As of Friday, October 11th, the number of illnesses from the salmonella outbreak totaled 317. Health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported illnesses in 20 states, as well as Puerto Rico, with the majority of the illnesses (73%) based right here in California. The abundance of cases in California is not surprising considering the fact that the outbreak has been linked to chicken from 3 Foster Farms processing plants, all of which are located in central California.
Although no deaths have yet been reported in conjunction with the Heidelberg strains of salmonella, there’s no denying the fact that several of these strains have proven to be resistant to a variety of antibiotics, making the bacterial outbreak all the more dangerous. Accordingly, Foster Farms has taken action. Last Thursday, the company submitted a plan to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the content of which suggested that “substantive changes to their slaughter and processing,” were made. Unfortunately, that’s about as far as the company was willing to go. As of right now, all three of the Foster Farms plants will remain in operation.
The seven different strains of salmonella Heidelberg have garnered attention across the nation. According to the CDC’s director of the division of food-borne disease, several of the strains have tested as resistant to at least one antibiotic; one strain has proven to be resistant to at least five known antibiotics. As reported by the CDC, no fewer than 42% of the illnesses that have arisen from the salmonella outbreak have led to hospitalization – this is about double the typical rate for salmonella infections.
The outbreak is still ongoing, which means that all consumers of Foster Farms chicken should be cautious about their intake of the product. If you or someone you know were made ill from consumption of Foster Farms chicken, don’t wait to contact The Senators Firm for legal help. We are here to answer your questions and help you file a claim for compensation. Call us at (949) 557-5800.