How You Can Get Food Poisoning From a Grocery Store

 Posted on April 13, 2026 in Food Poisoning

Most people don't think twice about picking up groceries, but it does actually come with some risks, including food poisoning. While many people think of food poisoning coming from places like restaurants, grocery stores do their fair share of spreading food-borne contaminants. If someone can definitively trace a bout of food poisoning to food they bought at a grocery store, they may actually have a legal case.

An Illinois food poisoning attorney can review the evidence in your case and help you understand your options.

How Can a Grocery Store Cause Food Poisoning?

If a grocery store sells spoiled food, there’s a pretty clear connection between them and subsequent food poisoning. This spoilage can happen before the store receives it or while it sits in too-warm conditions at the store. Some foods, like vegetables, are contaminated from the start with things like E. coli in the manure used to fertilize them while growing.

There are many other ways that bacteria can get into food that many people never consider. Some other common routes for contamination include the following.  

Deli Counter Cross-Contamination

Unwashed surfaces or shared cutting tools can spread bacteria from raw meat to other foods.

Selling Expired or Recalled Products

Stores have an obligation to pull recalled items off shelves promptly, but don’t always do so.

Salad Bars and Hot Bars

Food sits out in the open, is handled by multiple customers using shared utensils, and must be carefully monitored for temperature and freshness at these bars. When stores don't rotate food frequently enough, maintain proper temperatures, or keep the area clean, bacteria grows readily.

Shopping Cart Contamination

This one surprises people. Babies and toddlers usually sit in the cart seat, and diaper leaks are common. Fecal matter and other bacteria can transfer from hands or the cart to food, especially things like produce that have minimal packaging. The same is true of leaks from raw meat. Some studies have found that traditional grocery store carts have nearly 270 times more bacteria than toilet handles.

Illinois grocery stores are regulated under the Illinois Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act (410 ILCS 625), which sets standards for safe food handling and storage. Local health departments are responsible for inspecting and enforcing these rules. When a store fails to meet those standards and someone gets sick, it can form the basis of a legal claim.

When Should You See a Doctor for Food Poisoning Symptoms?

Symptoms of foodborne illness can range from mildly uncomfortable to severe enough to require a hospital stay. They typically appear anywhere from a few hours to several days after eating or handling contaminated food. Symptoms from typical food poisoning cases include:

• Nausea and vomiting

• Diarrhea, sometimes bloody

• Stomach cramps and pain

• Fever and chills

• Fatigue and body aches

These are for milder cases that tend to resolve in a few hours or days. See a doctor when your symptoms go from these to things like:

• Blood in your vomit or stool

• Severe dehydration

• Blurry vision, weakness, or skin tingling

• Fever over 103 degrees Fahrenheit

• Symptoms that last longer than 3 days

Certain strains of E. coli can cause kidney failure. Listeria can be life-threatening for pregnant women and their babies. Getting medical documentation early is also important if you later decide to pursue a legal claim.

Can You Sue a Grocery Store for Food Poisoning in Illinois?

Failure by a grocery store to maintain safe products or conditions can be the basis for a lawsuit. A food poisoning claim typically requires showing that a pathogen caused you to become sick and that the store’s negligence directly contributed to your exposure to that pathogen. Medical records, receipts, product packaging, and lab results identifying the specific bacteria are all valuable evidence.

Grocery stores may not always be the only liable party, either. Depending on where the contamination started, a manufacturer, distributor, or supplier may also share liability. If this is proved to be the case, you may be able to recover damages from several parties.

Call an Illinois Food Poisoning Attorney Today

While food poisoning seems commonplace, serious cases can be life-altering. Even some moderate cases may need costly treatment. At Newland & Newland, LLP, our attorney has secured millions in verdicts for food poisoning victims across Illinois, including clients who were hospitalized but had no long-term effects. Call our Illinois food poisoning lawyer at 312-981-0409 today to schedule your free consultation.