Jalapeno Salmonella Lawyer | Salmonella Outbreak Attorney

Ron Simon and Simon & Luke, L.L.P. have represented thousands of victims of defective products, including over 2000 victims of contaminated food throughout the United States. We have recovered more than $300,000,000 on behalf of our clients over the past 10 years.

We are currently representing over 810 persons who have become ill as a result of salmonella poisoning, including persons who consumed the following contaminated products:

Jalapeno peppers, serrano peppers, and tomatoes (Salmonella Saintpaul). To learn more about this outbreak click here
Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butter (Salmonella Tennessee). To learn more about this outbreak click here
Malt-O-Meal Cereal (Salmonella Agona). To learn more about this outbreak click here
Frozen pot pies (Salmonella I 4, [5], 1 2:i:-). To learn more about this outbreak, click here

The Salmonella Saintpaul Outbreak

The United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) is working with state public health officials, the Indian Health Service, and the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate an ongoing multi-state outbreak of human foodborne infections due to salmonella serotype Saintpaul. An epidemiologic investigation has identified the consumption of jalapeno peppers, serrano peppers, and raw tomatoes as the likely source of these illnesses.

As of July 21, 2008, the CDC confirmed that since April 10, 2008, at least 1251 persons infected with salmonella Saintpaul with an identical genetic fingerprint have been confirmed in 43 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. These persons were identified because laboratories in all states sent salmonella samples from ill persons to their state public health laboratories for characterization. The largest concentration of outbreak cases is in Texas, where over 475 illnesses have been confirmed.

Over the past few weeks, the FDA, CDC, and state health laboratories have tested thousands of food samples in an effort to pinpoint the source of the outbreak. Those testing efforts have thus far produced one positive result from a distribution center in McAllen, Texas. Testing is still underway.

The confirmed illnesses have onset dates between April 10th and July 4, 2008. The patients range from <1 to 99 years of age. The contaminated population is divided evenly among females and males. At least 229 persons have been hospitalized.

A man in his eighties who died in Texas from cardiopulmonary failure had an infection with the outbreak strain at the time of his death; the infection may have contributed to his death. A man in his sixties who died in Texas from cancer had an infection with the outbreak strain of at the time of his death; the infection may have contributed to his death.

The salmonella Saintpaul strain is exceedingly rare. Only six persons infected with this strain of salmonella were identified in the entire country during the same period in 2007. The previous rarity of this strain and the distributions of illnesses in all regions of the United States suggest that the contaminated tomatoes have been distributed throughout the country.

Because of inherent delays in reporting and because many people with salmonella illness do not have their urine, blood, or stool specimens tested, it is likely that many more illnesses have occurred than those that have already been confirmed. Historically, the true number of salmonella infections caused by an outbreak is approximately 40 times the number of confirmed cases. Accordingly, there are likely at least 50,000 people contaminated with salmonella Saintpaul as a result of this outbreak.

Confirmed Salmonella Saintpaul Illnesses by State

For continued updates on this evolving foodborne illness outbreak, please continue to check our website. We will post the latest information as it becomes available.