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Fidelis Munyoro
Chief Court Reporter
A Karoi farmer is suing a local juice maker after developing food poisoning-related complications that kept him hospitalised for more than a month, allegedly from what he claims was contaminated apple juice.
Mr Salatiel Bokoro filed a food contamination lawsuit against Dendairy asking for more than US$44 000 from the juice maker. He will need to establish that there is a high probability that his symptoms came from the juice prepared by Dendairy.
In general, a consumer may want to sue a food company if he found some type of physical object in a food product that it does not normally contain.
Then again, individuals who have fallen ill because of contaminated food products or food poisoning can also bring a food negligence lawsuit against a food company. This is because food safety regulations in the country are enforced and implemented by various Government agencies.
The lawsuit by Mr Bokoro comes after he and Dendairy could not reach an out-of-court settlement. Dendairy produces and markets milk, milk-products and non-alcoholic beverages. In his claim, Mr Bokoro stated that sometime in February this year, he bought a beverage named “Dendairy 100 percent Apple Juice”, from a grocery shop in Mhangura which he consumed.
Unbeknown to himself, the juice was allegedly contaminated with an unidentified semi-solid meat-like object which is harmful if ingested by humans, says Mr Bokoro, who has hired Harare lawyer Mr Dumisani Kufaruwenga to act for him in the matter.
Mr Bokoro allegedly suffered awful abdominal pains, a swollen face which twitches involuntarily and was bedridden for 41 days. He further claimed that tests were conducted on him and he tested positive to ingesting contaminated food or drink.
He now needs to establish that the contamination was in the Dendairy product and was not from some other source.
Online Reporter