Montreal man seeking to launch lawsuit over cantaloupe salmonella outbreak

A man from Montreal is seeking to launch a class-action lawsuit against two companies after he spent nearly a week in hospital fighting a salmonella infection from consuming cantaloupes.

The application from Slater Vecchio LLP was filed on Dec. 12 in Quebec Superior Court. It alleges that Olivier Archambault became ill after he consumed fruit produced by Mexico-based Malichita and distributed in Canada by Arizona-based Trufresh.

Last month, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued recall warnings for cantaloupes produced by Malichita, followed by further recalls for melons by Rudy brand, which are produced in the same area of Mexico.

As of last week, the Public Health Agency of Canada had confirmed 164 cases and seven deaths linked to salmonella in cantaloupes across eight provinces.

READ MORE: 7th Canadian death recorded in cantaloupe-related salmonellosis

One hundred and eleven of those cases are in Quebec, making it the most affected province in Canada.

The lawsuit says the plaintiff received a cantaloupe in a subscription box in late October and later bought another at a grocery store in Montreal.

It claims that Archambault was admitted to the emergency room on Nov. 12 after experiencing severe illness, including intense abdominal cramping and vomiting and was later confirmed to have salmonella.

The proposed class action, which has yet to be authorized or tested in court, is seeking unspecified damages on behalf of individuals in Quebec who purchased and consumed cantaloupes and other fruit in October and November that were the subject of Health Canada recalls.

This report was created with files from The Canadian Press

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