Food that is purchased at the grocery store is done so with the expectation that it is safe to consume. Whether an Ohio shopper is making a grocery purchase for him- or herself or for their family, virtually no one expects that the food they are buying could make them devastatingly sick. Unfortunately, food products harboring dangerous bacteria still make their way onto store shelves, prompting some victims to seek compensation through product liability claims.
At the beginning of July 2015, Barber Foods issued a recall of nearly 60,000 pounds of chicken. The recall was prompted by a concern that the frozen poultry had been contaminated with salmonella, putting customers at risk for contracting the harmful bacteria. The affected products had sell by dates as far away as July 2016.
Just weeks later, Barber announced that a second recall was necessary. The latest recall was started after Barber discovered that two patients in different states were both suffering from salmonella that they had apparently contracted from Barber products. The second recall includes a wider variety of Barber’s products totaling approximately 1.7 million pounds.
Parents in Ohio have the right to expect that the food they serve their children is safe and free from contamination and harmful bacteria. When a company fails to maintain safety and cleanliness standards, the affect might not be visible until consumers begin to fall ill. Victims of food-borne illnesses retain the same rights as any other consumer who is wrongly injured by a defective product, and they may choose to file a product liability claim against a manufacturer or food company in order to seek compensation for related damages.
Source: Time, “Barber Foods Recalls 1.7 Million lbs of Frozen Chicken“, Tanya Basu, July 14, 2015