SANDY, Utah – A local family is joining a lawsuit against a company that distributed cucumbers that created an outbreak of salmonella.
Meghann Mills of Sandy watched her 5-year-old son Charlie’s condition get worse for nearly a month. She said he was weak, lost weight and started having blood in his urine.
Initial tests came back clear for infection, but, after almost a month, a diagnosis linked the salmonella strain he was suffering from to the tainted cucumbers.
“One of the worst experiences of my life,” Mills said. “Your kid is sick, you don’t know why. You just want answers, and you want to know if there’s anything you can do as a mom.”
The distributor, Andrew and Williamson Fresh Produce in San Diego, voluntarily recalled the cucumbers earlier in September. Dave Murray, a partner with Andrew and Williamson, responded to the news of the lawsuit.
"We are absolutely devastated at the thought of people becoming sickened by cucumbers we put in the market," he told FOX 13 News over the phone.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 418 people have been sickened across 31 states. In the first week of September,there were 30 confirmed patients linked to the outbreak in Utah.
Murray said that since the recall, they have opened their fields and packing facilities in Mexico to the U.S. FDA as well as Mexican food inspectors and independent safety experts.
"We want everybody to know if we find a problem, we will take responsibility and we will fix it," Murray said.
The Mills family is joining at least seven others to file a lawsuit against the distributor.
