Food safety lawyer Fred Pritzker is calling on Palmyra Bologna Company, Inc., maker of Seltzer's Lebanon bologna products, to pay medical expenses and other costs incurred by victims of a multistate E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in New Jersey, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. To date, 4 people have confirmed cases of the outbreak strain of E. coli 0157:H7.
After an epidemiological investigation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) determined that there is a link between certain Seltzer's Lebanon bologna products and the cases of E. coli O157:H7. In severe cases, E. coli 0157:H7 can lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome (E. coli HUS), a life-threatening condition that can lead to kidney failure, pancreatitis, blindness, seizures, strokes, other serious health problems and death.
In response to this outbreak, Palmyra Bologna Company, Inc., a Palmyra, Pennsylvania establishment, issued a bologna recall on 23,000 pounds of Lebanon bologna the company had sent to distribution centers in California, Colorado, Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania for further distribution to retail stores. The recalled bologna was sold in packages labeled "SELTZER'S BEEF LEBANON BOLOGNA." The recall was announced on March 22, 2011. The recall does not involve any Seltzer's Lebanon bologna product produced since December 31, 2010.
"Palmyra Bologna Company should immediately pay for hospitalization and other direct costs to alleviate the victim's financial burden while related legal issues, including pain and suffering, are pending,'' Attorney Fred Pritzker, who represents victims of E. coli outbreaks. "The families deserve that peace of mind.''
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