Yesterday afternoon the FDA announced that E. coli 0157:H7 contamination has been confirmed in Nestle Toll House cookie dough.  A sample taken from Nestle’s Danville, VA, plant tested positive for the presence of the E. coli bacteria.

“This really comes as no surprise.  Health investigators have already made that conclusion; this is just validation for the victims,” said lawyer, Richard J. Arsenault.

Arsenault’s firm, Neblett, Beard & Arsenault has already filed 2 E. coli lawsuits against Nestle, and is investigating claims from many additional victims across the country.  The outbreak has again raised issues about food safety. It has also sparked a debate regarding the common practice of consuming raw cookie dough and what warnings should accompany a product that is well known to be eaten raw.

“A renowned warnings expert has joined our team of experts and will be providing important guidance for us in the federal and state court suits we have already filed …and in others we anticipate filing shortly,” Arsenault added.

The link between a national E. coli outbreak and Nestle refrigerated cookie dough was announced on June 18^th.  By June 30^th the outbreak had sickened 72 people in 30 states.  However, the CDC notes that most foodborne illnesses go unreported.  Based on this math, there could be as many as 600-900 additional victims of the Nestle E. coli 0157:H7 outbreak.

“This is a troubling trend.  Foodborne illness outbreaks, especially E. coli outbreaks, are on the rise.  Our families’ health and well-being often depend on our manufacturers producing clean, hygienic foods.  However, Peter Pan Peanut Butter, Peanut Corporation of America, Setton Pistachios, Valley Meats and, now the JB Swift meat outbreak, leave many wondering, what is safe anymore?” Arsenault concluded.

FDA CONFIRMS E. COLI O157:H7 IN PREPACKAGED NESTLÉ TOLL HOUSE REFRIGERATED COOKIE DOUGH

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it has found E. coli O157:H7 (a bacterium that can cause serious food borne illness) in a sample of prepackaged Nestlé Toll House refrigerated cookie dough currently under recall by the manufacturer and marketer, Nestlé USA.  The contaminated sample was collected at Nestlé’s facility in Danville, Va. on June 25, 2009. 

On June 19, the FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned consumers not to eat any varieties of prepackaged Nestlé Toll House refrigerated cookie dough due to the risk of contamination with E. coli O157:H7.  The warning was based on an epidemiological study conducted by the CDC and several state and local health departments. As of Thursday, June 25, the CDC reports that 69 persons from 29 states have been infected with the outbreak strain. Thirty-four persons have been hospitalized, nine with a severe complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome. No one has died.

Further laboratory testing is needed to conclusively link the E. coli strain found in the product to the same strain that is causing the outbreak.