Foster Farms Faces Legal and Insurance Issues After Salmonella Food Recall

Foster Farms has been the source of a salmonella outbreak for the past year, but until Thursday, July 3rd, the company had not issued a salmonella food recall.

Although the USDA regulates food-borne pathogens, such as e. Coli, a certain amount of salmonella is regularly found in chicken, and in most circumstances, thoroughly cooking poultry can kill the disease. This means that salmonella is not considered a pathogen under USDA food safety regulations, but an “additive.” So, when massive salmonella outbreaks begin from chicken producers such as Foster Farms, the USDA has no authority to force a food recall, and must wait until the manufacturer decides to issue one voluntarily.

After a year, more than 600 cases of salmonella illness, and the outbreak spreading to 27 states and Puerto Rico, Foster Farms finally issued a voluntary salmonella food recall to prevent further contamination from salmonella.

Now, the poultry giant faces a legal battle with its insurance company over the definition of a “food recall.”

Reportedly, Foster Farms seeks an insurance payment of $14.2 million after the government forcibly shut down one of the producer’s plants because of the salmonella outbreak. They said that the closure and resulting product losses constituted a food recall according to the company’s insurance, even though Foster Farms had not issued a recall at the time. Last Thursday, July 3rd, the food manufacturer filed a formal complaint against their insurer, Lloyd’s of London, in a federal court in Fresno, California, stating that three insurance underwriters acted improperly when they rejected claims from the company after the January production stoppage.

Insurers argued that a “food recall” began only when the company pulled products off the market, not when the company destroyed products before they shipped.

Foster Farms is reportedly considering filing another claim with Lloyd’s of London for the early July food recall as well.

Congress Demands Plant Shut-Downs Due to Salmonella

While Foster Farms battles its insurance company, two members of Congress are calling for the shut-down of all the company’s plants until the salmonella outbreak stops.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., said on Monday, July 7th, that federal regulators needed to shut down the rest of Foster Farms’s plants, until the poultry manufacturer could prove that the salmonella outbreak was completely over. Foster Farms did not issue a salmonella food recall for any of their products until one case of salmonella, in May, was directly linked to Foster Farms chicken.

The representatives also accused Foster Farms of announcing the food recall at a time when their news would go unnoticed – just before a huge national holiday.

“Burying news late at night on a holiday weekend may be a time-honored tradition by Washington spin doctors, but it is a shameful way to protect public health,” DeLauro and Slaughter said in a statement.

“FSIS acted aggressively and expeditiously as soon as information was available to establish a conclusive link between a Foster Farms product and an illness, and then to initiate the recall process,” spokesman Adam Tarr said in a statement. “Once we determined the scope of the recall, FSIS stayed on the job around the clock to proactively share the information with media and other entities to get information to consumers in advance of July 4 grilling.”

DeLauro and Slaughter have also introduced legislation that would give the USDA power to issue a mandatory food recall in the event of such a massive outbreak in the future. Nearly 40% of the salmonella victims have been hospitalized due to their infections, and 13% have developed serious bloodstream infections.

Food Recall and Defective Product Lawyers at the Strom Law Firm

It is important to hold manufacturers to a higher standard, and a defective products lawyer can help when a food recall has not been issued in time. The Columbia, South Carolina-based attorneys at the Strom Law Firm are licensed to practice in South Carolina, Georgia, and New York, to help you with your personal injury or food poisoning claim. We offer free consultations to discuss the facts of your case, so contact us today for help. 803.252.4800.