An Alberta judge has
granted certification to a nation-wide class-action lawsuit against XL Foods
over beef it marketed that was contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7.
The suit has been filed by
James Brown and Associates of Edmonton and names Matthew Harrison as its
typical victim of food poisoning.
The original lawsuit filed
in February named XL Foods and Nilsson Bros. as defendants; now the lawsuit
includes the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
The lawsuit seeks $10
million in damages for victims of food poisoning and those who did not receive
full refunds for the beef they bought that was later recalled, $5 million in
punitive damages and an additional $2 million in other damages.
The recall, now considered
the largest beef recall in Canadian history, began last Sept. 4 lwhen some
product at another processor, Ginger Beef Choice in Calgary, was found to have
E. coli O157:H7 that was soon tracked back to the XL plant.
The same day, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture reported finding the dangerous strain of bacteria in
beef trimmings from XL’s plant at Brooks.
The company and the CFIA
didn’t issue an immediate recall because those two cases were caught before the
beef reached the public.
The public recall came only
after people started showing up sick.
In the end, about 4,000
tonnes of beef and beef products was recalled and tonnes ended up in the
municipal landfill.
Only 18 consumers in Canada
have had their food poisonings definitely linked to E. coli 0157:H7 on beef
from XL.
The lawsuit’s statement of
claim says XL breached its obligations to alert CFIA about E. coli
contamination at the outset, “mismanaged” the resulting product recall and
“failed to co-operate with the CFIA in providing timely information.”
It also says XL breached
consumer-protection law by making “false, misleading and deceptive
representations” that were “not based on adequate and proper independent
testing that were done before the representation was made.”
