E. coli Beef and Salmonella Melon Outbreaks hit Ohio

Ohio has been hit by two ongoing food poisoning outbreaks. A six-state outbreak linked to E.coli in ground beef has sickened seven people in Ohio. And a nine-state Salmonella outbreak linked to pre-cut melon has sickened 27 Ohioans.

Ground Beef E. coli O103 Outbreak

USDA investigators have not yet determined a common supplier or distributor of the contaminated ground beef, so they have not released any brand names or the names of stores where the beef was sold. Some of the people sickened in this outbreak developed symptoms of an E. coli infection after buying ground beef at grocery stores and preparing it at home. Others ate hamburgers and other foods containing ground beef at restaurants.

There have been a number of ground beef E. coli outbreaks in recent years. Children with E. coli infections are at special risk of developing serious complications. About half of the people sickened in this outbreak are under the age of 18.

Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Caito Foods Pre-Cut Melon

The ongoing Salmonella outbreak is the second one to be linked to pre-cut melon produced by Caito Foods LLC of Indianapolis in the last 12 months. In 2018, Pritzker Hageman Salmonella lawyers filed the first lawsuit against Caito. Their client was an Ohio woman who was hospitalized with a pervasive Salmonella infection she developed after eating pre-cut melon she purchased from a Walmart store. Our client endured a lengthy hospital stay that included time in the ICU.

On April 12, 2019, Caito issued a recall for pre-cut cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon and mixes that contain these fruits and others. The recalled melon products were sold at Target, Kroger, Trader Joe’s, Walmart and Whole Foods. Consumers who have purchased melon from these stores should not eat them until they have carefully checked recall information.

In addition to the 27 people in Ohio, the outbreak also includes one illness in Alabama, five in Illinois, 18 in Indiana, 16 in Kentucky, 19 in Michigan, three in Minnesota, two in Missouri and one in Wisconsin. The people sickened range in age from less than 1 year to 93 years old.

If you have been sickened by contaminated food associated with these outbreaks, put our experienced team to work for you. To request a free consultation with our lawyers, call 1 (888) 377-8900, send a text to 612-261-0856, or complete the form below. The consultation is free and there is no obligation.