The FDA has published the following warning: Consumers worldwide should not use any ByHeart brand infant formula as all ByHeart products are included in this recall. As we know, as of November 26, 2025, a total of 37 infants with suspected or confirmed infant botulism and confirmed exposure to ByHeart Whole Nutrition infant formula (various […]
Case Study: Salmonella poisoning In 2003, an Illinois health department received multiple reports that people had become ill after eating at Chili’s Grill & Bar in Vernon Hills, Illinois. Investigators visited the restaurant, and soon learned that its dishwashing machine was broken and corroded; the tube that fed chlorine into the machine was plugged, preventing […]
12.05.2007 – Almond Board of California Bill Marler will present at the California Almond Board’s 35th Annual Almond Industry Conference in Modesto, California. 11.06.2007 – Food HACCP Bill Marler will travel to San Francisco for the 2nd International Food HACCP conference. He will present on foodborne illness litigation and strict liability. In addition, Marler Clark […]
Brent Killackey of the Racine Journal Times wrote on Friday: The Caledonia/Mount Pleasant Health Department and the Racine Health Department are investigating a salmonella outbreak that, as of Wednesday, had reached 20 laboratory-confirmed cases. Sixteen of those cases were in Racine County, including eight in the city of Racine, according to health department officials. Health […]
A few months ago, I wrote and Oped piece praising the meat industry from lowering the number of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses. As I wrote: “[a]s a lawyer specializing in food-borne illness litigation, I’ve seen this happen [reduction in E. coli O157:H7 cases tied to meat], but I’m still as busy as ever. A decade […]
Case Study: Ammonia poisoning The majority of foodborne illnesses arise from avoidable errors—often an accumulation of many errors. In a 2002 case, school children and teachers at an Illinois public school consumed chicken contaminated with ammonia – a poisoning that resulted from the acts and omissions of three separate entities. In 2001, the State of […]
Megan Shannon of All Headline News reported on the recent E. coli outbreaks: Last year’s string of outbreaks of E. coli bacteria in the U.S. food supply have left many questions in the minds of Americans. But limited resources and other food contamination outbreaks left the Food and Drug Administration with no real answers. In […]
Jennifer O’Shea of US News and World Report set forth a “Timeline” of deaths and illnesses caused by food poisonings. The problem is that the list if very, very incomplete. She should have visited www.marlerclark.com or www.billmarler.com for the most complete list of food poisoning outbreaks from 1993 to the present. Her list is as […]
Laboratory testing, PFGE, and epidemiologic investigations Health care providers may in some instances order testing of an ill person’s blood or stool to help determine the cause of illness. In many circumstances a positive result in such a test must be reported to the health authorities pursuant to statute or regulation. Many states require reporting […]
A few weeks ago I turned 50 and in a few months I will have been a lawyer for 20 years. For those who know me to be "on" 24/7, and always a cell phone or a email away, it should come as no surprise that I actually love my work. By all measures my […]
CNN reporter Stephanie Smith and I talked last week, or I talked and she listened about last years E. coli O157:H7 outbreak tied to lettuce at Taco John’s restaurants in Minnesota and Iowa. A fe other interesting facts: • E. coli on lettuce at Taco John’s restaurants sickened at least 81 people last year • […]
Both cases focused on a petting zoo at the Strawberry Festival. Dong-Phuong Nguyen of the Times and I spoke yesterday about the settlement and the future of petting zoos – I would urge everyone to see www.fair-safety.com: A 7-year-old Tampa girl and a 53-year-old St. Petersburg woman who were sickened from an E. coli outbreak […]
Health care provider treatment and diagnosis Medical records are also an important part of making a food-poisoning case. Both stool cultures, and less commonly blood cultures, can identify the particular pathogen causing a claimant’s illness. As previously discussed, each foodborne pathogen carries with it an expected incubation period – the amount of time expected to […]
Health agency inspections and documentation One extraordinarily effective tool in establishing the defectiveness of a product that no longer exists is uncovering documentation of the food service establishment’s track record from previous health inspections. This may include information regarding prior incidents or accusations of food contamination and prior inspections of the facility and the establishment’s […]
Two victims of the 2005 E. coli outbreak traced to a petting zoo at the Florida Strawberry Festival resolved claims brought against the festival last week. Both victims, a woman and a young child, suffered hemolytic uremic syndrome (www.about-hus.com) and required extensive medical treatment, including dialysis, after contracting E. coli O157:H7 at the 2005 Florida […]
What you eat can make your sick – May 19th and 20th at 8:00 PM EST America’s dirty little secret. Do you know what you’re really eating? Dr. Sanjay Gupta uncovers the truth.