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May 30, 2017
E Coli outbreak: Erlanger plant had 'grossly insanitary conditions'
Erlanger KY: SoyNut Butter Co., the company behind contaminated soy butter that made at least 32 people sick with E. coli and triggered a nationwide recall has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, meaning it has no intention of sticking around.
It's Dixie Dew plant in Erlanger KY was the source of the contamination.
Out of the 32 confirmed cases, 26 of them were small children. The outbreak sent 12 people to the hospital, nine of whom developed a serious and potentially fatal complication, hemolytic uremic syndrome. CDC info here
^ FDA said investigators 'observed grossly insanitary conditions' at the Dixie Dew plant in Erlanger. Photo should its product, I.M.Healthy Creamy Peanut Butter
The action in bankruptcy court effectively puts civil cases filed by outbreak victims in state and federal courts on hold, Marler said. Insurance coverage that SoyNut Butter Co. and Dixie Dew Products has will total about $12 million and can only be used to compensate outbreak victims, not other creditors, says attorney Bill Marler, who has been practicing in the foodborne illness arena since 1993 when he represented victims in the Jack in the Box hamburger E. coli outbreak. [Source ]
SoyNut Butter Co. and manufacturer Dixie Dew Products' bankruptcy means retailers who sold the implicated soy nut paste will be liable to outbreak victims, Marler said. Those retailers include Target and Amazon
The Dixie Dew plant in Erlanger was found to be the source of e Coli last March 2017.
The FDA said investigators "observed grossly insanitary conditions that cause your firm’s soy nut butter products to be adulterated, whereby they may have been contaminated with filth and/or rendered injurious to health.”
During the inspections of the Dixie Dew plant, inspectors observed a clear liquid substance dripping intermittently from a hole in a ceiling tile in the Soy Butter processing room, which landed on the processing room floor and splashed onto food manufacturing equipment.
Mechanical forklifts were operating inside and outside the building for waste disposal and throughout the facility, including the soy nut butter production and packaging rooms.
Posted by Richard Hines
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Dixe Dew, Erlanger plant e coli outbreak, The owner of Erlanger plant Dixie Dew goes bankrupt after e Coli outbreak
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