California Consumers Allege Foster Farms Knowingly Sold Tainted Chicken

Six consumers have filed a lawsuit against Foster Poultry Farms alleging
that the company knowingly sold chicken tainted with Salmonella that
sickened the plaintiffs with salmonellosis syndrome. Melendez v. Foster
Poultry Farms, No. BC586891 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty.,
filed July 2, 2015). The complaint asserts that Foster Farms refused to
issue a recall after it knew of a link between its products and incidents
of Salmonella infections. Foster Farms “begrudgingly initiated a very
limited recall of its tainted chicken on July 12, 2014,” the plaintiffs
argue, only after the investigators tested a Foster Farms product from a
sickened consumer’s home and it tested positive for the outbreak strain
of Salmonella.

The complaint further alleges that Foster Farms promoted the growth
of the bacteria by failing to meet operational and food safety standards
in the months before the outbreak. The plaintiffs allege strict product
liability, negligence and breach of implied warranty and seek damages
for pain and suffering, medical and pharmaceutical expenses, travel
expenses, lost wages, loss of consortium and other alleged injuries.

Issue 571