Mexican plant connected to salmonella outbreak tests negative for pathogen

Reuters reports that Mexican health officials say tests at the cantaloupe processing plant connected the salmonella outbreak in the U.S. and Canada came back negative for the pathogen.

Mexican officials closed the plant in December and took samples from surfaces and water, Reuters said. Mexican health and agriculture authorities said a laboratory did not detect the presence of salmonella in those samples and will do another round of samples of water, products and processing-plant surfaces next month.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the outbreak of salmonella, traced to fresh-cut and whole cantaloupes killed four and sickened 302 people in 42 states.

Two law firms in the U.S. filed lawsuits in the aftermath of the outbreak.

In Canada, Slater Vecchio a law firm specializing in personal injury claims, filed a lawsuit in Quebec and a class-action lawsuit in British Columbia on behalf of all persons in Canada.

Slater Vecchio said the outbreak led to seven deaths in the country, and Health Canada said it listed 164 laboratory-confirmed cases of salmonella.