This couple lost their unborn child. They say contaminated spinach is to blame

Parents have accused a grocer and a food company of being reckless, reckless and negligent. 

this-couple-lost-their-unborn-child.-they-say-contaminated-spinach-is-to-blame

 

 A couple say they lost their unborn child after the pregnant mother ate spinach contaminated with listeria, according to a lawsuit they  filed against a food company and others. 

 

 days after being diagnosed with Covid-19 in December and during home quarantine, Mecca Shabazz, 25, ate Fresh Express baby spinach in a smoothie, the suit said. 

 

 On December 15, she went to the emergency room with bleeding and painful contractions, and physical exams showed no fetal movement,  the lawsuit said.Shortly thereafter, the fetus was confirmed dead and Shabazz gave birth to the stillborn child the same day, the lawsuit states. 

 

 An autopsy found the fetus' sole cause of death  was maternal-fetal listeriosis, according to the lawsuit  filed in Philadelphia County late last month. 

 

 On December 20, Fresh Express announced a recall of lettuce products manufactured at a facility in Streamwood, Illinois, due to possible Listeria monocytogenes. 

 

 Pregnant women and those age 65 or older or those with compromised immune systems are at risk for severe listeria infection, according to the Mayo Clinic. 

 

 The CDC states that pregnant women have a 10-fold increased risk of listeria infection and that the bacterium is known to cause miscarriage and stillbirth.Shabazz and his partner Lateef Young are devastated, their attorney Julianna Burdo said on Wednesday. 

 

 “They were beyond excited. They had bought a cot and blankets and had baby showers," Burdo said. 

 

 "You will never recover from this loss." 

 

 Shabazz and Young is seeking damages for personal injury, pain and suffering, and wrongful death from the store where the product was purchased, Fresh Express and Chiquita Brands International, of which Fresh Express is a subsidiary.None of the defendants responded to requests for comment on Wednesday. 

 

 The suit alleges that the defendants were reckless, reckless and negligent. 

 

 "The industry is so tightly regulated that these food processing and manufacturing facilities only make products that are safe for consumption," Burdo said. 

 

 "So the only way we could have manufactured and distributed a product containing Listeria would be to have violated and deviated from these strict industry standards." 

 

 According to Burdo, the unborn child was 30 weeks pregnant.The 24 week mark generally indicates when a baby might be able to survive outside the womb. 

 

 "This baby could have been born the day before this spinach was eaten and survived and thrived," Burdo said. 

 

 She said her company, Wapner Newman, "is committed to giving this  full-term unborn child a voice and telling these companies that manufacture and distribute contaminated food that it shouldn't be allowed to go unnoticed." shouldn't and shouldn't happen to every other baby."