Last week Seattle based food safety law firm, Marler Clark, filed a Salmonella lawsuit (2:12-cv-01508) against Splendid Products of Burlingame, California, the distributor of Daniella mangoes that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Center for Disease Control and Prevention have identified as the source of a nationwide Salmonella Braenderup outbreak in August 2012. The lawsuit was filed in the Western District Court of Washington at Seattle on behalf of 92- year-old Dorothy Pearce of Stanwood, Washington.

According to the complaint, in late August 2012 Ms. Pearce consumed a Salmonella-contaminated Daniella brand mango that had been distributed and sold by Splendid Products. Ms. Pearce fell ill on August 20, 2012 and over the next two days suffered from a variety of symptoms including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and severe stomach cramping. She was admitted to Providence Hospital on August 22, 2012 where lab tests confirm she had Salmonella and that the serotype was Salmonella Braenderup, which is the serotype associated with the Daniella mango outbreak. As of September 5, 2012 Ms. Pearce is still being hospitalized.

Today the CDC reported that a total of 121 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Braenderup have been reported from 15 states. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: California (93), Delaware (1), Hawaii (4), Idaho (1), Illinois (2), Maine (1), Michigan (1), Montana (1), Nebraska (1), New Jersey (1), New York (3), Oregon (1), Texas (2), Washington (8), and Wisconsin (1). 25 ill persons have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

Collaborative investigation efforts of state, local, and federal public health and regulatory agencies indicate that mangoes are a likely source of this outbreak. On August 29, Splendid Products of Burlingame, California issued a voluntary recall of certain lots of Daniella brand mangoes because they may be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. On September 13, FDA placed Agricola Daniella on Import Alert. This means that Agricola Daniella mangoes will be denied admission into the United States unless the importer shows they are not contaminated with Salmonella, such as by using private laboratories to test the mangoes.