Family of Minn. salmonella victim pursuing lawsuit against Lynchburg company

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The family of a 72-year-old woman who died after contracting salmonella is pursuing a lawsuit against the maker and distributor of peanut butter blamed in a recent outbreak.

Minneapolis attorney Fred Pritzker said Thursday he represents Shirley Mae Almer, who died Dec. 21. Pritzker says Almer ate contaminated peanut butter at the Brainerd nursing home where she lived.

Pritzker said the complaint would name Peanut Corp. of America, of Lynchburg, and King Nut Cos., of Ohio, the maker and distributor of peanut butter that has been recalled in the outbreak. More than 430 people in 43 states have been sickened.

Peanut Corp. said in a statement it knew nothing about a lawsuit and declined comment. An executive for King Nut didn’t immediately return a phone message.

Health officials say two people have died in Minnesota after being sickened, and the salmonella poisoning may have contributed to their deaths. Pritzker says Almer was recovering from cancer at the time she became ill.