Responsible for Food Safety: Food Distribution Plants

Many different hands are responsible for delivering food from the field and pasture to your table. Among those in the distribution chain are food growers, processors, food manufacturers and retail stores such as the corner grocery or the local restaurant. Each has a responsibility for providing safe and wholesome foods handled under sanitary conditions. But all too often, a breakdown occurs in the chain of safe food production through human error and an outbreak of foodborne illness occurs. When outbreaks happen, innocent people suffer foodborne diseases that can result in serious complications such as paralysis, organ failure and even death in the worst cases.

If you or a loved one has suffered serious harm from a foodborne illness, you should understand that outbreaks of foodborne illness and individual cases are often caused by improper handling and food preparation. The food poisoning attorneys at Neblett, Beard & Arsenault have more than 25 years of experience representing people who have suffered injuries, including those from foodborne illnesses. We can use our knowledge to help you rebuild your life after a serious foodborne illness. Contact us at 1-800-256-1050 or use our online contact form.

Outbreaks of foodborne illness appear to be increasing, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in part because of better detection methods and communication. Public health agencies are finding patterns of outbreaks by linking isolated cases in different states that stem from the same source. But because of changes in food production and distribution methods, the ways that foodborne illnesses spread are changing, too. Today’s outbreaks can cover much larger areas, including multiple states.

Food distributors transport food products from manufacturing plants to wholesalers and retailers such as groceries and markets. Federal standards require safe handling of food during transportation, loading, unloading and storage. Food distributors must guard against contamination of food by microbes, chemicals or foreign objects. They are responsible for delivering safe and wholesome food products to their customers. All too often, food is contaminated because products aren’t handled carefully during shipping.

Most food is transported by truck in the United States. But food products also move by airplane and ship. Contamination or spoilage can occur at any point in the distribution process, but they are most likely to occur during loading, unloading or transfer from one shipper to another.

For example, meat may be loaded and unloaded multiple times, moving from a slaughterhouse, to a raw-product processing facility, to a finishing plant, to a distribution warehouse, to a retail plant. Federal law requires process poultry to be packaged and shipped at a temperature no higher than 40 degree Fahrenheit. If the proper temperatures are not maintained throughout the processing and distribution process, growth of pathogens can occur, leading to deadly outbreaks of foodborne illness.

The seasoned foodborne illness lawyers at Neblett, Beard & Arsenault have advocated for food safety for many years and understand the complexities of food distribution and foodborne illnesses. For nearly three decades, the attorneys at Neblett, Beard & Arsenault have helped people harmed by contaminated foods or beverages, including clients in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi and across the country.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by a foodborne illness, let us put our expertise to work on your behalf. Call for a free evaluation of your legal rights as a victim of foodborne illness. Contact us at 1-800-256-1050 or use our online contact form.