In 2009, a nationwide outbreak of salmonella linked to peanut butter sickened over 700 people in 46 states and killed nine. The source traced back to a single processing plant in Georgia that knowingly shipped contaminated product. This real-world disaster is a textbook example of product liability in the context of contaminated food or medicine. If you or a family member has been harmed by a tainted product, the law gives you a direct path to hold the responsible party accountable. There is no need to sign a waiver or prove a contract was broken. You just need to understand three basic legal theories: strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranty.

Strict liability is the strongest weapon a consumer has. It means the manufacturer or seller is automatically responsible for harm caused by a defective product, even if they were careful. For food and medicine, the definition of “defective” is simple: if the product is not safe for ordinary use, it is defective. A jar of peanut butter crawling with salmonella is defective on its face. You do not have to prove the company was sloppy. You do not need to show they knew about the contamination. You only need to prove three things: the product was defective when it left the manufacturer’s control; you used it in the normal way; and the defect caused your injury. That’s it. The policy behind strict liability is that the company, not the consumer, is best positioned to prevent contamination and absorb the cost of injuries through insurance.

Negligence adds another layer. Even if strict liability applies, you can also sue the company for failing to use reasonable care. Reasonable care in the food industry means testing raw ingredients, keeping facilities clean, properly cooking or pasteurizing, and checking for pathogens. The peanut butter plant in the 2009 outbreak had dirty equipment, rodents, and employees who ignored test results showing salmonella. That is a textbook case of negligence. To win a negligence claim, you must prove the company owed you a duty of care, they breached that duty, the breach caused your injury, and you suffered actual damages. Damages can include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and in extreme cases, compensation for a death.

Breach of warranty is a contract-based claim. When you buy a jar of peanut butter, you have an implied warranty that it is fit for human consumption. If it makes you sick, the warranty is broken. You do not need a written guarantee. This implied warranty exists by law in every sale of food and medicine. You can sue the retailer, the distributor, or the manufacturer. The catch is that you must show you gave the seller a chance to fix the problem (usually impossible with food) and that you notified them of the defect in a reasonable time. In practice, for cases like salmonella outbreaks, courts are lenient because the contamination is not obvious until you get sick.

What about medicine? The same rules apply. If a pharmaceutical company makes a drug that is contaminated during manufacturing—for example, a heart medication laced with a carcinogen—the company can be held strictly liable. If they failed to test the ingredients or ignored safety reports, they are also negligent. Vaccines, antibiotics, and over-the-counter pills all fall under these rules. However, there is one big difference for medicine: design defects are more complicated. If a drug has a known side effect that is unavoidable, the company may have a defense if the drug’s benefits outweigh its risks. But contamination is never a design defect—it is a manufacturing defect, and strict liability always applies.

A common question is who exactly you can sue. You can sue the manufacturer, the distributor, the wholesaler, and even the grocery store that sold the contaminated food. In a strict liability case, every party in the chain of distribution is potentially liable. They can then fight among themselves over who is actually at fault. From your perspective, you just pick the deepest pockets that are easiest to reach—often the manufacturer or the largest retailer.

One important limitation: you must file your lawsuit within a certain time, called the statute of limitations. This varies by state but is typically two to four years from the date you discovered the injury or should have discovered it. For a foodborne illness, that clock starts ticking when you become sick and are diagnosed. Do not wait. Keep receipts, labels, and any leftover food. Document your medical records. Report the illness to your local health department, because their investigation can help prove the link to a specific product.

The bottom line is that contaminated food and medicine cases are among the most straightforward in product liability law. The legal system does not require you to be an expert in manufacturing or microbiology. If a product meant to nourish or heal you instead poisons you, the law presumes the seller is responsible. You have the right to recover every dollar of your losses. And because these cases often involve dozens or hundreds of victims, attorneys frequently take them on contingency—meaning you pay nothing unless you win. The peanut butter outbreak resulted in a class-action settlement that paid victims millions. But you do not need a class action. An individual lawsuit works just as well. The key is to act fast and find a lawyer who handles product liability cases. They will do the heavy lifting. Your only job is to tell the truth about what happened and let the law do its job.