SEATTLE – A class action lawsuit was filed today in King County Superior Court against Senor Felix Gourmet Mexican Foods, a California Corporation implicated in the recent Shigella outbreak. The named plaintiffs are Larissa Spafford, Robert B. Spafford, and their two-year-old son, Jasper, of Port Townsend, Washington. Ms. Spafford purchased the dip at a Port Townsend QFC. Both she and her son became ill.
According to William Marler, a partner at Marler Clark, the attorneys for the class action, “Ms. Spafford’s and her son’s symptoms were relatively mild, although they included diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. They were very fortunate not to have suffered more severe injury.
The Washington State Department of Health has confirmed that at least 30 people in Washington have shown symptoms of shigellosis. Dozens more were sickened in Oregon and California. This number is expected to rise over the next few weeks. Marcia Goldloft, Medical Epidemiologist with the Washington State Department of Health, said, “Shigellosis can be very serious and his highly contagious. People who think they might have been infected should pay close attention to hygiene. Carefully washing your hands could prevent getting a family member sick.”
This dip was sold under several names, including the above, Trader Joe’s 5 Layer Fiesta Dip, and Delicioso 5 Layer Fiesta Dip. It was sold in jars and on seven-inch grays, with a distinctly layered appearance. The list of retailers that carried this product includes the following: Costco, Trader Joe’s, Puget Consumers Co-op (PCC), and SAM’s Club. It was also distributed to QFC, Thriftway, Red apple Markets, Zupan’s, and Homegrocer.com, as well as other individual retailers.
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Marler Clark has been involved in hundreds of cases involving food-borne illness. These have included the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak; the 1996 Odwalla E. coli outbreak; the 1998 Malt-O-Meal Salmonella outbreak; the 1998 Finley School District E. coli outbreak in the Tri-Cities, Washington; the 1999 Golden Corral E. coli outbreak, the 1999 Sun Orchard Orange Juice Salmonella outbreak, and the 1999 Subway hepatitis A outbreak.
More about the Senor Felix Shieglla outbreak can be found in the Case News area of this site.