Source | U.S. Food and Drug Administration
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to eat Veggie Booty snack food, marketed by Robert’s American Gourmet, due to possible contamination with Salmonella Wandsworth, bacteria that cause gastrointestinal illness.

FDA advises consumers to throw away any Robert’s American Gourmet brand Veggie Booty they have in their home. Veggie Booty is sold in a flexible plastic foil bag in four ounce, one ounce, and one-half ounce packages.

Veggie Booty is often consumed by children, so parents are encouraged to watch their children, and seek medical care if they observe signs of illness.

Individuals who have recently eaten Veggie Booty and who have experienced any of the symptoms described below should contact a doctor or other health care provider immediately. Any such illnesses in persons with a recent history of eating Veggie Booty should be reported to state or local health authorities.

This warning is based on 52 reports of illness across 17 states, beginning in March 2007. Almost all the illnesses have occurred in children under 10 years old, with the most cases in toddlers. Most persons had reported bloody diarrhea; four were hospitalized. FDA learned of the illnesses on June 27 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted an investigation of the illnesses with state and local health officials. The outbreak is considered likely to be ongoing.

Salmonella typically causes diarrhea (may be bloody); the diarrhea is often accompanied by abdominal cramps and fever. Symptoms typically begin within one to four days after exposure to the bacteria. In infants, persons with poor underlying health and those with weakened immune systems, Salmonella can invade the bloodstream and cause life-threatening infections.

States reporting illnesses include: California (seven cases), Colorado (five cases), Connecticut (one case), Georgia (one case), Indiana (one case), Massachusetts (three cases), Minnesota (two cases), New Hampshire (two cases), New Jersey (two cases), New York (13 cases), Oregon (one case), Pennsylvania (three cases), Tennessee (one), Texas (one), Vermont (three cases), Washington (four cases), and Wisconsin (two cases).

Robert’s American Gourmet, of Sea Cliff, N.Y., which markets Veggie Booty, and its contract manufacturer, are fully cooperating with FDA’s investigation into the cause of the contamination. Manufacturing and distribution of this product has ceased, and Robert’s American Gourmet is recalling all potentially contaminated product, including all expiration dates and lot codes. The product is sold in all 50 states and Canada at retail locations and over the Internet.

FDA will provide updates as the investigation progresses and more information becomes available.

Do I Have a Veggie Booty Food Poisoning Lawsuit?

The Personal Injury Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus exclusively on the representation of plaintiffs in food poisoning lawsuits. We are handling individual and group outbreak litigation nationwide and currently accepting new food poisoning cases in all 50 states.

Contact Us: Veggie Booty Salmonella Lawsuit

Source | U.S. Food & Drug Administration

State and federal public health officials warned consumers today not to eat Veggie Booty snack food. An ongoing investigation has identified Veggie Booty as the source of a multi-state outbreak of salmonellosis, with cases occurring as far back as early March.

The makers of Veggie Booty, Robert’s American Gourmet, today announced an immediate recall of all Veggie Booty products.

Oregon is one of 17 states to have received reports of salmonellosis cases linked to the outbreak, and has been involved in the investigation that identified the source. At least 51 cases have been identified nationally, almost all toddlers or infants.

One case has been reported in Oregon, according to William E. Keene, senior epidemiologist in the Oregon Department of Human Services Public Health Division.

“At this time we don’t have enough information to be able to limit the recall to particular production lots,” Keene said. “Anyone who has packages of Veggie Booty in their home should return it to the store or throw it away.”

Salmonellosis is a bacterial infection that can cause diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Symptoms usually develop within one to five days after eating contaminated food. Most people get better without the need for medical attention, but Keene advises anyone who has eaten Veggie Booty and is ill with bloody diarrhea or diarrhea with fever to contact their health care provider.

Nationwide, most of the individuals affected reported bloody diarrhea. Five individuals were hospitalized, but all have been released. The outbreak investigation is ongoing.

Do I Have a Veggie Booty Food Poisoning Lawsuit?

The Personal Injury Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus exclusively on the representation of plaintiffs in food poisoning lawsuits. We are handling individual and group outbreak litigation nationwide and currently accepting new food poisoning cases in all 50 states.

Contact Us: Veggie Booty Food Poisoning Recall Lawsuit

Source | U.S. Food & Drug Administration
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in association with Robert’s American Gourmet Food, Inc. of Sea Cliff, New York is recalling Veggie Booty Snack Food all lots and sizes, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

Veggie Booty was distributed nationwide and also in Canada through local distributors, internet sales, phone orders, mail orders and retail outlets.

Veggie Booty is sold in a flexible plastic foil bag in a 4 oz., 1 oz., and l/2 oz. package. The brand name is Robert’s American Gourmet, and all codes and expiration dates of Veggie Booty are being recalled.

Robert’s American Gourmet has been notified by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of 51 cases of Salmonella across 17 states, associated or related to the consumption of the Veggie Booty, predominately in children of three years of age or younger. Based on the information provided by the CDC and FDA Robert’s American Gourmet has decided to conduct this recall as a precautionary measure, even though there are no confirmed positive results in the finished product yet.

Do I Have a Veggie Booty Food Poisoning Lawsuit?

The Personal Injury Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus exclusively on the representation of plaintiffs in food poisoning lawsuits. We are handling individual and group outbreak litigation nationwide and currently accepting new food poisoning cases in all 50 states.

Contact Us: Veggie Booty Recall Lawsuit

California Case Alleges Advanced Medical Optics Falsely Advertised Effectiveness of Product 

Santa Ana, CA June 8, 2007 — What is believed to be the first class action lawsuit brought in the United States against the manufacturer of Complete® MoisturePlus™ contact lens solution was filed today in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, California (Case#07CC01297).  The product was voluntarily recalled on May 25 at the request of the Food & Drug Administration in the wake of reports of an association between the solution and serious corneal infections.

The lawsuit, naming ocular products manufacturer Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. and others as defendants, was brought by Nicole Lazar on behalf of California consumers who purchased the product but have not alleged physical injuries.   The case lawsuit seeks reimbursement of money consumers spent to purchase the product.  In addition, the action seeks reimbursement for the cost of replacing potentially contaminated contact lenses and lens cases as a result of FDA’s recommendation that these products also be discarded by anyone who has used them in conjunction with Complete® MoisturePlus™.   

The lawsuit alleges that AMO falsely marketed the solution as an effective contact lens disinfectant against infection-causing microbes.  The complaint cites CDC data showing that consumers who disinfected their lenses with Complete® MoisturePlus™ had a seven-fold increased risk of developing a sight-threatening condition known as Acanthamoeba keratitis as compared with consumers who used other lens disinfectant products.  The illness, which usually affects the corneas of contact lens wearers, is caused by a family of microorganisms most commonly found in soil and water.  The infection can be chronic, resistant to treatment, and often requires surgical interventions such as corneal transplantation.  It not infrequently leads to blindness.

Complete® MoisturePlus™ is one of a number of so-called “all-in-one” or “multipurpose” contact lens solutions developed as “more convenient” alternatives to hydrogen peroxide disinfectant systems.  According to the class action complaint, studies published well before the product was recalled showed that the disinfectant in Complete® MoisturePlus™ was vastly inferior to hydrogen peroxide as well as other solutions on the market in eradicating Acanthamoeba.   The class action alleges that AMO was aware of the ineffectiveness of their product but concealed that information from consumers who were led to believe that the solution was at least as effective as others on the market.

“Injured consumers will be able to bring their own individual cases, but there also needs to be a remedy for those who escaped infection, but were nevertheless persuaded by AMO’s marketing campaign to purchase an inferior product,” said noted Newport Beach attorney Mark P. Robinson, whose firm Robinson, Calcagnie & Robinson is acting as co-lead counsel on the case with Thomas M. Moore of Moore Labriola LLP, also based in Newport Beach.  Moore’s firm along with Schmidt & Clark in Dallas, Texas represent the plaintiff in he first personal injury case against AMO filed this past Monday on behalf of a San Diego man who developed Acanthamoeba keratitis and suffered sight loss after using the now-recalled Complete® MoisturePlus™ solution.   Robinson, Moore, and Schmidt say they are reviewing a number of potential claims and expect additional personal injury cases to be filed in the near future.

###

California Case Alleges Advanced Medical Optics Product Led to Sight-Threatening Infection

Santa Ana, CA (PRWEB) June 4, 2007 — The Dallas-based law firm Schmidt & Clark announced today that it represents a Southern California couple in what is believed to be the first personal injury lawsuit brought against the manufacturers of Complete® MoisturePlus™ contact lens solution since the product was voluntarily recalled on May 25 at the request of the Food & Drug Administration.

Read The Press Release: First Complete® MoisturePlus™ Recall Lawsuit

Complete® MoisturePlus™consumers can learn more about the Complete® MoisturePlus™ Recall and Acanthamoeba Keratitis by visiting the following links:

>> Complete® MoisturePlus™

>> Acanthamoeba Keratitis

The “gold standard” in diagnosing Acanthamoeba Keratitis is generally to perform and obtain a corneal scraping, which will look for Acanthaoemeba trophozoites and cysts.

Some of the more experienced eye doctors will also sometimes conduct a DNA analysis of the collected corneal scraping specimens to verify a diagnosis because Acanthamoeba Keratitis can sometimes cause other superimposing bacterial infections.

Some of the medications that have been shown to be at least somewhat effective in treating an Acanthamoeba Keratitis infection are:

•    Ketoconazole, itraconazole, fluconazole
•    Pentamidine
•    Hydroxystilbamidine
•    Paromomycin
•    Polymyxin
•    Colistin
•    Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim)
•    Sulfadiazine
•    Flucytosine
•    Clotrimazole
•    Phenothiazines
•    Rifampin
•    Neosporin
•    Polyhexamethylene biguanide
•    Propamidine

Most of the time, these drugs will be used in combinations.  Therapy has to generally be very aggressive.  In addition to the  aforementioned drugs, doctors may also use ocular steroids for inflammation.

If you or a loved one have developed a corneal infection (keratitis) while using any multi-purpose contact lens solution, you should contact us immediately. You may be entitled to compensation for your injuries.

Eye doctors have generally been concerned that bad hygienic habits among the 36 million U.S. contact lens wearers are increasing infection risks. Bad habits range from dirty lens cases to licking lenses to moisturize them and leaving bottles uncapped.

Even though multipurpose solutions like Complete MoisturePlus advertise “no rub” cleaning capability with FDA approval, doctors tend to advise patients to still rub their lenses clean. Such solutions have risen in popularity, but some doctors have questioned whether older cleaners like hydrogen peroxide are better defenders against this infection.

U.S. health investigators have linked the Complete MoisturePlus contact-lens solution made by Advanced Medical Optics to the outbreak of a rare but serious eye infection that can cause blindness.  The rare eye infection is called Acanthamoeba Keratitis.

Acanthamoeba infections of the eye are very tough to treat and can lead to cornea transplants. The infection is also tough to detect, as it presents like common irritation. There are some topical medications that are specially formulated by pharmacies — one uses a form of swimming pool cleaner — but the infection becomes harder to fight topically as the amoeba drives into cornea.

“It’s a devastating type of infection,” said Thomas Steinemann, a professor at Case Western Reserve University and staff ophthalmologist at Metro Health in Cleveland, in a recent interview. “It’s a major problem to eradicate.”

Learn More About — Acanthamoeba Keratitis

U.S. health investigators have linked a contact-lens solution made by Advanced Medical Optics to the outbreak of a rare but serious eye infection that can cause blindness.

Advanced Medical Optics Inc., a California company, recalled its Complete MoisturePlus, a contact-lens cleaning solution, after an investigation sparked by the Chicago team found the solution was used by almost 60% of people suffering from a rare outbreak of infections by a microbe known as Acanthamoeba.

The Food and Drug Administration doesn’t require contact-lens solutions to kill amoebas, and they have never done so very successfully. Earlier this year, an Ohio State University team published research on how amoebas survived in three different cleaning solutions — from Bausch & Lomb Inc., Advanced Medical and Alcon Inc. After six hours of soaking, almost all of the strains of Acanthamoeba continued to grow in all three products.

Do I have an Acanthamoeba Keraitis Lawsuit?

If you or a loved one have developed a corneal infection (keratitis) while using any multi-purpose contact lens solution, you should contact us immediately. You may be entitled to compensation.

Click Here: Free Confidential Case Evaluation - AMO Complete MoisturePlus Recall

Learn More About: Acanthamoeba Keratitis

Source | Wall Street Journal

U.S. health investigators have linked a contact lens solution made by Advanced Medical Optics Inc. to the outbreak of a rare but serious eye infection that can cause blindness.

The news comes just a day after Advanced Medical Optics said it’s interested in exploring an offer for rival Bausch & Lomb Inc., which was hurt from the world-wide recall of a lens solution last year amid links to a different infection. The Advanced Medical Optics product at issue is called Complete MoisturePlus, one of several all-in-one-bottle solutions on the market.

As of Thursday, in a probe that includes 35 states and Puerto Rico, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified 138 “culture-confirmed” cases and has interviewed 46 patients.

Research shows 36 of those people wore soft contact lenses, 21 reported using the Advanced Medical Optics product a month before symptoms, and 14 used it exclusively. That was enough of a link to a product with limited market share to spark a public announcement, said Sharon Roy, medical epidemiologist with the CDC’s division of parasitic diseases.

“We felt we couldn’t wait,” she said in an interview late Friday. “We are recommending that people stop using this product and discard it” along with their lens case and current pair of contact lenses, she said. A spokeswoman from Advanced Medical Optics said the company had just learned about the issue Friday and is preparing a statement.

Eye infections from Acanthamoeba typically occur in contact lens wearers but are extremely rare, appearing on average in just one or two cases per million lens wearers per year. However, various eye-care centers around the U.S. have been tracking increased cases of the infection over the last three years.

The CDC’s interest in the recent outbreak was prompted by research done in the Chicago area at the University of Illinois at Chicago, led by Charlotte Joslin and Elmer Tu. They have tracked 67 cases of the outbreak in the Chicago area since June 2003, and had a paper on the matter accepted Friday for future publication in the American Journal of Ophthalmology. Ms. Joslin and Mr. Tu are both professors of ophthalmology at UIC.

According to Ms. Joslin, who is familiar with the CDC’s plans and research, the agency was expected to announce details regarding the infections and connections to the Advanced Medical Optics solution on Friday. The findings are very similar to what the UIC study uncovered in the Chicago area — in 55% of 38 cases where researchers had complete data, the Advanced Medical Optics solution was at issue, Ms. Joslin said of the local study.

That compares with the product’s approximate 10% market share, she said. Of all the risk factors researchers considers, “that’s the only one that’s statistically significant,” she said, although other factors like poor hygiene did stand out.

Other lens solutions were also used among infected people, but their usage was not considered statistically significant, Ms. Joslin said.

The product in question posted U.S. sales of $12.6 million in the first quarter, compared with overall company sales of $251.7 million.

Bausch & Lomb announced an agreement with private equity firm Warburg Pincus last week to be acquired for $3.67 billion, or $65 a share, but left the door open for competing bids. Advanced Medical Optics entered the fray on Thursday by saying it’s interested in exploring an offer.

Shares of Advanced Medical Optics were lower in after-hours trading after falling 2.2% to $40.20 during Friday’s regular trading session. Shares fell 3.2% on Thursday after the company announced interest in Bausch & Lomb.
Bausch & Lomb, Rochester, N.Y., completely pulled its ReNu with MoistureLoc lens solution from the world-wide market a year ago after it was associated with a fungal infection.

Hard To Treat

Acanthamoeba infections of the eye are very tough to treat and can lead to cornea transplants. The infection is also tough to detect, as it presents like common irritation. There are some topical medications that are specially formulated by pharmacies — one uses a form of swimming pool cleaner — but the infection becomes harder to fight topically as the amoeba drives into cornea.

“It’s a devastating type of infection,” said Thomas Steinemann, a professor at Case Western Reserve University and staff ophthalmologist at Metro Health in Cleveland, in a recent interview. “It’s a major problem to eradicate.”
Ms. Joslin, Mr. Tu and researchers at UIC have theorized that infection increases are linked to changing standards, under a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandate, to get certain harmful chemicals out of the water supply.
Amid the water connection, brought up in research by UIC last year, doctors have been stressing to avoid showering in contacts. They also advise against sleeping in them, even though some lenses have U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for overnight wear.

Eye doctors have generally been concerned that bad hygienic habits among the 36 million U.S. contact lens wearers are increasing infection risks, an issue amplified by the Bausch & Lomb product trouble last year, when poor lens-care habits were seen as a factor. Bad habits range from dirty lens cases to licking lenses to moisturize them and leaving bottles uncapped.

Even though multipurpose solutions like Complete MoisturePlus advertise “no rub” cleaning capability with FDA approval, doctors tend to advise patients to still rub their lenses clean. Such solutions have risen in popularity, but some doctors have questioned whether older cleaners like hydrogen peroxide are better defenders against this infection.

U.S. health investigators have linked a contact-lens solution made by Advanced Medical Optics to the outbreak of a rare but serious eye infection that can cause blindness.

Do I have an Acanthamoeba Keraitis Lawsuit?

If you or a loved one have developed a corneal infection (keratitis) while using any multi-purpose contact lens solution, you should contact us immediately. You may be entitled to compensation.

Acanthamoeba Keraitis Lawsuit

Complete MoisturePlus Recall Lawsuit