Personal Injury Law

Terrorists Seek to Poison Food at U.S. Restaurants, Hotels

Posted on December 21, 2010
So, says the headline this morning. Apparently, the U.S. Homeland Security Department this year identified a terrorist plan to contaminate salad bars and buffets at restaurants and hotels with lethal materials. The strikes involving ricin and cyanide would have occurred during one weekend at a significant number of establishments...

Food Safety Bill Passes 215 in favor, 144 against and 74 already on vacation

Posted on December 21, 2010
It has been a very long process.  It now goes to the President to sign.  below is me in Spring 2008 making my pitch before the Committee that the Bill eventually came from.  Here is what I said to the LA Times today after the Bills passage: "In a bad economy, with the kind of budget constraints we're going to be under, I think that's a risk," said William Marler, a food safety attorney from Seattle who represents people sickened by tainted food...

Thanks to Marler Clark Clients Who Lobbied and Testified for Passage of Food Safety Bill

Posted on December 20, 2010
Listed here are victims of foodborne illness who have traveled to Washington, D.C to testify or lobby for food safety: Jeff Almer (MN) – Jeff testified in 2009 to The House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations...

Food Safety Bill Leaves Senate with Unanimous Consent, House Vote Tuesday

Posted on December 20, 2010
Perhaps the President will bring the Bill with him to Hawaii for Christmas - It's a short flight from Seattle.  Thanks to Republican and Democratic Staff for this great Summary of the House and Senate version of the Bill: Noteworthy ... S...

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Sally Jackson Raw Milk Cheese Linked to E. coli Illnesses in Washington, Oregon, Minnesota and Vermont by PFGE

Posted on December 20, 2010
According to William Keene, Oregon State Epidemiologist, last week initial lab test results of a Sally Jackson cheese sample taken from a wedding were PCR (polymerase chain reaction) positive, indicating DNA likely linked to the outbreak strain. Today, those results have also been culture confirmed, and are indistinguishable by pulse-field gel electrophoreses (PFGE) to the eight ill persons in Oregon, Minnesota, Washington and Vermont...

Marler Clark Donates $5,000 to Medway High School on Behalf of Listeria Victim

Posted on December 20, 2010
A new scholarship at Medway High School has been announced today. The Food Safety Law Firm, Marler Clark, donated $5,000 to found the Powers Family – Marler Clark Scholarship for students who are interested in pursuing higher education in a science field...

It has been 14 months since we filed a Petition with FSIS to deem certain E. coli Adulterants

Posted on December 19, 2010
On the long flight home from D.C., as I was thinking about what appears to be the lost battle over new Food Safety legislation, I was also thinking about what I can do personally to make our food supply safer, and I thought that it has been over a year since we filed the Petition for an Interpretive Rule Declaring enterohemorrhagic Shiga Toxin-producing Serotypes of Escherichia coli, Including Non-O157 Serotypes, to be Adulterants Within the Meaning of 21 U...

Senate Saves Food Safety Bill

Posted on December 19, 2010
I just received this message from the Senate: 'Prior to adjourning, the Senate passed H.R.2751, as amended by the text of S. 510 (with Tester/Hagen Amendment) minus the offending blue slip provisions. The House now needs to vote to pass.  It then needs to be signed by the President...

Jimmy Johns and Sprouts - Again - This time Illinois with at least 46 Ill

Posted on December 18, 2010
According to Chicago area press, a salmonella outbreak is being investigated after illnesses were reported in Will County and eight other Illinois counties, a state health agency said in a news release Friday.  The Illinois Department of Public Health is investigating the salmonella outbreak...

Food Safety Bill Still on Life Support?

Posted on December 18, 2010
It is Saturday morning and I am watching and listening to the ongoing debate on the 'Don't ask, don't tell' repeal which seems like it might pass. The 'Dream Act' on the other hand seems like it will not overcome a Republican filibuster, and then there is the pesky thing called 'START' – Senator Kyle seems to like those atomic weapons...

With 15 raw milk cheese outbreaks or recalls in 2010, is it time to reconsider the "60 Day Rule?"

Posted on December 18, 2010
It has been a busy year for outbreaks related to milk or cheese - mostly raw - See, "Outbreaks, illnesses and recalls linked to raw (unpasteurized) and pasteurized dairy products, United States, 2010 (through December 18, 2010)."  The last several raw milk cheese outbreaks (see below), prompted me to take a hard look at the rationale behind the so called "60 Day Rule...

Yea, we don't need a Food Safety Bill - Settlements reached in yet another E. coli Outbreak

Posted on December 17, 2010
Being in D.C. this week allowed me both to do my day job of being a lawyer and my other day job of trying to put myself out of business (I do blogging at night). Thanks to the lack of function in politics here, retirement is not yet in the cards for me...

Sally Jackson Raw Milk Cheese Distribution List for E. coli Recall - Eight Ill in Oregon, Washington Vermont and Minnesota

Posted on December 17, 2010
There are Eight E. coli O157:H7 illnesses with indistinguishable PFGE patterns in four states - Oregon, Washington Vermont and Minnesota.  The Cheese distribution list in part is below: Whole Foods, (GTN) (RSQ) (PRN), Great Ciao, Provista Specialty Foods Inc...

Food Safety Law Book by James F. Neale and Angela M. Spivey

Posted on December 17, 2010
In one of those moments when I thought; 'I should have done that first,' Jim and Angela have done a great job and making Food Safety Law more that a bit(e) interesting. As I said in the foreward: 'For those not acquainted with my neighborhood, Food Safety Law will help you navigate the roads and give suggestions of areas of town to avoid...

Sally Jackson Cheese recalls all cheese due to linke to E. coli O157:H7 Illnesses

Posted on December 17, 2010
In what has hit the dozen mark of raw milk and/or raw milk cheese outbreak and/or recall 2010, this press release landed in my inbox as I was packing to head home to Seattle from Washington D. C.  According to a press release by Sally Jackson Cheese of Oroville, Washington, the company is recalling all cheese products, including cow, goat, and sheep, because they may be contaminated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 bacteria (E...

Larry King's Best Moment in 25 Years - Can you say E. coli?

Posted on December 16, 2010
My personal favorite:

Perhaps foodborne illness numbers are down because we do not have the resources to count them?

Posted on December 16, 2010
Being in DC for several days can turn nearly anyone into a "policy wonk."  This is even more so when you are meeting with Congressmemebers, Senators, Staff and Reporters on the progress of Food Safety Legislation.  With the CDC numbers that came out yesterday, revising the numbers of foodborne illnesses, and this report, there is still much work to do to lower the incidence of foodborne illnesses...

Food Safety Bill may die a painful death

Posted on December 16, 2010
It is late here in Washington D.C. (also known as an alternative universe).  It snowed all day making getting to meetings with Senate and House Members (and a few reporters) somewhat problematic (except for riding the cool trains between House and Senate offices and the Capitol)...

New CDC Numbers - 47.8 million foodborne illnesses, 127,839 hospitalizations, and 3,037 deaths per year in the United States

Posted on December 15, 2010
After long last the CDC released its new numbers on CDC Estimates of Foodborne Illness in the United States and they are still problematic - CDC estimates that each year roughly 1 out of 6 Americans (or 48 million people) gets sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases...

The Raw Milk Beat Goes On: A Look at the Literature and the 60-Day Raw Milk Cheese Aging Rule - Part 5

Posted on December 14, 2010
Producing Cheese Safely Unlike fluid raw milk producers who have been the subject of intense conflict with regulators for many years, artisanal and specialty cheesemakers that use raw milk have maintained a relatively good relationship with state and FDA regulators in the US...

Foodborne Illness Outbreak Database - Video

Posted on December 14, 2010
Visit Foodborne Illness Outbreak Database for a search.

The Raw Milk Beat Goes On: A Look at the Literature and the 60-Day Raw Milk Cheese Aging Rule - Part 4

Posted on December 14, 2010
Microbiology Johnson (2001) reviewed the microbiology of cheese products and noted the complexity of the subject because of the great diversity in cheese manufacturing and ripening protocols, as well as composition of the different cheese types.  The 60-day aging rule is based on the theory that pathogens, if present, will die-off to levels below the infectious dose during the aging process...

The Raw Milk Beat Goes On: A Look at the Literature and the 60-Day Raw Milk Cheese Aging Rule - Part 3

Posted on December 13, 2010
Regulation of Raw Milk Cheeses in Other Countries Canada regulates cheeses made from raw milk similar to the US, except for Quebec where raw milk cheeses can be manufactured without 60-day aging if strict rules for milk quality and veterinary inspections of cattle herds are followed...

The Raw Milk Beat Goes On: A Look at the Literature and the 60-Day Raw Milk Cheese Aging Rule - Part 2

Posted on December 13, 2010
Definitions Before embarking on a discussion of the 60-day curing criteria for cheeses made from raw milk, it is important to understand the definition of cheese styles and differences in regulation.  Cheese was originally developed by human societies as a method to preserve milk...

The Raw Milk Beat Goes On: A Look at the Literature and the 60-Day Raw Milk Cheese Aging Rule - Part 1

Posted on December 12, 2010
Introduction Some say raw milk cheeses are being beat-up by US regulators this year. Indeed, if there was a Food Safety Zodiac, 2010 would be the Year of the Cheese (shell eggs a close second). Whatever the underlying explanation, the number of cheese-related illnesses and recalls in 2010 appears unprecedented...

Think about the egg you are ordering this morning at your local diner

Posted on December 11, 2010
For anyone that does not think that politics can be front and center in decisions on the safety of our food, order your eggs 'sunny side up' and sit down with Lyndsey Layton's front page story in the Washington Post 'Unsafe eggs linked to U.S. failure act' at your local diner this morning...

E. coli Illnesses in Arizona (19), California (3), Colorado (11), New Mexico (3) and Nevada (2) linked to Bravo Gouda Cheese

Posted on November 25, 2010
The Outbreak The CDC posted a few moments ago an update on the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to Bravo Gouda Cheese sold at Costco.  To date thirty-eight persons infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 have been reported from five states...

Taking a Whack at Raw Milk - Again

Posted on November 25, 2010
I must admit that I am a bit perplexed by the proponents of raw milk. On average it seems that they spend a disproportionate amount of time twittering on Twitter and posting angry comments on blogs – mine in particular - about 'Food Nazis' – of which I am apparently one, along with a long list of people not raw milk drinkers...

Chocolate Lovers against Salmonella - it is time to fight for Food Safety - Pass S 510

Posted on November 24, 2010
If this does not galvanize everyone to lay down their rhetoric and pass food safety legislation, I do not know what will. Artisan Confections Company is voluntarily recalling a limited quantity of its Dagoba Organic Chocolate new moon Rich Dark Chocolate 74% cacao 0...

Crumland Farms Nursing home Maryland Salmonella Outbreak - sickens seven and kills one

Posted on November 24, 2010
Karen Gardner of the Frederick News Post posted an article last night; 'Salmonela Outbreak Sickens Eight at Frederick Nursing Home.' She noted that the 'residents [were] infected over four months.' Salmonella sickened eight people at Homewood at Crumland Farms nursing home in Frederick from July to early this month, according to the Frederick County Health Department...

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