The CDC estimates that around 48 million people a year are afflicted with a foodborne illness. Roughly one percent of those people require hospitalization. There are approximately 6,000 cases of fatal foodborne illnesses in the U.S. each year.
These large numbers are evidence that foodborne illness isn’t nearly as uncommon as we would like it to be, and these ailments can be extremely harmful to affected individuals. It can be difficult to pinpoint who is at fault in food contamination cases because food passes between so many parties before it reaches the consumer.
Who Is Responsible for Contaminated Food?
The FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act in April of 2016 on Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food was drafted to reduce the likelihood of food contamination in transport and to protect the American people from the risk of food contamination.
The FDA has limited resources, and as such they only inspect a small percentage of food imports and domestic food producers. In many cases the food distributors, producers or foodservice operators are considered liable for food contamination.
Scenarios in which the FDA itself might be liable are unlikely, especially due to certain liability tort protections government workers have. There are scenarios in which those protections may be waived, but since the FDA is not preparing or transporting food directly and may only be involved in the inspection of facilities, they usually aren’t open to liability in foodborne illness cases.
This places much of the burden to prevent foodborne illnesses and food contamination on restaurants and other businesses that sell or transport food to retailers and consumers. There are several steps that businesses can take to prevent the likelihood of unintentionally selling contaminated food to consumers.
- Cleanliness is key to preventing food contamination. To protect consumers the CDC (and local health agencies) require businesses to take sanitization steps before, during and after food preparation. Businesses should keep a clean workspace, clean hands and sanitize utensils.
- Keeping food separated is another crucial factor in preventing food contamination. Raw meat, like poultry, beef and seafood, should be kept separate from ready-to-eat foods.
- Many states require business staff to take food safety courses. These courses include lessons on safe internal temperatures for food items to be served at. It is important for food service employees to follow these safety measures and take internal food temperatures before serving them to consumers. Consumers also have a responsibility to follow food temperature instructions on packaging. Failing to do so may make it difficult for you to file a claim against the food manufacturer if your illness could have been prevented had you properly prepared the food.
- Bacteria and viruses do not grow well in incredibly high or low temperatures. It is important to keep food that you are not currently handling in a cool space that is 40 degrees or lower. If the food is a leftover, it should be stored in a cold container within two hours. If it was exposed to high temperatures, it should be stored within an hour to prevent any bacteria or viruses from growing.
Symptoms of Foodborne Illness
- coli, Salmonella, Norovirus, and Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria and Toxoplasma are all common contributors to foodborne illnesses. Some of these bacteria and viruses can be fatal if not properly treated.
While these ailments have slight variations in symptoms, there are several commonalities. If you are experiencing any of the below listed symptoms, you might be afflicted with a foodborne illness. We recommend seeking medical attention if your symptoms worsen.
- Diarrhea and nausea are one of the most common symptoms of foodborne illness. Symptoms can last from one to seven days.
- Other common symptoms include stomach cramps, fever, and fatigue.
If you believe that you have experienced food poisoning or are suffering from a foodborne illness the CDC recommends that you report the food poisoning to your local health department.
A Foodborne Illness Has Impacted Me, What Do I Do?
Foodborne illnesses are unfortunate. It’s not always immediately clear how these illnesses were contracted due to the variable length of time between when a food is consumed and the onset of symptoms.
If you believe you are experiencing a foodborne illness because of an establishment or food inspector’s negligence, the business that sold you the food is strictly liable in the U.S. You do not have to prove that the illness was the result of their negligence, only that you purchased the food there, consumed it in an appropriate amount of time while following storage best practices and were made ill.
Reporting a serious foodborne illness is generally a good idea if you want to file a claim. If several other customers experienced the same illness it will be easier to attribute the condition to one particular food or food service establishment.
Failure to follow food safety best practices may complicate a claim. If you are made ill by leftovers that were several weeks old, the food service business who sold you the food will likely not be liable for your injuries.
Get Help After a Foodborne Illness in Houston
Following a damaging foodborne illness, you may become burdened with medical expenses and long-term injuries. A Houston personal injury lawyer may be able to help you recover your losses.
Foodborne illnesses fall under product liability, and the Weycer Law Firm has extensive experience representing clients in product liability injury cases. Our team is ready to aggressively pursue the recovery you deserve.
Contact us to discuss your case by calling (713) 668-4545.
