Fallout From Listeria Outbreak Hits Wal-Mart: Retail

In late August, Charles Palmer ate cantaloupe bought at a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) store in Colorado. Two weeks later, he began feeling sick, then became unresponsive and was rushed to a hospital where doctors diagnosed a listeria infection.

Now the 71-year-old retired Marine isn’t just suing Granada, Colorado-based Jensen Farms, which grew the tainted cantaloupe that he claims sickened him. He’s also suing Wal-Mart for selling the fruit.

Fallout from the outbreak that’s killed 29 Americans is broadening to other major retailers that sold the tainted produce and is spurring a national debate on the role groceries and stores should play in making the food-supply chain safe.

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