Cyclospora attorney Fred Pritzker said in a press release today that at least one nationally advertised restaurant chain is likely to be involved in the Cyclospora outbreak linked to bagged, mixed salad. The food poisoning lawyers called on public health officials to disclose the name of the salad processor and restaurant for the sake of victims who have been injured in Iowa, Nebraska, Florida, Texas, Wisconsin and several other states. The Bad Bug Law Team at Pritzker’s Minneapolis-based law firm, Pritzker Hageman, is representing people who were sickened in the outbreak.
Pritzker said it’s apparent that officials in Nebraska, Iowa and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta are withholding the identity of the supplier or any restaurants involved.
Restaurants are liable for Cyclospora infections caused by the food they serve. In this case, the attorney said, restaurants associated with the illnesses are liable along with the salad processor for the harm suffered by those sickened. Not identifying the salad processor raises questions and casts doubt in the consumer marketplace about the safety of bagged lettuce. Officials have said the products that caused the outbreak are no longer on store shelves, but they don’t even say what vegetable in the salad mix was contaminated. Releasing the outbreak data will ensure the real culprit is identified, and will prevent a potential second wave of infections, Pritzker said. The law office is continuing with its own investigation.
