|
Pot Pie Salmonella: True Stories and Interviews
|
Salmonella Pot Pies: Recalls need better Notice
Charlene C. put two Banquet chicken pot pies in the oven for dinner--quick and easy. "In the middle of the night I got sickâ€"my stomach was really cramping and I had diarrhea," she says. "I thought it was just a virus. But I was talking to my friend a while later and said I was going to have a banquet pot pie for dinner. 'Did you hear about that recall a while ago?' she asked. I didn't know of any recall!" [ MORE: POT PIE RECALL UNKNOWN]
Banquet Pot Pie Recall: ConAgra Customer Service Pathetic
"What right does ConAgra have to tell me whether or not we had food poisoning?" says Ruth Gordon. "My daughter and I were severely ill for a week after we ate their Banquet turkey pot pies and all they are offering is a refund." [ MORE: RECALL REFUND]
Contaminated Banquet Pot Pies: The Price of Convenience
Mother was always right, after all. Or maybe it was Granny, who dispensed sage advice about not forgetting your overcoat, minding your manners and never, ever becoming too busy for a wholesome, home-cooked meal. Well somehow, over time life has become way too complicatedâ€"ever since the 1960's when the TV dinner made its debut. The food industry has never looked back. [ MORE: CHICKEN NUGGETS]
Salmonella in ConAgra's Chicken Nuggets?
Banquet Pot Pies may not be ConAgra's only product that has been contaminated with salmonella. A two-year-old boy was diagnosed with salmonella poisoning and wound up in hospital for a week after eating ConAgra's chicken nuggets. Could ConAgra be facing yet another recall? [ MORE: CHICKEN NUGGETS]
ConAgra Serving Salmonella Pot Pies
Doreen Jones (not her real name) thought she had a nasty bout of the flu but it was so bad that she wound up in hospital. Her doctor figured she had food poisoning so it was a process of eliminationâ€"both physically and mentallyâ€"to determine the cause. "I had eaten other foods besides a couple of Banquet pot pies but the doctor had heard about salmonella and the pot pies recall," says Jones. [ MORE: SERVING POT PIE]
Could Banquet Pot Pies have Claimed a Life?
"My brother called last week with sad news: our father had passed away," says Al Gibson (not his real name). And shocking news because their father was in good health. Disturbingly, Al found some Banquet pot pies in his dad's freezer and three discarded pot pie trays in the recycle bin. Did their dad die from salmonella poisoning? [ MORE: POT PIE LIFE]
|
|
Information on Pot Pie Salmonella
|
ConAgra Foods Inc. voluntarily stopped production of Banquet pot pies on October 9, 2007 at its Missouri plant after health officials said turkey and chicken varieties of the pies and store brand pot pies may be linked to 139 cases of salmonella in 30 states. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been tracking reports of the salmonella cases over the past week. Nineteen cases were reported in Wisconsin alone and other cases have been reported in Pennsylvania and Missouri. To date, no deaths have been linked to the pot pies.
 ConAgra is offering consumers refunds, but no recall of pot pies has yet been issued. Both the Banquet and store brand pot pies affected by the health alert were marked with "P-9" printed on the side of the box as part of a code above the "use-by" date.
ConAgra has sent a mixed message to consumers: although ConAgra officials said the pies are "safe if properly cooked", the company also told consumers on October 9th not to eat its chicken or turkey pot pies until the government and the Omaha-based company made thorough investigations.
The same day, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a health alert warning consumers about the link between the pot pies and the salmonella cases.
ConAgra History of Contaminated Foods
This isn't the first time ConAgra Foods has been in the news. Just this year, the giant packaged food company recalled Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butter after 628 people in 47 states become ill from salmonella poisoningâ€"ConAgra's peanut butter production plant in Georgia was found to be contaminated with salmonella.
During July 2002, an outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 was identified in Colorado.. By the time the ConAgra Beef Company recalled 18.6 million lbs of fresh and frozen beef products, more than 28 people were ill: seven were hospitalized and five developed hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS)--a disorder that occurs when an infection in the digestive system produces toxic substances that destroy red blood cells and often affects the kidneys.
|
|
|
Pot Pie Salmonella Articles
|
Banquet Salmonella Pot Pies: One Little Girl's Story
The experience of a Minnesota womanâ€"whose daughter was sickened with salmonella poisoning from Banquet Pot Piesâ€"verifies the foolhardiness of Banquet in assuming that consumers are aware of the power and wattage of their microwaves. [ MORE: BANQUET POT PIE CHILD'S STORY]
Banquet Pot Pies: They're Baaaaack...
A little more than a month after ConAgra recalled Banquet pot pies for potential salmonella contamination, the huge packaged food enterprise was allowed to resume production at its Marshall, Missouri plant after assuring inspectors that safety flaws found to have potentially contributed to a salmonella outbreak had been corrected. [ MORE: BANQUET POT PIES ARE BACK]
Banquet Pot Pies: Microwaves Not the Best Way to Cook 'em...
After ConAgra voluntarily halted production at the plant that made the allegedly tainted Banquet pot pies back in October, ConAgra spokespeople immediately jumped on the 'proper cooking' bandwagon. [ MORE: BANQUET POT PIES IN THE MICROWAVE]
|
|
Salmonella Poisoning
|
|
Every year, approximately 40,000 cases of salmonellosis are reported in the United States and 600 of those cases are fatal. That amount could be 30 or 40 times greater as milder cases of salmonella infections often are not diagnosed or reported. Most cases are caused by undercooked chicken or eggs. Symptoms of salmonella infection typically show up 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment. However, salmonella can be particularly dangerous for children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.
The most common symptoms are diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.
In some cases the diarrhea may be so severe that the infection may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and the victim needs hospitalization. Infection to other body sites can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics.
|
|
|
|
Treatment
|
|
First and foremost, cook poultry, ground beef, and eggs thoroughly before eating. Be mindful of raw eggs in foods such as homemade mayonnaise, salad dressings and cookie dough. If you are served undercooked meats in a restaurant, don't be shyâ€"send it back.
Wash your hands before and after preparing raw foods and wash produce before consuming.
Although the infection will usually resolve itself within 5 to 7 days, victims with severe diarrhea may require intravenous fluids and severe cases may require antibiotics. There is no vaccine for salmonella.
|
|
|
|
|
Pot Pie Salmonella Press Releases
|
 OCT-18-07: A class action lawsuit has been filed against ConAgra Foods on behalf of all people who purchased or ate the company's pot pies that have been linked to a massive recall. The suit includes anyone who became sick after eating the pies. [ MORE: CLASS ACTION FILED]
 OCT-13-07: Even after a national salmonella outbreak linked to Banquet turkey and chicken pot pies and other brands, ConAgra Foods Inc. refused to recall the potentially contaminated foods. [ MORE: CONAGRA ISSUES RECALL]
 OCT-11-07: Yet another food contaminated with salmonella has been discovered. This time the food is Banquet turkey and chicken pot pies, which are being pulled off store shelves across the US. A Minnesota couple that believes their daughter became ill with salmonella after eating a contaminated pot pie has filed a [lawsuit] against the makers of the Banquet pot pies. [ MORE: SALMONELLA CONTAMINATION]
|
|
Pot Pie Salmonella In the News:
|
DEC-16-07: ConAgra Foods has changed the cooking instructions on its pot pies in the wake of the recent pot pie salmonella outbreak. The new instructions recommend not cooking the pot pies at all in a lower-powered microwave oven. [ USA TODAY: POT PIE SALMONELLA]
DEC-13-07: A man has filed a lawsuit against ConAgra Foods after eating a pot pie allegedly tainted with salmonella. The plaintiff alleges he spent two days in hospital with gastrointestinal problems after eating the pot pie. [ REPORTER: POT PIE SALMONELLA]
NOV-29-07: Another lawsuit has been filed against Conagra for salmonella poisoning. One of the defendants is seeking compensation for the time it took him to care for his wife after she became ill. [ KEPR SALMONELLA POT PIE]
NOV-13-07: Another consumer is suing Conagra for salmonella poisoning caused by a recalled Banquet Pot Pie. Tests were positive for the same strain of salmonella linked to the recent recall. [ POST INTELLIGENCER: POT PIE SALMONELLA]
OCT-26-07: Jane Stamp of Greenacres and West Palm Beach resident Joe Marell say in their lawsuit that ConAgra Foods failed to do enough tests on the product and didn't warn consumers soon enough about the presence of salmonella. [ CBS4: BANQUET POT PIES]
OCT-24-07: Three Davis County residents have reported becoming sick after eating recalled Banquet pot pies. The local Health Department is reminding people to check their freezers for the recalled pies. [ TRIBUNE: POT PIES]
OCT-18-07: An Everett father is suing ConAgra after his daughter allegedly became sick with salmonella after eating one of the recalled pot pies. [ HERALD: POT PIE SALMONELLA]
OCT-13-07: The nationwide pot pie recall has now been expanded to include all varieties produced by ConAgra Foods. Not just turkey and chicken, but beef too. The new voluntary recall includes Albertson's, Food Lion, Great Value, Hill Country Fare, Kirkwood, Kroger, Meijer and Western Family branded products. [ TIMES: POT PIE RECALL]
OCT-10-07: ConAgra officials say their pies are safe if cooked properly, however they have still issued a recall of Banquet turkey and chicken pot pies. [ NY TIMES: POT PIE RECALL]
|
|
Pot Pie Salmonella Legal Help
If you or a loved one has suffered from salmonella poisoning after eating a Banquet Pot Pie, please click the link below to send your complaint to a lawyer to evaluate your claim at no cost or obligation.
Last updated on Feb-10-08 |
ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS
Salmonella Pot Pies: Recalls need better Notice
Irwin, PA: Charlene C. put two Banquet chicken pot pies in the oven for dinner--quick and easy. "In the middle of the night I got sick—my stomach was really cramping and I had diarrhea," she says. "I thought it was just a virus. But I was talking to my friend a while later and said I was going to have a banquet pot pie for dinner. 'Did you hear about that recall a while ago?' she asked. I didn't know of any recall! [READ MORE]
Banquet Salmonella Pot Pies: One Little Girl's Story
 Sauk Rapids, MN: The experience of a Minnesota woman—whose daughter was sickened with salmonella poisoning from Banquet Pot Pies—verifies the foolhardiness of Banquet in assuming that consumers are aware of the power and wattage of their microwaves [READ MORE]
Banquet Pot Pies: They're Baaaaack...
Marshall, MO: A little more than a month after ConAgra recalled Banquet pot pies for potential salmonella contamination, the huge packaged food enterprise was allowed to resume production at its Marshall, Missouri plant after assuring inspectors that safety flaws found to have potentially contributed to a salmonella outbreak had been corrected [READ MORE]
YOUR STORIES
Publish your experience here for our readers to learn from.
|
