On May 23, 2007, two product liability lawsuits against ConAgra Foods, Inc. moved to US District Court in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Two men are suing the company after they allegedly became infected with Salmonella when they ate peanut butter.

Jeff Garry and Matthew Wise filed the separate product liability lawsuits on April 23, 2007. Both men claim they were seriously injured after eating the peanut butter infected with Salmonella, and they say ConAgra Foods did not warn consumers or withdraw the contaminated food fast enough after learning of the poisoning.

ConAgra’s Peter Pan and Great Value brand peanut butters sickened at least 628 people in 47 states, leading the company to recall the peanut butter in mid-February. The company determined that moisture from a leaking roof and a faulty sprinkler helped Salmonella grow and contaminate peanut butter at its Georgia plant in 2006.

The two men who filed the lawsuits claim they experienced great pain, discomfort and mental anguish as well as medical expenses for treatment. ConAgra has called for “strict proof” that the men were injured in the ways they claim.

The company said it cannot be held liable for punitive damages.

The contaminated peanut butter is sold under Peter Pan or Great Value brands with a product code beginning with 2111. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging consumers to throw away any remaining jars of those brands of peanut butter.

Sources: “CDC says peanut butter salmonella sickened 628,” Reuters, May 31, 2007; Dennis Gale, “SD: 2 sue over peanut butter sickness,” Forbes.com, May 29, 2007.