I asked our AI friends – What are the pros and cons of replacing FDA Commissioner Makary with me – here is the response? This is a very timely question — Makary resigned as FDA Commissioner today, May 12, 2026, amid reports of internal tensions and policy clashes, with the vaping dispute reportedly being a […]
Looking to the Future Following Taylor’s example, notice must be served to producers and other food processors that E. coli, Salmonella, and other foodborne pathogens will be classified and treated as adulterants. In addition, the same kind of comprehensive Risk Management System should be established and implemented, along with criminal and civil penalties for violations. […]
Learning From the Past So how can we ensure that the gains in food safety already made are preserved and the new problems addressed? Based on my many years of experience with the issues, here are some recommendations: It took a nationwide crisis, and the horrible deaths of several young children, for the US to […]
I’m not sure exactly why I posted this picture – I see Peter going for the chest of gold. Both he and Captain Hook are balanced on my window ledge on the 66th floor looking out on the bay on another rainy, Seattle day. Somewhat sums up my day talking and emailing to lawyers on […]
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 […]