(Montreal) A Montrealer who spent nearly a week in hospital due to a salmonella infection after consuming cantaloupes is seeking authorization to launch a class action against two food companies.
The law firm Slater Vecchio filed a motion on December 12 in the Superior Court of Quebec, alleging that Olivier Archambault had fallen ill after consuming melons produced by the Mexican company Malichita and distributed in Canada by Trufresh, based in Arizona .
In November, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued food recall warnings for melons produced by Malichita, and later that month it issued recalls for Rudy brand melons, produced in the same region of Mexico.
Last week, the Public Health Agency of Canada reported 164 laboratory-confirmed cases and seven deaths from cantaloupe-linked salmonella in eight provinces; 111 of these cases are in Quebec.
The suit says the plaintiff received a cantaloupe in a subscription box in late October and purchased another at a Montreal grocery store.
She says he was admitted to the emergency room on November 12 after suffering a serious illness, including intense abdominal cramps and vomiting, and was later confirmed to have salmonellosis.
The proposed class action, which has not been authorized or tested in court, seeks unspecified damages on behalf of individuals in Quebec who purchased and consumed cantaloupes and other fruits in October and November which have been the subject of recalls by Health Canada.