According to SFGate.com, a class action lawsuit has been filed in California by two Safeway shoppers, Dee Hensley-Maclean of Montana and Jennifer Rosen of San Francisco, with the aid of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The lawsuit says that Safeway failed to notify its regular customers about a Salmonella recall, even though it had the tools to do so through its Safeway Club Card program. Safeway is claiming that it is not always possible to reach shoppers via its loyalty program, although it says it attempts to do so in other ways, such as posting recall information on its website, complying with legal and regulatory requirements regarding food recalls, and sending out press releases.
Hensley-Maclean said she bought peanut butter crackers and Nutter Butter sandwich cookies that had been recalled because of Salmonella contamination. Rosen said she bought eggs that had been recalled ude Salmonella-contaminated eggs, though no one in her family became ill. Both plaintiffs argue that they and others who bought recalled food should be refunded the price of those purchases and that Safeway should commit to using its Club Card program to contact consumers about future recalls. Rosen is upset mostly because she has two small children who could have become sick, or perhaps died, had they consumed contaminated eggs.
When a Safeway shopper fills out an application for a club card, they are asked to fill out their name, address, telephone number and email address so they can be notified of store promotions. Then that information goes into a database that the company uses to analyze customer shopping habits. Here at the Brod Law Firm we believe that if Safeway can use club member information to notify them about special deals in order to boost sales, then they should do the same by notifying customers about recalls in order to boost consumer confidence and loyalty. This lawsuit is not about people becoming sick or injured due to eating contaminated food, it is about asking Safeway to take off its corporate tinted glasses, take a look at the bigger picture, and do what is right by the consumer.