First E. coli Lawsuit Against JBS Swift

US - The first lawsuit stemming from the current E. coli O157:H7 (E. coli) recall by JBS Swift Beef Company that has been linked to 23 E. coli illnesses, was filed today on behalf of an Albuquerque-area child.
calendar icon 7 July 2009
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According to MarlerClark, a force in food safety policy in the United States, the doctors of the inflicted boy determined that he had developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, a devastating complication of his E. coli O157:H7 infection. The genetic fingerprint of the E. coli found in Alex’s stool matches that of others sickened in the nationwide outbreak tied to recalled JBS Swift Beef. He continues to experience effects of his illness.

“JBS Swift and the FSIS were much too slow about releasing information on where the beef was distributed,” said Marler. “Even with widespread consumer pressure, the information was only released a day before the 4th of July holiday, not nearly enough time to get the word out to families that might have the contaminated meat in their homes. Our government agencies need to work faster in recall situations to prevent more people from suffering what Alex and his family have experienced.”

In the early morning hours of Sunday, June 28, the JBS Swift Beef Company expanded its earlier recall of 41,280 pounds of beef contaminated with the highly toxic pathogen E. coli to include an additional 380,000 pounds. The beef recalls are FSIS (Food Safety and Inspection Service) Class I, meaning that the "use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death."

After years of large recalls, focused efforts by meat regulators brought down E. coli contamination recalls to a low of 182,000 pounds in 2006. Recalls shot up again in 2007, and in the ensuing years (2007-2009), over 41 million pounds of beef have been recalled due to contamination with E. coli.

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