Attorneys in Minneapolis have filed a lawsuit against an Arizona produce company and Sam's Club over tainted cantaloupe.
So far three people in the U.S., two of whom were from Minnesota, and five people in Canada have died from salmonella poisoning linked to the outbreak.
Ray Trueblood is an attorney with Pritzker Hageman and says a lawsuit was their only choice.
"If companies that prepare and sell food to the public aren't going to put safety first, the only thing we can do is pursue civil remedies under the civil justice system," says Trueblood.
He says they expect there are many more cases still out there.
"I hope that anyone out there that has been affected doesn't just turn a blind eye," says Trueblood. "Because if they do, the results are that this company has gotten a slap on the wrist and they don't have any real incentive to clean up their act."
Trublood says that his firm filed the suit in Florida after a 3-year old who was hospitalized for days after getting sick from eating the melons.
"Unfortunately for families like my client's family, it turns out that unless proper sanitation is followed, and the safest practices, these fresh fruits and vegetables can end up causing horrendous infections if adaquete steps aren't taken by food producers," Trueblood explains.
The lawsuit charges the produce company Trufresh with "failing to prevent fecal matter and other contaminants from coming into contact with the cantaloupe and other food products."
Trufresh did announce they are recalling all sizes of fresh cantaloupes packaged in cardboard containers labeled with the “Malichita” label.
Salmonella is 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.
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