Attorney Fred Pritzker was quoted by Aljazeera in a story on the risks associated with the globalization of the food supply. Fred is representing victims of the Cyclospora outbreak linked to Taylor Farms salad mix from Mexico. The outbreak has sickened over 400 people in 16 states. The salad mix was served at Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants in Iowa, Nebraska and possibly other states.
When the outbreak was made public, health officials refused to name either the supplier of the implicated salad mix or the restaurants involved. Fred believes full disclosure is in the best interests of consumers. he is quoted in Aljazeera:
Fred Pritzker, the attorney for some of the infected victims, said the presumption should always be in favour of early disclosure. “You identify the wrongdoer,” he said, “because you never know if all the product is gone and, just as importantly, the public has an intrinsic right to know if a company’s product caused harm”. (Aljazeera, Aug. 6, 2013, “Globalization linked to rash of food scares“)
Early in the outbreak, Fred called on state and federal health officials to reveal the names of all the companies involved, including growers, suppliers, distributors, retailers and restaurants. Fred has now filed a cyclosporiasis lawsuit against Taylor Fresh Foods, supplier of the Taylor Farms brand salad mix, and Darden Corporation, owner of the Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurant chains.