New Claim Center for Cantaloupe Outbreak Salmonella Victims Launched
National Cantaloupe Salmonella Lawyer Ron Simon has launched a new Claim Center for Cantaloupe Outbreak Salmonella Victims to allow the many victims and potential victims an easy path to starting their claim for medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Simon notes this outbreak is large my nearly any measure, even against the backdrop that there are about 48 million food poisoning victims in the U.S. annually, and nearly 800 distinct outbreaks in some years. The Cantaloupe Salmonella Outbreak has now surpassed 100 confirmed victims (with the actual number thought to be as high as 3000 by some food borne illness experts) with nearly half of those requiring hospitalization and two, in Minnesota, having died from their illness. While about 128,000 Americans are hospitalized each year with food poisoning, to have this many in one outbreak, says Simon, “is one aspect of the severity of this outbreak.” Annually, about 100 victims succumb to their illness each year in the U.S. – about 44 from one of the 31 specified pathogens, and another 56 from unspecified pathogens.
This particular Cantaloupe outbreak, says Cantaloupe Salmonella Lawyer Dr. Anthony Coveny, shares a few common elements with prior Cantaloupe outbreaks linked to listeria and salmonella, as Cantaloupe are unique fruit. “For one,’ says Coveny, “Cantaloupe have a uniquely rough shell compared to other melons. A honeydew melon or a watermelon are easy to wash, as their surfaces are smooth and flat. But a cantaloupe has a corrugated surface, with cervices that both facilitates the adhesion of the salmonella or other bacteria and makes washing and sanitizing difficult.” He went on to note “this is why cantaloupe is so often linked to food borne illness. Like sprouts, another notorious conduit of food borne pathogens, these have become predictable. “
How Far is Too Far?
Some food borne illness experts are even attempting to ban the importation of cantaloupe for this reason – that lax controls in secondary an tertiary nations allows for contamination that is then hard to detect or prevent once imported. They are calling for a “U.S. Only” policy on cantaloupe production and distribution. This sentiment seems to be growing with regard to imported foods, especially in the wake of the new alert on imported Ecuadorian applesauce pouches sold primarily at the Dollar Store. The WanaBana applesauce has extremely high levels of lead and has caused wide-scale lead poisoning amongst young children. The nation’s first Wanabana lead poisoning lawsuit was filed earlier this week.
“This attitude is not manageable,” says Coveny, noting “over half of all fresh fruit is imported into the U.S., and about a quarter of all fresh vegetables, with the exception of potatoes and mushrooms.” As such, this would cause inflation to rise rapidly. Instead, says Coveny, “we need to put more pressure on importers and distributors to force their suppliers to follow the good manufacturing procedures (GMPs) we have in the U.S. by holding distributors liable for the dangers of importing food that has been grown, harvested, packaged or shipped under unsanitary conditions.”
What is the Purpose of the New Claim Center for Cantaloupe Outbreak Salmonella Victims?
National Cantaloupe Salmonella Lawyer Ron Simon says it is intended to get people to a food poisoning lawyer efficiently, to disseminate information that will help the victims understand the process, and work with each family to recover for their losses. “A great deal of work remains to be done,” says Simon, “but we fully anticipate getting to the root of the problem, and finding out how the applesauce became contaminated. And although the leading theory at present is that it was the cinnamon, that is only the beginning of the inquiry. We need to know how this dangerous product arrived on the tables and highchairs of so many of our most vulnerable consumers, kids.”
