Posted on September 08, 2017 in Food Poisoning

When you are suffering from food poisoning, putting your health first will help you make a timely, complete recovery. One of the most important ways to keep yourself healthy is to drink enough water to keep yourself fully hydrated. There are benefits to being properly hydrated all the time, regardless of your health status. When you are ill, these benefits are magnified.

Staying Hydrated Combats Nausea

Food poisoning nearly always causes the victim to experience nausea. Nausea can make it difficult to eat, which can make it impossible to consume the necessary nutrients to fight an illness. Drinking water while you are recovering from food poisoning can reduce your feelings of nausea and keep you from vomiting.

For a man, a gallon of water per day is an appropriate amount of fluid intake. For a woman, about three quarts of water is appropriate on a daily basis. Keep track of the amount of fluid you lose to vomiting and diarrhea and put it back accordingly.

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 Posted on September 03, 2017 in Food poisoning attorney

Next time you host an event, whether you prepare the food yourself or have it catered, make food choices that will stand up to the environment in which you serve them. Buffet-style is generally the most practical choice for serving a large crowd of people at a social event, but it is not perfect. When food is served buffet-style in large dishes or on sternos, it can easily enter the danger zone of 40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature range where harmful bacteria can easily grow.

To reduce your guests' risk of developing food poisoning after eating at your event, make the following switches. There is no way to guarantee that food poisoning will not happen, but there are ways to reduce the chance of it happening.

Instead of a Pre-Cut Fruit or Veggie Platter, Cut Them Yourself

With pre-cut fruit salads and vegetable platters, the risk of contamination comes from the many different handlers the produce had between the farm and your serving table. Cut out a few steps by purchasing your produce whole and cutting it yourself. Be sure to wash it thoroughly before you begin cutting and plating your platters.

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 Posted on August 20, 2017 in Food poisoning attorney

In most cases, food poisoning does not require medical attention. This kind of illness generally runs its course within a few days to a week. Although medical intervention is generally not necessary, there are ways a food poisoning victim can make him- or herself more comfortable during recovery and even lessen the impact of his or her symptoms.

Below are a few home remedies you can use while you are recovering from food poisoning. It is important to keep an eye on your symptoms as you recover, and if they become worse or do not subside within the appropriate length of time for your condition, contact a doctor. You could need medical intervention to overcome your illness, especially if you are elderly, pregnant, or have a compromised immune system.

Ginger

Ginger is a useful way to reduce your nausea, inflammation, and pain. An easy, pleasant way to consume ginger is to drink ginger tea, which is made by boiling a teaspoon of grated fresh ginger in a cup of water, then adding sugar or honey to taste. Other ways to take ginger include eating raw ginger slices and swallowing small amounts of ginger juice.

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 Posted on August 13, 2017 in Food poisoning attorney

In recent years, the Moscow Mule, a simple cocktail made of vodka, lime, and ginger beer, has surged in popularity. Restaurants and bars across the nation have made it a menu staple, with many creating their own personalized twists on this recipe that made its initial debut in the 1940s. A key component of a classic Moscow Mule is its copper mug.

Recently, that copper mug has been identified as a potential food poisoning risk. According to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) food code, copper and copper alloys may not be used to hold and serve food and beverages with pH contents lower than six. Liquids that fall into this category include wine, fruit juice, vinegar, and Moscow Mules. Specifically, the risk with drinking from copper mugs is copper poisoning, not food poisoning, but the two can have similar symptoms and long-term complications.

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 Posted on August 06, 2017 in Food Poisoning

When you use a consumer product, it is your responsibility to ensure that it is safe for you to use. Many of the food allergens that can cause uncomfortable and harmful reactions can also be found in non-food products. Although you do not eat these products, you can still suffer an allergic reaction just by coming into contact with them.

Your responsibility is to ensure that a product is safe for you to use according to the information available to you. The product's manufacturer should provide you with this information, but many are not held to the same strict standards to which the food industry is held. A food manufacturer or vendor is liable for food poisoning damages if it does not take care to prevent consumer illness and generally, manufacturers and sellers of non-food items can be liable for these kinds of damages, as well. However, their labeling is voluntary and can contain alternative terms for specific ingredients. There is also no standard definition for “hypoallergenic,” so use products with this label carefully.

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 Posted on July 30, 2017 in Food poisoning attorney

A recent salmonella outbreak linked to the consumption of Maradol papayas left 47 victims sick and one dead. These victims hailed from 12 states:

• New Jersey;
• Iowa;
• Maryland;
• Kentucky;
• Louisiana;
• Massachusetts;
• Minnesota;
• New York;
• Pennsylvania;
• Texas;
• Utah; and
• Virginia.

Often, food poisoning outbreaks have “illness clusters” in one specific location, and this outbreak is no different. Although only five of the victims were from Maryland, an illness cluster was identified there. Illness clusters are defined as two or more people from different households reporting that they engaged in the same behavior, such as dining at a specific restaurant or attending the same event, within the same week of falling ill. Illness clusters help investigators identify the foods that could have caused their illnesses and track them down to specific retailers.

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 Posted on July 21, 2017 in Food borne illness

A Chipotle restaurant in Virginia had to shut its doors temporarily in July of 2017 due to customers' reports of diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pains after eating there. For Chipotle, cases of alleged food poisoning reaching the news is nothing new. In 2015, the fast casual burrito vendor faced numerous food poisoning cases at locations across the nation, including E.Coli, Norovirus, and Salmonella. With each outbreak, Chipotle saw its stock prices fall. It recovered from these outbreaks by publicly making changes to its food preparation and handling operations and offering customers free food products. Although customers returned to Chipotle, the association between the restaurant and food poisoning remains in the back of many minds.

How Food Poisoning Scandals Change the Public's Perception of a Brand

Because of the previous cases of food poisoning involving Chipotle, many individuals mentally associate the brand with food poisoning and if they experience food poisoning symptoms themselves, may be quick to assume the symptoms are because of food consumed from Chipotle rather than food consumed elsewhere. This is not a new or isolated phenomenon – years following its E.Coli outbreak in the early 1990s, potential customers were still wary of eating at Jack in the Box.

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 Posted on July 14, 2017 in Food poisoning attorney

Generally, a party whose negligence is deemed to be the cause of one or more victims' food poisoning is liable for those victims' related financial damages. Victims can seek compensation for their damages through personal injury claims, but this is not always a simple, straightforward process. It can be difficult to pinpoint a case of food poisoning to a specific food item or prove that the victim's illness could have been prevented through better care on the part of the food vendor.

An example of this is the food poisoning case currently moving through courts in Georgia. Wedding guests who became ill after eating food provided by a caterer wanted to sue the caterer for their damages, but the court ruled that they could not pursue a lawsuit because of a lack of substantial evidence linking one guest's Salmonella illness to the catered food eaten at the wedding rehearsal dinner and the lack of proof showing that another affected guest's illness was Salmonella poisoning. The Georgia Court of Appeals reached a 5-4 split on the case. The plaintiffs' attorney will appeal the case to the Georgia Supreme Court.

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 Posted on July 09, 2017 in Food Poisoning

If you think you are safe from food poisoning because you maintain a vegan diet, think again. Although animal products like meat and dairy can harbor harmful bacteria, so can produce and grains. Take the time to learn about which specific vegan and vegetarian foods can potentially put you at risk for suffering from food poisoning and how you can reduce these risks through proper food handling and storage. Even with taking these steps, remember that you can never completely eliminate your risk of becoming ill from contaminated food. If you do experience food poisoning because of another party's negligence, you can potentially recover compensation for your damages through a personal injury claim.

Canned Products can Contain Botulism

If you buy and consume canned products, beware of botulism. Botulism is a rare form of food poisoning that can be deadly. Do not consume food from cans that:

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 Posted on July 02, 2017 in Food poisoning attorney

If you think you know a lot about food poisoning, test your knowledge by trying to guess whether the following statements are true or false. If you get them all right, you are well-versed in food poisoning. If not, take some time to learn more about different types of food poisoning, how they are transmitted, their symptoms, and how to treat them. In fact, do this anyway – it never hurts to refresh your knowledge or learn something new.

Fruits with Rinds are Safe from Harmful Bacteria

False. A fruit's outer rind protects it from pests and microbes found in its environment. Although it does keep out some of the bacteria that can harm the fruit, do not assume it will keep out bacteria that can harm you. Fruits like honeydew and watermelon can harbor listeria, sometimes right on the rind. This is why you should always wash your fruit thoroughly before consuming it.

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