Tainted Ice Cream & Our Broken Food Safety System

Is it good enough that Blue Bell Creameries voluntarily recalled potentially dangerous food products? Do you think that we should entrust government agencies with the responsibility to make sure that private companies are selling safe food?

Listeria is one of the most dangerous illnesses and results in death for 1 out of 5 victims. That’s a 20 percent mortality rate! Blue Bell recently announced a voluntary recall of products sold in 23 states in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) suspects that Listeriosis bacterium (Listeria) that has infected people as far back as January of 2014 is related to Blue Bell products, including tainted ice cream scoops that were made into milkshakes at a hospital. That means that dangerous food products have been on the market for over a year!

The FDA has compiled a list of potentially contaminated products and a fact sheet on the outbreak which you can access here.

One of the difficulties with tracking these outbreaks and determining the actual source of the contamination is that in many cases Listeria often doesn’t produce symptoms for over 2 months after the contaminated food is consumed. Following reports confirming the Listeria illness, local health departments collected samples of the products at Blue Bell facilities and identified the dangerous Listeria bacteria. Unfortunately, it was only after people got sick, and died in some cases, that investigations were conducted to reveal the link to the tainted product.

In the U.S., except for a few cursory laws providing for inspection of food products, consumers are left to fend for themselves. It usually takes a lot of people getting sick before a government agency like the CDC or the FDA intervenes, and in cases like the Blue Bell ice cream-Listeria outbreak, the decision to conduct the recall is in the hands of the negligent food manufacturer.

So what can you do about it?

Negligent manufacturers, distributors and retailers of dangerous food products can be held accountable in a court of law. After an injury, you have the right to hire a lawyer to and prove that their negligence caused your injuries. A jury verdict that recognizes the negligence and severity of injuries caused by contaminated foods will often be the only motivation for negligent food producers to make their products safe for everyone else. At PERENICH The Law Firm, we fight for you when you have been injured and for a safer community.

Is it enough that we can’t protect ourselves until after an injury occurs or do you think that the food industry should be regulated to provide more safety?

What do you think?