As a Salmonella outbreak linked to kosher chicken liver products grows to nearly 200 illnesses, Salmonella lawyers at Marler Clark, a law firm dedicated to representing victims of food-​borne illness, are calling on the company responsible for the outbreak to pay for victims’ medical bills.

According to reports published by the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), MealMart brand kosher broiled chicken liver products produced by New York-​based (US) Schreiber Processing, have sickened 169 people in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Minnesota (US) with Salmonella Heidelberg illnesses, including at least 23 hospitalisations.

Many of the MealMart chicken liver products were repackaged and sold in smaller quantities or used to prepare chopped liver sold at deli-​style establishments.

Salmonella attorney and food safety expert, William Marler, said: “Consumers put an incredible degree of trust in the food industry and they expect food to be safe. In this instance, that trust has been broken and Schreiber Processing should be proactive by paying the medical expenses victims have incurred as a result of their illnesses.”

Multiple press reports have blamed the labelling of the chicken liver products for the extent of the Salmonella outbreak. Though the MealMart chicken liver product labels have small print calling for further cooking, the dominant wording states that chicken livers are “Broiled”, which led consumers, grocers, and restaurant cooks to believe the chicken liver products were ready-​to-​eat.

Marler added: “In the food industry, if there is one place you want to be clear and direct with your customers, it’s on the labelling of raw meat products. In the short term,   should do all it can to ensure the victims who became ill with Salmonella infections are taken care of, and in the long term it ought to reconsider its labelling practices.”