Chicago man’s lawsuit claims 3 companies failed to prevent salmonella outbreak

Chicago man sues claiming salami made him sick

CHICAGO — A Chicago man who says he got sick after eating salami linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak has filed a lawsuit against a meat company and two of its former spice suppliers.

Raymond Cirimele, 55, filed suit Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court, claiming Rhode Island meat company Daniele International Inc., Wholesome Spice in New York and Mincing Overseas Spice Company in New Jersey failed to prevent the outbreak.

A similar lawsuit against Daniele and Wholesome Spice was filed by Harold Hanks, 61, of Lake Ozark, Mo., last week. Seattle attorney Bill Marler, who has handled numerous foodborne illness cases, represents the plaintiffs in both lawsuits.

Daniele recalled more than 1 million pounds of salami last month. The company, which has temporarily stopped production of salami products, has changed its spice suppliers and is now using only irradiated pepper, said Daniele spokesman Jason Maloni.

The Food and Drug Administration is investigating the supply chain of the black pepper used in the recalled meat after pepper collected by the Rhode Island Department of Health at Daniele tested positive for salmonella.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is tracking the outbreak, which has sickened 225 people so far, including 15 in Illinois and two in Missouri.

A Wholesome Spice spokesman said regulators cleared the plant for production. Attorney Mel Drozen, representing the New Jersey spice company, said there’s no evidence of negligence and tests at the company have been negative for salmonella.

Salami was Cirimele’s favorite snack. “I ate tons of that stuff and my fiance’s a vegetarian. That explains why I got sick and she didn’t,” Cirimele said Friday. “I actually loved that product. It was good.”

Cirimele, a laid-off operations manager, said he was sick for three weeks, lost six pounds — “your guts are just churning constantly” — and still suffers joint pain. His doctor took a sample that tested positive for the strain of bacteria implicated in the outbreak, according to the lawsuit. Most of his symptoms cleared up after he started taking antibiotics.

Two weeks ago, Cirimele received a recall notice from Costco where he purchased the salami, which he’d long since eaten. The recall notice prompted him to search for information online, which led him to the Marler law firm.

Cirimele said he decided to file suit seeking unspecified damages because he wants the companies responsible to recognize “they screwed up.”

“Companies take shortcuts,” Cirimele said. “You’ve got to make sure these are safe products.”

On the Net:

www.cdc.gov/salmonella/montevideo/