October 1, 2012 — The first peanut butter food poisoning lawsuit has been filed, and the list of recalled products continues to expand today. Major retail grocery stores — including Whole Foods, Costco, Target, Safeway, and Trader Joe’s — have all recalled specific nut butters (peanut, cashew, almond, and tahini) due to potential contamination with salmonella. At least 30 people in 19 states have been sickened by salmonella food poisoning.
Today, the list of retailers who have issued recalls expanded to include the following:
- Chattanooga Bakery, Inc.
- Fairytale Brownies
- Falcon Trading Company/SunRidge Farms
- Giant Food
- Gretchen Shoebox Express
- Harry and David
- Jer’s Chocolates
- Justin’s
- Late July Snacks
- Newman’s Own Organics
- Oregon Ice Cream Company
- Stop & Shop Supermarket Company
- Whole Foods Market
More than 100 different products have been recalled. All of these products contained peanut butter produced at the New Mexico-based company Sunland, Inc. The company sold nut butters to Safeway (Open Nature), Target (Archer Farms), Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe’s, and other major retailers located throughout the United States. The massive recall highlights the serious nature of a recall that occurs at one major distributor that supplies food to dozens of other companies.
This is actually the second time a major distributor of peanut butter has caused a massive peanut butter food poisoning outbreak. The last major outbreak occurred from September 2008 until January 16, 2009 — there were 529 confirmed cases of peanut butter food poisoning in 43 states. Of these, 116 people required hospitalization, and 8 people died from the illness. Laboratory analysis traced the outbreak to a single distributor who sold peanut butter and paste to many other companies.
Fortunately, the most recent outbreak of peanut butter food poisoning has not caused any deaths. However, the first peanut butter food poisoning lawsuit has already been filed. The father of an 8 year-old boy who was sickened by Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Salted peanut butter has filed a lawsuit against Trader Joe’s and Sunland, Inc. The boy suffered from severe diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever, and had to be hospitalized for three days. His father filed the lawsuit in Nash County Superior Court, located in North Carolina.
Do I have a Peanut Butter Food Poisoning Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting peanut butter food poisoning induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been injured by peanut butter salmonella, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Food Poisoning Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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