Salmonella-Tainted Potpies Produce Class-Action Lawsuit

ConAgra Foods faces a lawsuit over salmonella poisoning after its Banquet-brand potpies were linked to a nationwide outbreak of the infection.

Earlier in the year the Nebraska-based company was hit with more than 50 lawsuits following the recall of salmonella-tainted peanut butter from its Georgia plant.

ConAgra makes and markets a wide variety of foods under more than 30 brand names.

Five people who say they became ill after eating Banquet potpies filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri the day after ConAgra announced a recall of the products.

Salmonella is a bacteria usually transmitted to humans through tainted food or water. The symptoms of poisoning, which take six to 72 hours to appear, include nausea, cramping and diarrhea.

On Oct. 9, after state and federal health officials told ConAgra that its potpies were thought to be the likely source of a salmonella outbreak, the company issued an advisory.

The warning told retailers to remove poultry potpies from shelves and told consumers not to eat the products. The company also ceased production at its plant Marshall, Mo., where the pies were made.

Two days later ConAgra issued an official recall of all varieties of the pies. In the recall statement on it Web site the company said it was recalling all pies to avoid consumer confusion.

The recall covered all varieties of potpies under the Banquet and multiple store-brand names, such as Albertson's and Great Value.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 200 cases of salmonella infections from the same strain of the bacteria linked to the potpies have been reported so far this year in 34 states.

The CDC statement says no deaths have been reported from the outbreak, but it has resulted in 40 hospitalizations.

The plaintiffs seek to represent two classes in the federal court action.

A consumer class would consist of all those who purchased and/or consumed potpies affected by the recall, and an injury class would include all people who became ill from eating the products.

The plaintiffs allege that the class members suffered bodily injury, pain and suffering, loss of earnings, and medical expenses because of ConAgra's alleged negligence.

The company is liable for damages because it made and sold products that were inherently dangerous due to the salmonella contamination, the suit says. It breached an implied warranty to provide safe food products, according to the complaint.

In addition ConAgra violated federal and state health and safety laws and manufactured its products in an unsafe environment, the plaintiffs say.

The suit charges that the company violated the consumer-protection laws of 45 states by failing to warn consumers of the risk of salmonella poisoning.

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