Food product liability is classified under the legal category of torts in Florida, which are laws that have to do with injuries. These rules fall within their own subsection of general product liability and are in place to protect consumers from food products with potentially hazardous defects.
When legal action is called for
Food product liability laws are what make it possible for an individual to take legal action after they have been injured by a defective food product. By suing the company or individual that sold them the defective food, for instance, they may be able to receive compensation for their injuries.
Individuals who wish to take legal action after being injured by a defective food product commonly take said action against the:
- Manufacturer
- Distributor
- Retailer
There are three conditions that make a case of food product liability winnable, only one of which must be proven. Those conditions are:
- Manufacturing defect
- Design defect
- Failure to warn
The most common type of food product liability is manufacturing defects. With these, only some of the products have problems – usually due to an accident such as cross-contamination.
In the case of a design defect, every manufactured product will have the same defect. Oftentimes, this design flaw was intended by the designer – but without them having the realization that it would cause the defect. Sometimes it can be because of the way the food was packaged, while other times it’s the actual combination of ingredients.
When a liability is caused by failure to warn, it means that the label on the packaging didn’t inform the consumer of the potentially dangerous ingredients in the food. Allergies are a major factor in these types of cases, such as peanuts or dairy.