ConAgra Doesn't care if its customers get sick or die from Salmonella

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ConAgra issued a health alert Tuesday afternoon and asked stores nationwide to stop selling Banquet and store-brand chicken and turkey pot pies, but the company didn't recall the pies until Thursday evening. The company and federal officials warned customers not to eat the pot pies and to throw them away, and ConAgra is offering refunds.

The recall, which also includes beef pot pies to avoid confusion, affects all varieties sold under the store brands Albertson's, Hill Country Fare, Food Lion, Great Value (sold at Wal-Mart stores), Kirkwood, Kroger, Meijer and Western Family.

Even though the pot pies made by ConAgra have been linked to at least 174 cases of salmonella in 32 states, the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not have the authority to require the company to recall the pot pies. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at least 33 people have been hospitalized as part of the ongoing outbreak, but so far no deaths have been reported.

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Bill Marler, a lawyer from Seattle-based firm Marler Clark, said if anyone bought ConAgra's pot pies after the company knew about the link to the salmonella outbreak, the company could face punitive damages in a lawsuit because the product wasn't immediately recalled.

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"You're looking at the perfect example of a broken system," Rep. Rosa DeLauro said about the pot pie recall.

Earlier this year, the Connecticut Democrat helped introduce legislation that would give the FDA the power to order mandatory recalls of adulterated food products, plus establish fines for companies that don't promptly report contaminated products.

"It is a voluntary recall, so it is up to the industry," DeLauro said.

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