Latest news with #ChrisGeorge
Otago Daily Times
30-05-2025
- Otago Daily Times
40 years of service enough for sergeant
From "good old-fashioned dust-ups" to prosecuting criminals in court, retiring sergeant Chris George has done it all. Sgt George, Dunedin born and bred, retired yesterday after 40 years of service. "It's time to go, [I'm] getting too old," he said. He began his career in Invercargill, working for seven years as a uniformed officer before transferring to Dunedin in the early 1990s to become a detective. While completing his detective training he also earned a law degree from the University of Otago and became a prosecuting officer at the Dunedin District Court. He said the biggest changes he had seen in the police during his time as an officer were that no-one smoked any more, there was a lot less alcohol consumed and there were a lot more women in the force — which was a good thing. When he was a young officer in the 1980s, Sgt George was told to drive a police truck through a gang pad's fence in Invercargill so firefighters could get in and control a blaze inside. "It was quite funny because no-one told me that you were supposed to pull up to the fence and gently nudge it over." He hit the fence at speed, knocking it over, and ended up well inside the property. "The problem was I couldn't reverse the truck out because there were police coming in and party-goers going out. "So I had to stay where I was behind the wheel and I got a punch in the head from a bikie who was unhappy about their party being closed down on the way past." Sgt George said it was an exciting "good old-fashioned dust-up". Back then there was a lot more direct leadership in the force, he said. "We got told in no uncertain terms by the senior cops if we'd made a mistake. But you learn from that." About 15 years ago, there were a lot of problems with inner-city violence and a lot of police were put back on the beat with a particular focus on the Octagon. Sgt George said he and his team came up with some simple but effective strategies to deal with the issue including intercepting unaccompanied juveniles and intoxicated people and encouraging them to go home. "Looking back on it that was probably the most rewarding time on the street." There had been a lot of ups and downs but he could not see himself doing any other job. He had struggled with the general direction of policing of late but still very much believed in it as an institution. "I think Dunedin is well served and long may it continue." Sgt George will be taking July off to follow the British and Irish Lions rugby tour to Australia and is in no rush to get into another job.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
California produce supplier is sued, accused of causing E. coli outbreak unreported by FDA
Salinas-based produce supplier Taylor Fresh Foods is facing lawsuits from nine victims of a November E. coli outbreak that was not disclosed to the public. The outbreak — which killed one person and sickened at least 88 more — was linked to romaine lettuce and spanned at least 15 states, including Missouri and Indiana. Federal investigators traced the cases back to a single grower, but the Food and the Drug Administration didn't disclose the name. Read more: E. coli hammers a California town, sending patients to ER and shutting down restaurants The details of the investigation came to light only after several affected parties, including the parents of a 10-year-old victim earlier this month, filed lawsuits alleging Taylor Fresh Foods and Taylor Farms California — referred to as "Taylor Farms" in court documents — originated the "defective and unreasonably dangerous" food products that caused the E. coli outbreak. Taylor Farms in a Thursday statement to The Times denied that it was the source of the E. coli outbreak and said it is "considering all legal action to defend itself." "We perform extensive raw and finished product testing on all our product and there was no evidence of contamination," the supplier said, adding that its produce is processed using USDA-verified wash systems. Read more: There are now 90 victims in McDonald's E. coli outbreak; lawsuits begin to roll in In a federal lawsuit against Taylor Fresh Foods and Taylor Farms California filed last week, Indiana residents Amber and Chris George alleged that their then 9-year-old son Colton George became severely ill and was hospitalized after eating romaine lettuce allegedly supplied by the California producer. He was later diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a life-threatening kidney condition, from an E. coli strain that was confirmed by genetic testing to match other cases in the outbreak. The boy's condition forced him to undergo dialysis for two weeks — including on his 10th birthday, the complaint said. The Georges demanded that Taylor Farms pay their son's medical bills among other damages, including for "loss of enjoyment of life" and "emotional distress." Read more: A wave of major listeria recalls shows food safety will 'never be perfect' Taylor Farms' products were previously linked to a separate E. coli outbreak in October. The supplier voluntarily recalled the onion products at fault, and the FDA cautioned the public about the contaminated yellow onions, which were being served on McDonald's hamburgers. This time, the FDA said "there were no public communications related to this outbreak" because the contaminated lettuce was no longer being sold when its distributor was identified, according to an internal report obtained by NBC. The FDA also said in a statement to NBC that it names firms only "when there is enough evidence linking an outbreak to a firm and there is actionable advice for consumers, as long as naming the firm is not legally prohibited." "By the time investigators had confirmed the likely source, the outbreak had already ended and there was no actionable advice for consumers," the agency said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote in a letter the previous month that the outbreak was over. Representatives for the FDA and CDC did not respond to requests for comment. Read more: As FDA probes source of national E. coli outbreak, California firm recalls onion products Bill Marler, the attorney representing the nine victims suing Taylor Farms, said he uncovered extensive evidence pointing to the supplier as the source of the outbreak. Marler said he obtained invoices from a St. Louis caterer listing Taylor Farms as its seller. "The whole thing could be very much cleared up if the FDA did what they normally do, which is name the entity when they have it nailed down to an entity, which they do," Marler said. Read more: Avocados, salmon, strawberry yogurt: Which of these meets FDA's new definition of a "healthy" food? Marler said he was particularly disturbed by the FDA's decision not to publicize this outbreak or its source because the specific strain of E. coli that caused it — E. coli O157:H7 — has been linked to several prior outbreaks. "That tells you that there's some sort of systemic problem in the growing environment," the attorney said. "If you kind of ignore it and say, 'Oh well, the outbreak is over, we don't have to say anything,'" he said, "what incentive is there for companies to stop growing there?" Jerold Mande, an adjunct professor of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a former senior advisor to the FDA commissioner, said that even if a contaminated product is out of circulation by the time its source is identified, consumers still have a right to know the contamination occurred. "A company's record in the past is indicative of what people might expect in the future as well, and so consumers should have that information," Mande said, adding that what they do with that information is up to them. Mande said that the FDA has not historically excelled at transparency, and he is concerned that recent cuts to the agency's communications staff will make matters worse. "The current administration, which has emphasized over and over again about radical transparency, should certainly be doing more to let consumers know what's going on in these cases," he said. Darin Detwiler, a food safety expert and associate teaching professor at Northeastern University's College of Professional Studies, said that it's crucial for not only consumers but also other companies to know when any contamination occurs. Under the Food Safety Modernization Act, food facilities are required to have food safety plans outlining how they will combat any contamination risks or other food safety hazards. Detwiler said these plans typically include likelihood-severity models, which measure the likelihood of a hazard occurring with the severity of its potential consequences. "If a company is supposed to be putting together a likelihood-severity plan, and they don't know that their competitors — their commodity, their industry — is having these problems, how are they supposed to adequately capture this idea of likelihood and severity and then act upon it?" Detwiler said. Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
24-04-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
California produce supplier is sued, accused of causing E. coli outbreak unreported by FDA
Salinas-based produce supplier Taylor Fresh Foods is facing lawsuits from nine victims of a November E. coli outbreak that was not disclosed to the public. The outbreak — which killed one person and sickened at least 88 more — was linked to romaine lettuce and spanned at least 15 states, including Missouri and Indiana. Federal investigators traced the cases back to a single grower, but the Food and the Drug Administration didn't disclose the name. The details of the investigation came to light only after several affected parties, including the parents of a 10-year-old victim earlier this month, filed lawsuits alleging Taylor Fresh Foods and Taylor Farms California — referred to as 'Taylor Farms' in court documents — originated the 'defective and unreasonably dangerous' food products that caused the E. coli outbreak. Taylor Farms in a Thursday statement to The Times denied that it was the source of the E. coli outbreak and said it is 'considering all legal action to defend itself.' 'We perform extensive raw and finished product testing on all our product and there was no evidence of contamination,' the supplier said, adding that its produce is processed using USDA-verified wash systems. In a federal lawsuit against Taylor Fresh Foods and Taylor Farms California filed last week, Indiana residents Amber and Chris George alleged that their then 9-year-old son Colton George became severely ill and was hospitalized after eating romaine lettuce allegedly supplied by the California producer. He was later diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a life-threatening kidney condition, from an E. coli strain that was confirmed by genetic testing to match other cases in the outbreak. The boy's condition forced him to undergo dialysis for two weeks — including on his 10th birthday, the complaint said. The Georges demanded that Taylor Farms pay their son's medical bills among other damages, including for 'loss of enjoyment of life' and 'emotional distress.' Taylor Farms' products were previously linked to a separate E. coli outbreak in October. The supplier voluntarily recalled the onion products at fault, and the FDA cautioned the public about the contaminated yellow onions, which were being served on McDonald's hamburgers. This time, the FDA said 'there were no public communications related to this outbreak' because the contaminated lettuce was no longer being sold when its distributor was identified, according to an internal report obtained by NBC. The FDA also said in a statement to NBC that it names firms only 'when there is enough evidence linking an outbreak to a firm and there is actionable advice for consumers, as long as naming the firm is not legally prohibited.' 'By the time investigators had confirmed the likely source, the outbreak had already ended and there was no actionable advice for consumers,' the agency said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote in a letter the previous month that the outbreak was over. Representatives for the FDA and CDC did not respond to requests for comment. Bill Marler, the attorney representing the nine victims suing Taylor Farms, said he uncovered extensive evidence pointing to the supplier as the source of the outbreak. Marler said he obtained invoices from a St. Louis caterer listing Taylor Farms as its seller. 'The whole thing could be very much cleared up if the FDA did what they normally do, which is name the entity when they have it nailed down to an entity, which they do,' Marler said. Marler said he was particularly disturbed by the FDA's decision not to publicize this outbreak or its source because the specific strain of E. coli that caused it — E. coli O157:H7 — has been linked to several prior outbreaks. 'That tells you that there's some sort of systemic problem in the growing environment,' the attorney said. 'If you kind of ignore it and say, 'Oh well, the outbreak is over, we don't have to say anything,'' he said, 'what incentive is there for companies to stop growing there?' Jerold Mande, an adjunct professor of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a former senior advisor to the FDA commissioner, said that even if a contaminated product is out of circulation by the time its source is identified, consumers still have a right to know the contamination occurred. 'A company's record in the past is indicative of what people might expect in the future as well, and so consumers should have that information,' Mande said, adding that what they do with that information is up to them. Mande said that the FDA has not historically excelled at transparency, and he is concerned that recent cuts to the agency's communications staff will make matters worse. 'The current administration, which has emphasized over and over again about radical transparency, should certainly be doing more to let consumers know what's going on in these cases,' he said. Darin Detwiler, a food safety expert and associate teaching professor at Northeastern University's College of Professional Studies, said that it's crucial for not only consumers but also other companies to know when any contamination occurs. Under the Food Safety Modernization Act, food facilities are required to have food safety plans outlining how they will combat any contamination risks or other food safety hazards. Detwiler said these plans typically include likelihood-severity models, which measure the likelihood of a hazard occurring with the severity of its potential consequences. 'If a company is supposed to be putting together a likelihood-severity plan, and they don't know that their competitors — their commodity, their industry — is having these problems, how are they supposed to adequately capture this idea of likelihood and severity and then act upon it?' Detwiler said.
