Tainted Sushi Rice Lawsuit Raises Concerns in Calif.

Citizens of California are concerned over the tainted sushi rice allegations directed at their biggest sushi rice provider, Farmer’s Rice Cooperative (FRC).

A sushi restaurant filed a tainted rice lawsuit against FRC in July, accusing the company of selling tainted rice that was composed of “foreign substances such as insects, rodents and their soiling, bird remains, and black mold,” according to ABC News.

The sushi rice lawsuit claims that FRC had knowingly sold tainted rice for years, and mislabeled the tainted bags with words such as “Deluxe” or “Golden” to hide the fact that it was different quality in comparison to the clean rice.

Essentially, the class action lawsuit alleges the company had been selling the tainted rice labeled as high quality, leading many consumers to believe they are getting the best for what they paid for. This is alarming, as FRC exports more than 20 percent of California’s rice, and sells it to numerous supermarkets, grocery stores, and restaurants.

A sushi restaurant is backing the sushi rice lawsuit and is joined by two FRC employees, adding further testimony for the company’s alleged misdeeds. The FRC employees claim that their employer has been conducting this practice for years, indicating that thousands of people could have potentially swallowed rat feces and other substances without knowing it.

According to attorneys involved in this sushi rice lawsuit, every person who has been to a sushi restaurant in California in the past several years could have come in contact with the tainted rice.

While no personal injuries have been reported at this time, legal and medical experts believe that it is highly possible that consumers suffered food poisoning from the tainted rice. While it is rarely fatal, food poisoning causes extreme discomfort to the victim, such as vomiting and diarrhea. In more extreme cases, symptoms can include partial hearing or vision loss, dry mouth, muscle paralysis, and bacterial food poisoning.

Considering the fact that rodent and bird feces may have been on the tainted rice, it is not out of the question that some consumers may have suffered health effects. It remains to be seen if any such sushi rice lawsuit will be filed by a consumer. As of now, FRC is denying all allegations and intends to fight this tainted rice lawsuit until the legal battle is over.

Overview of Sushi Rice Allegations

While it is unknown how long the FRC has been selling contaminated rice, legal and medical experts are advising consumers who have eaten sushi rice in the past four years to pay attention to this legal movement.

The sushi rice lawsuit filed this year accuses the company of selling the tainted sushi rice under various brand names such as Calrose, New Crop, M401 and others. What makes this rice tainted is that it allegedly did not undergo a processing treatment in which unwanted substances are separated from the rice before it is sold to market.

FRC still sold the allegedly tainted rice to restaurant and store owners across the state, advertising the product as ‘Extra Fancy’ sushi rice.

The tainted rice had been tossed into the same bags as food-grade rice, making it appear that more than one kind of rice was in the bag. However, the rice they purchased was not edible, with the buyers claiming they never would have used the rice if they had known about the rice containing flush.

The Farmer’s Cooperative rice class action lawsuit aims to represent all business owners who purchased the tainted rice, and reimburse them for the inconvenience they suffered.

Join a Free Sushi Rice Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you own a California restaurant or business that sold sushi within the past four years, you may be eligible to join a free class action lawsuit investigation.

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