Listeria Lawyer Pritzker Urges Transparency in Colorado Listeria Investigation

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nationally recognized Listeria lawyer Fred Pritzker has begun to investigate the cantaloupe Listeria outbreak in Colorado, Texas and Nebraska.

“We are watching closely,’’ Pritzker said. “The system depends on fearless transparency.’’”

The cantaloupe outbreak comes on the heels of a compelling action by Del Monte Fresh Produce that is still reverberating in food safety circles and could potentially have a chilling effect on the government’s Listeria investigation. Pritzker wants to make sure potential cantaloupe recall information is not delayed. So far, public health officials have only said the outbreak is likely caused by contaminated cantaloupe without saying where the fruit originated.

“We are watching closely,’’ Pritzker said. “The system depends on fearless transparency.’’

Del Monte Fresh Produce is a major seller of cantaloupe in the United States. Earlier this year the company issued a major recall of cantaloupes harvested from a single farm in Guatemala after federal health officials associated the fruit with an outbreak of Salmonella Panama that sickened 20 people in 10 states. Oregon’s state health department was central to the investigation.

The outbreak ended in June and months went by without any news. But very recently, Del Monte filed a notice to sue the Oregon public health unit and its chief epidemiologist. The company put Oregon on notice that the state agency’s “conduct and misleading allegations’’ linked Del Monte cantaloupes to the Salmonella outbreak “despite the lack of sufficient factual basis.''

The company also has taken legal action against the FDA in an effort to lift an FDA rule restricting the importation of wholesome fresh cantaloupes into the United States.

Pritzker and other national experts in the area of foodborne illness litigation are now wondering if the legal steps taken by Del Monte will make public health officials overly cautious about linking individuals, producers and distributors to outbreaks. Any unnecessary hesitation would be harmful to consumers who need as much information as possible to protect their families against dangerous pathogenic bacteria, Pritzker said.

Pritzker can be reached at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or via contact information online at foodpoisoning.pritzkerlaw.com. He is founder and president of PritzkerOlsen, P.A., a leading national Listeria law firm. Pritzker has won several important decisions and millions of dollars in settlements against major food producers for negligence in food safety.