OAP to sue Cadbury over salmonella

Jul 10 2006 By Alison Dayani, Birmingham Mail

A WOMAN in hospital for five days with salmonella poisoning plans to sue Birmingham's Cadbury, claiming a chocolate bar caused her illness.

Catherine Henderson, aged 62, today revealed she was working with lawyers from Irwin Mitchell to bring about the first legal action against Cadbury.

Mrs Henderson claims she had eaten a Cadbury's Caramel bar shortly before she began having trouble breathing. Tests showed she had the rare Salmonella Montevideo.

"I couldn't believe what was happening to me," said the pensioner from Co Antrim, Northern Ireland. "All of a sudden my legs went weak and I started finding it hard to breathe. My heart was racing and slowing down as if it was going to stop."

Mrs Henderson said she was kept on an isolation ward for five days where she was hooked up to a drip and given antibiotics.

Sallie Booth, of Irwin Mitchell, said the Health Protection Agency had so far identified 31 people who had been infected with the same strain of salmonella, which can cause diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, chills and headaches.

One adult, one child and one infant had been admitted to hospital with the infection, she said.

"This type of bug is extremely dangerous, especially to the very young and the very old," said Ms Booth. "As chocolate is targeted mainly at children, the measures taken by Cadbury's should have been ultra-rigorous."

Cadbury recalled more than 1 million chocolate bars last month after a leaking pipe at its Herefordshire factory caused salmonella contamination in January.

Inquiries by the Food Standards Agency and Herefordshire County Council may lead to Cadbury being charged with failing to carry out proper risk assessments and failing to notify local authorities over the discovery of contaminated chocolate, it emerged today.

Spokesman Tony Bilsborough said: "This is pure speculation and we obviously cannot comment on legal speculation."

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