SEATTLE - Marler Clark, a Seattle law firm with a long track record of successful lawsuits against food companies, filed a nationwide class action lawsuit on behalf of all persons sickened and injured by unpasteurized orange juice contaminated with a rare strain of the Salmonella bacteria. The contaminated juice was manufactured by Sun Orchard, which is based in Tempe, Arizona. Marler Clark has been contacted by over 30 persons in several states with possible claims against Sun Orchard.
The named plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Jim and Fiona Jackson, the parents of Ian Jackson, a 4 year old boy who became seriously ill when he drank Sun Orchard orange juice contaminated with Salmonella. As Sun Orchard concedes in its own press release, "Salmonella muenchen is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail, and elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems." At least three people have been injured seriously enough to require hospitalization.
In Washington State alone, there are 14 confirmed cases, and 25 suspected cases, of people becoming ill after drinking Sun Orchard’s contaminated juice. The State Department of Public Health is also reported to be running tests on at least two dozen more people suspected of getting ill from the Sun Orchard juice sold at World Wrapps restaurants. It is also reported that scientists found salmonella in unopened containers of Sun Orchard orange juice, confirming it as the source of the outbreak.
“It’s simply outrageous that, after all we know about the importance of pasteurization, especially after the Odwalla E. coli outbreaks, we still have companies selling unpasteurized fruit juice, and justifying it on the grounds that it’s more flavorful if not pasteurized, and more full of vitamins,” said William Marler, of the Marler Clark law firm. “At a minimum, consumers should be warned of the potential risks of consuming these unpasteurized products. The question is why Sun Orchard did not want a warning label on this product.”
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The attorneys at the Marler Clark law firm have been involved in hundreds of cases, including the Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak, the Odwalla E. coli outbreak, the Malt-O-Meal Salmonella outbreak, the White Water waterpark E. coli outbreak in Atlanta, the Golden Corral E. coli outbreak in Kearney, Nebraska, the Bauer Meats E. coli outbreak in Athens, Georgia, and the Finley School District E. coli outbreak in the Tri-cities, Washington.
More about the Sun Orchard orange juice Salmonella outbreak can be found in the Case News area of this site.