in november, the canadian food inspection agency issued a series of food recall warnings for certain brands of cantaloupe that had been linked to cases of salmonella, some of them fatal. as of dec. 22, 2023, the public health agency of canada had reported 164 laboratory-confirmed cases of salmonella poisoning linked to the cantaloupe-borne outbreak, including seven deaths.
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the contaminated cantaloupes were grown in mexico and shipped to canada and the united states, where the u.s. centre for disease control reported in december that contaminated melons had been responsible for hundreds of people getting sick and at least eight deaths.
in november, the b.c. centre for disease control warned the public not to eat malichita brand cantaloupes, saying there had been eight confirmed cases of a rare strain of salmonella in the province.
the new lawsuit will need to be certified by a judge before it can proceed as a class action. any canadians who bought or consumed contaminated cantaloupe can contact slater vecchio at: www.slatervecchio.com/class-action/cantaloupes-salmonella-recall
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last month, when canada’s salmonella outbreak made national news, a food science expert explained to cbc news that cantaloupe can be prone to salmonella because germs can tuck into the net-like texture of the fruit’s skin and resist being washed off, compared to other fruits with smoother skins.
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