WHY FOOD POISONING ISN’T JUST A RISK FOUND IN RESTAURANTS

One in 6 people in this country suffer from food poisoning every year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Not all individuals who get food poisoning contract it from eating in a restaurant or from not cooking their food sufficiently at home. Some of them have taken all the necessary steps to ensure that they and their family members are protected against foodborne illnesses. But what if the food they purchase at the local store is already tainted?

On August 29, 2012, Daniella brand of Mangoes (cultivated in Mexico and sold by a company in Burlingame, California) were voluntarily recalled due to a salmonella outbreak. The recall may have come a little too late for the 80 Californians who, since July 3, 2012, had already contracted food poisoning from eating tainted mangoes.

Illness and, in extreme cases, death, can occur when the food we ingest is infected with various bacteria which we may not even know exist. Often, the authorities tasked with keeping our food safe will not be aware of the problem until someone becomes ill. By then, the tainted food is in homes and restaurants, being or having been already consumed. In other words, the harm to you or a loved one has generally already taken place by the time a recall is issued or by the time you are notified.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of food poisoning due to the negligence of a producer or distributor of food products, the Santa Cruz personal injury attorneys at Caputo and Van Der Walde – Injury & Accident Attorneys may be able to help. If you want to know your rights in such situations, call us for a free consultation at (800) 900-0863. We are dedicated to protecting our clients’ rights.