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E. coli Food Poisoning Increases in Summer Months

By PritzkerLaw

If you are someone who senses that E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and other food poisoning outbreaks spike upwards during the summer months, it's not your imagination.

The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) says quite simply: Yes. Foodborne illnesses do increase after Memorial Day.

One reason is that bacteria multiply faster  in hot, humid summer months. The optimum air temperature range for the fastest growth in pathogens on food is 90 to 110 degrees.

Secondly, human activity causes an upswing in the number of food poisoning cases because outdoor grilling, picnics and camping take people away from the relatively safe confines of  kitchens, where refrigeration, cleanliness and food termperatures are easier to control and monitor.

Year in and year out, food safety discussions are dominated by safe meat handling tips. (Hamburgers made of ground beef should reach 160 degrees and all poultry should reach a minimum of 165 degrees.)

But E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks related to bagged lettuce, spinach, cantaloupe and other fresh produce can pose an equally dangerous threat to human health. While healthy adults most often weather food poisoning infections without treatment, they can be potentially deadly for young children, the elderly and others with weakened immune sytems. For instance a 2006 E. coli outbreak invovling bagged spinach sickened more than 200 people and killed five.

Already this spring, national food poisoning and food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen Attorneys is investigating claims of a possible E. coli O157:H7 outbreak associated with lettuce. If you or someone you know has recently been sickened by E. coli, please call our firm as soon as possible.

Pritzker Olsen has years of experience representing E. coli victims and their families, including those who have suffered from Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, or HUS, a potentially deadly complication. The firm has recovered tens of millions of dollars for its food poisoning clients and is involved in practically all major outbreaks of foodborne illness in the United States.

To reach an E. coli lawyer at Pritzker Olsen, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or complete one of our forms online to receive a free case consultation.

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on May 20, 2009 (boomark / email).