DES MOINES, IOWA – After more than 200 US citizens have been sickened by a Cyclospora outbreak linked to bagged salad mixes sold at Hy-Vee, ALDI, Jewel-Osco and Walmart, food safety law firm Ron Simon & Associates has filed a lawsuit against Fresh Express and Hy-Vee. 

Many of the contaminated salads were distribute by Hy-Vee, and the salads sold at all retail brands were produced by Fresh Express. As of June 28, there have been 206 laboratory-confirmed Cyclospora-sickened patients associated with this outbreak in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. 

The law firm said that the number of cases linked to the outbreak is expected to grow as more buyers become aware of it. The lawsuit filed by Ron Simon & Associates is the first concerning the outbreak and was filed on behalf of Laura Guisinger, a Dallas County, Iowa, resident.  

Guisinger purchased a contaminated salad mix from the Hy-Vee retail location in Waukee, Iowa, on June 3, and began experiencing stomach cramps and bloating, nausea and debilitating diarrhea by June 10. The Dallas County Health Department later confirmed Guisinger was part of the Fresh Express Bagged Salad Mix Cyclospora outbreak. 

"When food manufacturers, like Fresh Express, undertake to produce ready-to-eat foods, they have a duty to do so safely,” said Ron Simon, Guisinger’s attorney. “This is especially true when they produce products like salad mixes for some of the largest food retailers in the US, knowing their product will be distributed to many thousands of families across multiple states.” 

“The FDA and CDC, in collaboration with state and local health agencies, did a remarkable job tracing this outbreak to its source, especially given the ongoing COVID pandemic that has strapped so many health agency resources. Our firm will use this and other lawsuits to help uncover how this outbreak started and how we can prevent it from happening again."