Food Poisoning Lawsuit Filed Over Recalled Marie Callender’s Frozen Dinner

A salmonella food poisoning lawsuit has been filed by an Oregon man who fell ill after eating an allegedly contaminated Marie Callender frozen dinner. 

The lawsuit, filed by Kevin Taylor, Jr., is connected to a Marie Callender recall issued last month for about 800,000 Frozen Cheesy Chicken and Rice meals that were pulled from store shelves after it was determined that they may be contaminated with salmonella.

The frozen dinners are believed to have sickened 37 people in 18 states, including the plaintiff. Taylor alleges that he tested positive for Salmonella Chester, the strain of bacteria associated with the frozen food recall.

Taylor suffered fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea, and was forced to stay home from work and attempt to ride the illness out because he did not have health insurance. Taylor lost 10 pounds over the course of the illness and eventually was treated and released in an urgent care facility.

Salmonella is a type of bacteria that attacks the gastrointestinal tract, causing mild to severe food poisoning. For most healthy adults, symptoms of food poisoning from salmonella typically resolve after a few days or weeks. However, young children, the elderly, and individuals with compromised immune systems have an increased risk of suffering severe food poisoning after ingesting the bacteria. If not properly treated, some cases of salmonella food poisoning can lead to hospitalization, dehydration or death.

The lawsuit against ConAgra, which owns the Marie Callender label, is the second filed against the company in relation to the salmonella outbreak. Another lawsuit was filed by Dave Smith, also of Oregon, on June 21.