual incidence of sickness is much higher: more than 12,000 persons (481 x 25) to about 18,500 (481 x 38.5)
• Investigations conducted by local, state, and federal officials identified Foster Farms brand chicken as the likely source.
• In October, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) issued a public health alert.
• Also in October, two Costco stores in California voluntarily recalled approximately 64,000 pounds units of rotisserie chicken products due to possible salmonella contamination.
• Center for Disease Control and USDA-FSIS recommend consumers follow food safety tips to prevent salmonella infection from raw poultry produced by Foster Farms or any other brand.
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Selected Outbreak Investigations 2013Center for Disease Control
• After government investigation, 73 different Jack in the Box locations were linked to the E. coli outbreak, primarily in Washington State.
• The bacteria outbreak – sickened at least 700 people in four states– led to 171 hospitalizations (24%)– resulted in 4 deaths (.5%)
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• Local health departments as well as others had warned Foodmaker, Inc., parent company of Jack in the Box, to cook hamburgers to at least 155 degrees Fahrenheit.
• The company decided not to because it made the hamburgers tough.
• That decision became the core of a negligence claim against the company.
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• Brianne Kiner (9) developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
• Permanent injuries from the infection include diabetes, asthma, brain damage and severe kidney problems.
• Brianne’s parents along with hundreds of others sued Jack-in-the-Box.
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• Brianne’s attorney, William Marler, obtained a $15.6 million settlement on her behalf.
• William Marler also represented hundreds of other victims in a class-action suit against the Jack-in-the-Box and Food Maker, Inc.
• Settlements for individual and class-action claimants reached over $50 million.