Maine Injury Lawyer Blog
The Center for Disease Control (CDC), Maine public health and regulatory officials, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have expanded a hardboiled egg recall to include eggs sold in Maine. The hardboiled eggs were primarily sold to grocery stores and restaurants for use in prepared foods; however, some products were sold directly to consumers. Public health officials, following the CDC warning, issued the recall after discovering the strain of listeria during a routine inspection of a Georgia food manufacturing plant. An investigation into the bacteria revealed that the strain is identical to one found to be responsible for several foodborne related hospitalizations and deaths. The CDC advises consumers who have purchased boiled egg products to return them to the retailer or throw them away. Many of these products are marked with sell-by dates of “March 2, 2020”. Although the CDC issued a recall, some retailers and foodservice operations may fail to remove all of the affected products appropriately.
Food manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and restaurants must ensure that their food products are safe for consumption. This includes abiding by all food safety regulations, conducting periodic inspections, properly sanitizing, packing, and transporting food items. In some instances, food preparers at grocery stores and restaurants may not realize that they are using contaminated food products. These parties must ensure that they are up-to-date on all warnings and recalls that the CDC issues. Further, companies must train their employees on how to handle food items safely and advise sick employees to remain home.
The failure to do this can result in serious injuries to consumers. Bacteria such as, salmonella, E.Coli, norovirus, and listeria monocytogenes can result in various foodborne illnesses. The symptoms of foodborne illness often begin with an upset stomach and evolve into severe stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pains, and fever. These symptoms can be deadly to vulnerable individuals such as newborns, pregnant women, and older adults. In some cases, individuals suffer longterm effects of food poisoning such as brain damage, arthritis, and organ failure.
Maine food poisoning lawsuits present many challenges because victims often have difficulty pinpointing the contaminated food item. It is essential that food poisoning victims get treated as soon as possible and try and preserve any evidence. In some instances, the victim may still have part of the food item or remember where they ate a potentially contaminated item. In those cases, victims should provide appropriate health officials with any identifying information.
Getting Help After A Maine Foodborne Illness
If you have suffered a serious illness or hospitalization after consuming contaminated food, you should contact the experienced Maine product liability attorneys at Peter Thompson & Associates. Many foodborne illnesses can be prevented by safe preparation, handling, and transportation of food, and companies that fail to do this should be held liable for any ensuing damages. The attorneys at our law firm have built a reputation on successfully representing numerous Maine injury victims. Clients of Peter Thompson & Associates have recovered substantial amounts of compensation for injuries they suffered because of another’s negligence. Compensation has included payments for medical bills, emotional distress, lost wages, and other related losses. Contact our office at 1-800-804-2004 to discuss your Maine injury case with one of our attorneys.