A Chicago area family says that their daughter was made ill by a dessert item they purchased that was improperly labeled. The child’s father told reporters that his daughter suffers from a severe peanut allergy. Armed with that knowledge, the father says that he intentionally purchased a hazelnut swirl gelato for his family’s consumption solely based on the fact that the food item carried no peanut ingredient warnings. Despite her peanut allergy, the 10-year-old girl is not allergic to hazelnut.
According to the father, shortly after the girl ingested the gelato, she required hospitalization due to a breakout of hives. The father described the child is having difficulty breathing and displaying symptoms of raised skin all over her body.
The father says that he immediately notified the company from which he purchased a product but says that it took them at least six days to remove the item from store shelves. The hazelnut gelato was supplied to Target stores exclusively by a company known as Sinco. The supplier has attempted to distance itself by attributing blame to the Italian manufacturer of the product. Sinco says that cross-contamination at the plant in Italy is responsible for the mislabeling of the gelato.
The Food and Drug Administration says that the mislabeling of products is the number one reason for defective product recalls throughout the nation. According to the FDA, there are as many as 2 to 3 recalls per day regarding food labeling issues.
Illinois residents should know that mislabeled products are not limited solely to food items. Missed labeled medications and even industrial equipment with insufficient warning labels may qualify them as defective products.
If you have been harmed as a result of a defective or unreasonably dangerous product, you may be entitled to sue those responsible for your injuries.
Source: WGN.tv.com, “Local family warns of the dangers of mislabeled food for those suffering from food allergies” Lourdes Duarte, Nov. 10, 2014