by News Desk | Apr 03, 2011
The family of a 12-year-old Colorado girl has filed suit against Del Monte Fresh Produce, claiming that cantaloupe contaminated with Salmonella caused her to become so ill she required hospitalization.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in Adams County District Court on behalf of the child by the Seattle food-safety law firm Marler Clark and Colorado attorneys Montgomery, Little & Soran.
According to the complaint, the girl -- identified as S.W. -- ate cantaloupe that the family had purchased at Costco in early March. She became sick with gastroenteritis on March 4, became progressively worse and was hospitalized from March 10 to 14. S.W. is still recovering, attorney Dave Babcock said.
Results from lab tests showed the girl was infected with Salmonella Panama, a relatively rare strain that health officials said matched an outbreak strain of cases in Oregon, Washington California, and Maryland. Investigators found almost all of the people sickened had eaten cantaloupes from Costco, which shared sales receipts that helped trace back the suspect melons to a Del Monte grower in Guatemala. On March 22, Del Monte recalled nearly 5,000 cartons of cantaloupe.
Continue reading, "Salmonella Cantaloupe Suit Filed Against Del Monte" at Food Safety News.