Sara Lee Sued Over Meats - Chicago Sun-Times - December 31, 1998

Chicago Sun-Times
December 31, 1998

A Chicago attorney filed a class-action lawsuit against Sara Lee Corp. on Wednesday on behalf of anyone who ate the hot dogs or other meat products that have been recalled by the company. The suit, which names a Chicago Ridge man as a plaintiff, was filed primarily to attention to the Dec. 22 recall, attorney Kenneth Moll said. Preliminary investigations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have linked an outbreak of food poisoning to Sara Lee's Bil Mar Foods plant in Zeeland, Mich. Tests are continuing to find out conclusively whether those meats caused an outbreak in 10 states that killed three elderly people and a fetus . The poisoning, by the bacteria listeria, also sickened at least 40 people. Sara Lee officials declined to comment on the suit. The Chicago-based company voluntarily recalled all the hot dogs and packaged meats it makes at the plant and has temporarily stopped production.