New Law Blogs

Salmonella Outbreak Spoils Consumer Confidence

By PritzkerLaw

The Salmonella outbreak caused by Peanut Corporation of America has raised consumer doubts about the safety of our food supply.

The University of Minnesota Food Industry Center said that only 22.5 percent of consumers in a recent survey said they were confident that the food supply was safer than a year ago.

It was the lowest reading since the study began in May 2008. A similar drop in confidence occurred last summer when a Salmonella outbreak sickened nearly 1,500 people across the country. Health officials first attributed the outbreak to contaminated tomatoes, but later discovered that the outbreak was caused by Mexican-grown jalapeno peppers.

The current outbreak, which has killed nine people and sickened more than 650 others, is linked to Virginia-based Peanut Corporation of America. The company has gone out of business and filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition to liquidate. But that won't stop federal investigators from pursuing possible criminal charges, nor will it stop a peanut butter wrongful death lawsuit filed by PritzkerOlsen Attorneys.

The national food safety law firm represents clients from across the country including the families of three women who died in the outbreak -- two from Minnesota and one from Ohio.

The consumer study continuously tracks confidence in the American food supply via weekly online surveys of 175 people from across the country. A new group is chosen every week by a national market research firm. The U of M conducts the study jointly with Louisiana State University's Ag Center. It is funded by the National Center for Food Protection and Defense. 

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on February 23, 2009 (boomark / email).