News agencies reported that Del Monte Fresh Produce filed a suit against the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claiming that “erroneous speculation, unsupported by scientific evidence” resulted in the March recall of Guatemalan cantaloupes associated with an outbreak of Salmonella Panama.
The complaint was filed in the US District Court in Maryland and seeks to repeal an FDA restriction so that the company may resume importing cantaloupes from Guatemala. The faults the FDA’s import alerts, which let the agency detain, without the need of physical examination, products that either violate or may potentially violate the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Del Monte is the largest importer of cantaloupes in the US and approximately 27 percent of their cantaloupes are imported from the Guatemalan supplier in question.
In the company’s press release, Del Monte stated that the FDA and many state health agency officials were at fault in saying that cantaloupes from a Guatemalan farm and packing facility were probably contaminated with Salmonella when “in fact, neither the FDA nor any state health agency in the US has offered evidence or data to support the FDA action.”
As a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer, I’m glad that these issues are being resolved within are food safety evaluation process. If you’ve been injured through the consumption of a defective food product, contact a product defect lawyer in your city to learn more about the legal options open to you.