Listeria Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark Law Firm : Listeria Blog

R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Lee Huttenbach, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Southeast Region, Office of Inspector General, and David Bourne, Special Agent in Charge, Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, announce the filing of a two-count Information charging defendant Timothy Delong with engaging in a scheme to defraud through the sale of adulterated foods, and a scheme to introduce misbranded food into interstate commerce, in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. ? 1341, and 21 U.S.C. ?? 331(a), 333(a)(2), and 343.

Delong made his initial appearance in federal court this morning before Magistrate Judge James Hopkins, who set bond at $150,000. No future dates were set for appearances before United States District Court Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley, who was assigned the case.

Count 1 of the Information charges Delong with engaging in a scheme to defraud the customers of his company, Atlantis Foods, Inc., f/k/a Culinary Designs, d/b/a Atlantis Foods ("Atlantis Foods") , through the sale of adulterated prepared foods, specifically chicken salad, Maine lobster dip, salmon cream cheese, salmon spread, chicken salad with almonds and cranberries, and crab stuffing, all of which contained the harmful bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Delong was president of Atlantis Foods, which on six occasions in 2003, allegedly produced and distributed food products containing Listeria monocytogenes. According to the Information, Delong failed to notify his customers after learning of the contamination and did not initiate a recall of the products.

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A Boynton Beach businessman knew the seafood products he had shipped to retailers from his Lantana office in 2003 were contaminated but didn't tell customers or ask for a recall, the U.S. Attorney's Office said today.

Timothy DeLong, president of Atlantis Foods Inc., also sold misbranded products, claiming a fish spread contained rainbow trout when it was made with tuna, according to information filed in federal court.

DeLong was charged in federal court today with defrauding customers and selling misbranded food.

Federal investigators learned that DeLong shipped orders of seafood spreads and chicken salad in 2003 without testing them for contaminants, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

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Circles, slaloms, figure eights, and loop-the-loops , biologists studying the motion of Listeria monocytogenes sensed that these paths were related, but they didn't have a good way to define what fit in and what didn't.

A remarkably simple new mathematical description, published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Abstract], reproduces all these shapes with just one pair of equations and only two key variables. Besides helping to identify bacterial mutants, the equations suggest which mechanisms could be driving the motion.

Last winter, Vivek Shenoy, an associate professor of engineering at Brown University, was matched with Julie Theriot, an associate professor at the Stanford School of Medicine, at a biophysics "boot camp" run by Rob Phillips at the California Institute of Technology. Theriot studies Listeria, a disease-causing bacterium that hijacks the actin network of an infected cell to propel itself. Embedded in a network of actin fibers, the bacterium keeps adding actin molecules at its back end, pushing itself forward and leaving behind an actin tail tracing its path.

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The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture issued a consumer alert yesterday regarding the consumption of raw milk from a Pennsylvania dairy:

Consumers who have purchased raw milk from Misty Meadow Farm in Bernville, Berks County, any time after April 16 should discard it immediately due to the risk of Listeria contamination, Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff said today.

Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized or homogenized.

"During routine inspection of the dairy, a preliminary test showed the presence of Listeria bacteria in some raw milk samples," said Wolff. "If consumers have raw milk from this farm, they should discard it immediately."

Listeriosis is the disease caused by Listeria monocytogenes. It is acquired by the ingestion of contaminated foods. Certain groups of individuals are at great risk for listeriosis. These are pregnant women (and their unborn children) and immunocompromised persons (e.g., transplant recipients). Among infants, listeriosis occurs when the infection is transmitted from the mother, either through the placenta or during the birthing process. These host factors, along with the amount of bacteria ingested and the virulence of the strain, determine the risk of disease.

Listeria can invade the body through a normal and intact gastrointestinal tract. Once in the body Listeria bacteria can travel through the blood stream, but are often found inside cells (they are "intracellular" pathogens). Listeria can co-opt the cell's machinery to its own advantage by manipulating the host cell genes, and then move directly from cell-to-cell, avoiding many of the host's defense mechanisms5. The bacteria also produce toxins that damages cells.

For unknown reasons, in immune-deficient hosts Listeria invades and grows best in the central nervous system, causing meningitis and/or encephalitis (brain infection). In pregnant women, the fetus is most heavily infected, leading to spontaneous abortion, stillbirths, or sepsis in infancy.

Every year in the U.S. approximately 2,500 cases of Listeriosis are known to occur4. (It is likely that more cases go unrecognized). About 500 deaths per year are attributed to listeriosis6. These statistics indicate true misfortunes, as listeriosis is a preventable condition.

Learn more about Listeriosis at the About-Listeria Web site.

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The Minnesota Department of Health's routine inspection at Calco Sprouts resulted in a recall after Listeria monocytogenes was discovered in a sample collected during the inspection.  According to a story at wcco.com, the recall includes radish, alfalfa, and bean sprouts distributed to retail stores and restaurants in Minnesota.

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Consumers who have purchased raw milk from Misty Meadow Farm in Bernville, Berks County, any time after April 16 should discard it immediately due to the risk of Listeria contamination, Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff said today.  Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized or homogenized.  "During routine inspection of the dairy, a preliminary test showed the presence of Listeria bacteria in some raw milk samples," said Wolff. "If consumers have raw milk from this farm, they should discard it immediately."  The Department of Agriculture has suspended sales of raw milk at the dairy and is ensuring that corrective action is taken. Samples were taken from the farm during routine testing on May 7 and tested positive for Listeria on May 10.

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Minnesota State officials are advising consumers not to eat sprouts from Minneapolis-based Calco Sprouts.  The Minnesota Department of Agriculture says they may be contaminated with Listeria bacteria.  Officials say the contamination was first detected in a sample collected during a routine store inspection. Investigators are now working to determine the source of the contamination. There are no reports of illnesses from the sprouts.  Calco Sprouts grew and packaged the sprouts, which include radish, alfalfa and bean sprouts. They were distributed to the retail stores and restaurants around the state.  The Ag Department says the company has issued a voluntary recall and is cooperating with the investigation. Consumers are asked to throw out any Calco sprouts they may have.

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SAN DIEGO -- Managers at North County supermarkets Wednesday said that they had pulled all Diestel ready-to-eat turkey products from their shelves, after county health officials announced that the Sonoma-based company had voluntarily recalled nearly 7,000 pounds of product because of fears the meat was contaminated with bacteria.

County officials, meanwhile, said that local residents should check to make sure they do not have Diestel products at home, and if they do, to throw them out.

They said Diestel products were sold in San Diego County at Jimbo's Naturally, Harvest Ranch Markets and Whole Food Markets.

The company recalled the turkey products because of questions that the meat could be contaminated with "listeria," a bacteria found in soil and water that can cause a rare but sometimes fatal disease.

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SONORA, Calif. - A California ranch is recalling 7,000 pounds of turkey products that may be contaminated.

The Diestel Family Turkey Ranch in Sonora says the food might be tainted with listeria bacteria.

Monday, the USDA notified the ranch that one piece of Honey Roasted Turkey Breast tested positive. Ranch officials say their own tests did not find the bacteria.

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