The frequency of food recalls is setting off alarms about the safety of the products we eat. Recent food recalls in Indiana include tuna salad and cheese due to Listeria concerns, and tomatoes linked to possible Salmonella contamination.
Consumers are typically advised to throw out the product or return it to its place of purchase. The Mayo Clinic describes food poisoning symptoms as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, and headaches.
Attorney Monique Alarcon, with the law firm Wisner Baum LLP, said the second a company issues a recall, people should immediately stop eating the product and document their purchase.
"They can take pictures of lot numbers, any barcodes on the product, any stamps indicating dates, lot numbers, 'purchase by' date, 'use by' date. Photograph the packaging to preserve it, in the event that there is any investigation by any state, local or federal agency into where those products have been distributed," she explained.
This year, there have been at least ten nationwide recalls involving fruit, chocolate, bread, pet food and baby formula. If the product is defective in the design, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, and warning process, and it may be contaminated – as seen in the food recall situations – the company is going to be liable, she explained.
The Food and Drug Administration identifies three types of actions a company can take to remove a product from the market. Recalls may be conducted on a firm's own initiative, by FDA request, or by FDA order under statutory authority. Alarcon admits the agency has its challenges.
"It lacks enough funding and resources," she continued. "That's just a fact that we know of. It cannot be everywhere. The FDA does sort of random inspections, or maybe annual inspections at certain places, but they're not overseeing it day to day, and that responsibility to do that ultimately lies with the manufacturer."
Some companies may claim the contamination occurred within the purchaser’s home. Alarcon countered that defense raises fresh questions when multiple outbreaks occur that are tied to a particular product – and if the company has a history of FDA facility inspections resulting in significant issues or warning letters.
References
