National food safety attorneys at our law firm have filed a lawsuit against Diamond Pet Food Processors and Costco Wholesale Corp. on behalf of a victim of the dog food Salmonella Infantis outbreak that has sickened at least 15 people in nine states.
The suit (case number 3:12-CV-03127-JAP-LHG) was filed this week in U.S. District Court in New Jersey on behalf of an infant who was hospitalized for three days after contracting a dangerous infection from the outbreak strain of Salmonella. The baby’s father is the law firm’s client. According to the complaint (legal document filed to start a lawsuit), the baby developed severe diarrhea, fever and loss of appetite on April 11. When he was taken to a local clinic in Freehold, N.J., a doctor advised the family to take him to the emergency room at St. Peter’s University Hospital, where he was admitted and treated for salmonellosis.
The Salmonella bacteria cultured from the infant proved to the same rare genetic subtype of Salmonella Infantis found in other people sickened in the outbreak and in samples of Diamond Pet Food dog food. This means that the baby is part of this outbreak and was most likely sickened by dog food.
*Note: It only take a very small number of Salmonella cells to make a baby sick. Once a Salmonella-contaminated product is in a house, the bacteria can go anywhere, no matter how careful one is.
Diamond Pet Food recalled several brands of dog food, including Kirkland, Costco’s private-label store brand. According to the suit, the baby’s father had been purchasing Kirkland Signature Super Premium Healthy Weight Dog Formulated with Chicken & Vegetables for the family dogs. It was one of the varieties of recalled Diamond dog food.
“This child suffered severe pain and a host of painful medical procedures due to a collapse of food safety protections. Both of these companies knew or should have known that these products were contaminated with pathogens.’’
Last month, FDA found safety violations at Diamond’s manufacturing plant in Gaston, South Carolina:
- No microbiological analysis is conducted or there is no assurance that animal fat used to make the food will not introduce pathogens;
- The sampling system is flawed;
- Lack of hand washing facilities at each location needed;
- Failure to properly maintain equipment which may lead to contamination problems; and
- Equipment repaired with materials that cannot be cleaned such as duct tape and card board.
The CDC has said that the bacteria spread when people came into contact with the contaminated pet food or with an animal that ate the food.
Salmonella outbreak victims and their families can get help from salmonella attorneys by calling 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submitting our free consultation form. They represent food poisoning victims nationwide and have collected millions for food poisoning outbreak victims.