Peanut Corporation Facing Lawsuit
As the number of food companies involved in the peanut butter Salmonella recall grows, the company that produced the potentially contaminated ingredients is facing legal action from the heirs of a Minnesota woman whose death is associated with the outbreak.
Fred Pritzer initiated the Peanut Corporation of America lawsuit late last week in Hennepin County District Court by designating a trustee for the heirs of Shirley Mae Almer. Mrs. Almer, 72, was fighting cancer while living at a long-term care facility in Brainerd when she became infected with Salmonella Typhimurium after eating a piece of toast with peanut butter.
Pritzker told WCCO-TV in Minneapolis and KAAL-TV in Rochester, Minnesota, that Mrs. Almer was the "canary in the coal mine” that helped Minnesota health investigators crack the mystery of the 4-month-old outbreak before federal agencies could do it.
Pritzker said if Minnesota’s departments of health and agriculture hadn’t discovered peanut butter as the source, dozens more people could have been killed. As it stands, six deaths are associated with the outbreak, including another Minnesota, 78-year-old Clifford Tousignant.
In all, more than 470 confirmed cases of illness have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and at least 90 of the victims have been hospitalized.
Virginia-based Peanut Corporation of America has idled its Blakely, Georgia, plant where it makes bulk peanut butter in containers of up to 1,700 pounds and peanut paste (roasted ground peanuts) by the tanker load. The company also has recalled all peanut butter made at the facility since August 8 and all peanut paste made there since September 26.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the CDC are warning consumers not to eat crackers, cookies, cakes, candies, ice cream and other products containing peanut butter or peanut paste until food companies can determine which items contain potentially contaiminated ingredients from the Georgia plant.
If you or someone you know has been injured as part of the Salmonella outbreak, you could be entitled to compensation. The first step is to call Pritzker Law at (612) 338-0202. Our lawyers have experience in practically every major foodpoisoning outbreak, including the 2007 Salmonella outbreak caused by Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter.
The FDA has established a special web site to list all of the peanut butter Salmonella recalls, starting with a recall by Kellogg Company of Keebler and Austin brand snack crackers with peanut butter. Other companies have made recalls and more are expected to join the group because Peanut Corporation of America supplied more than 30 companies with ingredients that could be adulterated with Salmonella.
- McKee Foods Corp. of Collegedale, Tenn., has recalled Little Debbie peanut butter crackers made by Kellogg.
- Ralcorp Frozen Bakery Products of suburban Chicago has recalled peanut butter cookies sold through Wal-Mart stores.
- Perry’s Ice Cream of Buffalo, N.Y., has recalled ice cream containing peanut butter.
- HyVee Inc. of West Des Moines, Iowa, has recalled Lunchbox Reeses’ Pieces cookies and Peanut Buter Reeses’ Pieces Cookies.
Tags: peanut butter salmonella lawsuit, peanut corporation of america lawsuit, Salmonella wrongful death
