Del Monte has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Oregon Public Health Division and one of its officials in regards the two agencies linking their cantaloupes to a salmonella outbreak, according to news sources.
February and March of 2011, an Oregon Health Administration (OHA) official linked the illness with the cantaloupes imported from Guatemala. A voluntary recall was announced by Del Monte at that time. The lawsuit claims that neither the OHA nor the FDA conducted a comprehensive investigation to truly determine that the cantaloupes were the source of the salmonella illness, and that they also discounted evidence that showed the two were unrelated.
A Del Monte representative stated, “the Public Health Division…made misleading allegations regarding Del Monte Fresh’s imported cantaloupes as the source of a Salmonella outbreak earlier this year. These statements were made despite the lack of a substantive factual basis for the allegations and the failure to adequately investigate the true source of the contamination.”
As a Los Angeles personal injury attorney, consumer health is something that I am very conscious of and I know that even with tough rules and regulations on manufacturers, mistakes can still be made. I encourage anyone who is experiencing the symptoms of salmonella to seek immediate medical attention. The personal injury lawyer at our law firm sincerely hopes that this issue can be resolved so that the health of the consumer is no longer at risk.
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