Featured News 2012 Recent Fruit Faux Pas and Consumer Safety

Recent Fruit Faux Pas and Consumer Safety

When you purchase fruit at the grocery store, you want to know that you are getting a quality product that will make a tasty compliment to your meal or a delicious meal. You don’t want to wonder if the food will cause illness in your family when you serve it at the dinner table. That’s why it is important to be aware of the recent fruit faux pas in American and make sure to steer clear of dangerous produce. In September, the Food and Drug Administration detained mango imports from a Mexican packing house, claiming that the company was linked to salmonella instances in 16 states. Supposedly the FDA was given warning that consumers were falling ill after eating fruits that came from the packing house south of the border.

The mango alert was issued on September 14th, and targeted the packing house Angricola Daniella. The supplier has multiple plantations and one packing house in Sinaloa, Mexico. They often ship the produce up to the U.S. were consumers are eager to purchase the juicy fruits. Now, the FDA will not import any produce from the company unless they perform tests to prove that their product is safe. The mangoes were recalled by a California importer last month after they were linked to 105 illnesses. While most of the people who fell ill were in California, other states were affected as well.

In Owensville, Indiana, an American farm has also been targeted after investigators discovered that their produce carried salmonella compounds that were making consumers sick. The farm in southwestern Indiana was linked to a cantaloupe salmonella outbreak that killed two people earlier this year. They immediately recalled all the cantaloupes from their farm at the time, and dealt with a barrage of lawsuits from sick consumers. Now, the Chamberlain Farm Produce of Owensville says that they have had to recall all watermelons that came from the same farm. They insist that they are cooperating with state and federal food safety recalls and are unaware of anyone who fell ill from eating the watermelons that were recalled.

Supposedly, the Indiana farm’s salmonella strain concerning the watermelons is different from the strain concerning the cantaloupes earlier this year. Federal officials have discovered that the cantaloupe contamination, which was a separate instance, killed two and sickened 204 people in 22 different states. In order to avoid a similar situation, they made sure that all the watermelons were sent back. Because of the concern for salmonella in produce, the FDA has created a guide for purchasing and growing these products.

The guidelines for growing produce were created with the produce industry, and present a fundamental shift in strategy for the agency so that they can prevent foodborne hazards such as salmonella. The FDA hopes that new guidelines will prevent harm to consumers and ensure effective food safety inspections. They also help that the new guidelines will identify outbreaks quickly and stop them. If you have been harmed by a fruit product like fresh produce, then you need to notify the farm that produces the fruit right away. You should also notify the FDA and contact a personal injury attorney. If you were hospitalized, then chances are that you can get your medical bills covered by the company that was responsible for your illness. When you purchase a product you trust that you will be healthy and safe. When that expectation is not met, you deserve to get compensation. Contact a personal injury attorney today to get more information about litigation and discuss your case!

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