Couple suing eatery
after becoming ill
A Seattle law firm has sued a restaurant company and its operator in Wal-Mart's home office cafeteria on behalf of a Connecticut family who became ill after eating food from Salsarita's restaurant in June.
Salsarita's was identified by health officials as the place of origin for at least 275 cases of the the intestinal disease shigellosis, according to the lawsuit.
Delida and James Groom and their year-old daughter traveled to Bentonville to see family and ate food transported from Salsarita's, said attorney Drew Falkenstein. Wal-Mart is not named in the lawsuit filed Monday in Benton County Circuit Court.
"Wal-Mart is committed to protecting the health and safety of our associates," company spokesman Brooke Buchanan said Monday.
The filing said Delida Groom became so ill on her return to Connecticut that she sought medical attention at a hospital in Indiana, where she was in intensive care for two days.
Neither Salsarita's nor its co-defendant, cafeteria operator Eurest Dining Services, could be reached for comment.
-- Cyd King
Grant to help food
industry in 3 counties
A $225,000 grant announced Monday is designed to help develop the food industry in Jefferson, Phillips and St. Francis counties, according to a news release.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture's National Agricultural Law Center will oversee a project to assist those in the food supply chain, including farmers and business owners, to produce, process and deliver locally grown food to area markets and public food programs. It will work in concert with the U.S. Agriculture Department's Strike Force for Rural Growth and Opportunity Initiative, aimed at reducing persistent poverty in Arkansas and other states.
The grant from USDA Rural Development will fund a combined effort by the law center, the Cooperative Extension Service, the Center for Agricultural and Rural Sustainability, the Institute of Food Science and Engineering, and the Arkansas Food Innovation Center.
-- John Magsam
Arkansas Index slips
1.12; Tyson up 2.6%
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 1.12 to 352.56 Monday.
"Despite weak housing data and ongoing geopolitical tensions, the broad market indexes all managed to close fractionally higher," said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Delta Trust Investments Inc. in Little Rock.
Shares of Tyson Foods Inc. gained almost 2.6 percent to close at $40.56.
Bank of the Ozarks Inc. shares dropped 1.8 percent to finish at $30.89.
Acxiom Corp. shares hit a 52-week low during intraday trading before closing at $18.89.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 07/29/2014