Food company sues over bacon that spoiled in Lincoln warehouse

LINCOLN, Neb. (Dec. 26, 2021 – AP) – A Nebraska food company and its insurer want a warehouse company to pay them more then $400,000 because a shipment of bacon was destroyed inside one of its warehouses in Lincoln last year.

Omaha food manufacturer Westin Inc. and Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Company filed a lawsuit last week against warehousing company Universal Pure over the August 2020 incident. They say Universal Pure should have maintained its warehouse better to avoid the problem.

The bacon was destroyed when water accumulated and froze in a wall cavity of the warehouse, which led the wall to bow, pushing on pallet racking and causing a collapse.

Attorney Steven Theesfeld, who represents the plaintiffs, said Westin lost more than $246,000 worth of bacon and had to pay a $10,000 deductible while Nationwide had to pay over $167,000 to Westin. Altogether, the companies lost $423,384.

Universal Pure haven’t yet responded to the lawsuit.