The consumption of food is vital to for all humans to survive. While back in the day individuals were self-reliant when it came to providing that sustenance, today, most residents of the state of Pennsylvania purchase at least some of their food from grocery stores such as Trader Joe's. In the case of food, like other products purchased by consumers each day, there is an assumption that it will not be harmful. As regular readers of this blog are aware, that assumption is disproven nearly daily.

This happened once again earlier this month when news broke that certain brands of peanut butter and almond butter had been recalled due to possibly containing salmonella. The recall currently affects 76 different types of the food spread manufactured by Sunland Inc. Included in the recall is peanut butter sold at Trader Joe's.

It was actually 29 salmonella illnesses due to the Trader Joe's Creamy Salted Valencia Peanut Butter that prompted the much wider recall. Consumption of that retailer's peanut butter reportedly caused individuals to fall ill between the dates of June 11 and September 2, this year. Many of the sick people, over 75 percent, were young people who are under the age of 18. Thankfully, no one's become so sick that they have died.

Because there is such a heavy reliance on third parties for the growth and creation of the food that makes up our daily meals, many do not consider the fact that what is being eaten could be harmful. The reality however, is that food can be a dangerous product. This means that just as it is possible to sue when injured by a toy or defective piece of machinery, product liability lawsuits can be filed when someone becomes ill or dies after consuming the defective product.

Source: CBS News, "Peanut butter recall over salmonella expands to 76 products," Sept. 25, 2012

• Our firm handles similar situations to the one discussed in this post. If you would like to learn more about our practice, please visit our Pennsylvania dangerous products page.