Canadian man sues melon sellers

A man from Montreal has filed a class action lawsuit against two companies that produce and distribute fruit. The plaintiff alleges that he was previously hospitalized with salmonella poisoning after eating melons purchased from this vendor.

The man describes eating two melons during the week of November 6 and began experiencing "severe" symptoms: sharp abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting and fever. On November 12, he was admitted to the emergency room of the Verdun hospital and remained there for another six days while he was treated for salmonellosis in the infectious disease unit.

Defendants in his lawsuit are Agropecuaria Malichita, a company based in northwestern Mexico, and Sofia Produce LLC, an exporter of produce from the U.S. city of Nogales, Arizona, which does business under the TruFresh brand. The lawsuit must be authorized by a judge before it can be heard.

Other victims

Since the lawsuit is a class action, one can guess that the plaintiff was joined by other victims. In October and November, there was indeed an outbreak of salmonellosis in Canada and the United States due to the distribution of contaminated melons. The Public Health Agency of Canada identified Rudy and Malichita melons as the likely source of the outbreak.

As of Dec. 22, 164 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection have been identified across Canada, with nearly 70 percent of them in Quebec. At least 61 hospitalizations are known.

A lawyer representing the lead plaintiff said Wednesday that the number of illnesses could be much higher than Canadian officials are reporting. He has already been contacted by 200 people who want to join the litigation.

The defense counsel intends to seek compensation for all Quebec residents who purchased or consumed the recalled melons. The amount of compensation for each participant in the class action will be determined at a later date.

Representatives for Agropecuaria Malichita and Sofia Produce LLC have not yet commented on the lawsuit.