October 2007

More hamburger recalled:

Recall Release CLASS I RECALL
FSIS-RC-048-2007 HEALTH RISK: HIGH

Del-Mar Provision Co., Inc., a Buffalo, N.Y., firm, is voluntarily recalling approximately 50 pounds of ground beef products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

The product subject

I was reading the St. Cloud Times and saw this small note about a completely preventable tragedy:

Fundraiser for Stephanie Smith

When: Noon-5 p.m., Nov. 4.

Where: 103 River Oaks Drive (by Rocori High School on River Oaks Golf Course), Cold Spring.

What: Stephanie Smith is a 20-year-old Rocori High School graduate and is the

We filed two lawsuits today – one against Cargill on behalf of a Minnesota boy who became ill after eating an E. coli-contaminated hamburger and another on behalf of a Michigan man who became ill after eating a Salmonella-contaminated turkey pot pie.

In the Minnesota case:

According to the complaint, Scott Reber ate a

I spoke to Jeff Gold, AP writer, this afternoon during a break in mediations.  His story, just hit the wire:

Report: Topps Plant Reduced Inspections

In the months before issuing a massive recall of its frozen hamburgers, Topps Meat Co. curtailed testing of ground beef and skipped other safeguards aimed at preventing contaminated meat from

Well, for a food safety attorney, I was living a bit dangerously in Hong Kong a month ago.  I swear I only ate one.

According to Wikipedia, the century egg, also known as preserved egg, hundred-year egg, thousand-year egg and thousand-year-old egg is a Chinese cuisine ingredient made by preserving duck, chicken or quail

From the October/November 2007 of Food Safety Magazine:

Food Safety & the CEO – Keys to Bottom Line Success

By William Marler (that’s me)

Foodborne illness has, of course, been around as long as there has been food. But the identification and diagnosis of these diseases is an emerging science that is changing all sectors of the food business, and those chief executive officers (CEOs) and senior level directors and managers who do not keep up are bound to be at a significant disadvantage when making critical decisions about their businesses.

It is one thing to read or view media reports on the latest foodborne illness outbreaks and brand-damaging product recalls; it is quite another to really understand the widespread, adverse impact these incidents have on your consumer base, on your employees, on the efficiencies of your operations, and ultimately, on your bottom line. In other words, today’s food company CEO needs to know a lot more than producers in the fresh-cut produce industry initiated massive recalls last week, or that a regional restaurant chain closed down, or that a recent spate of pet fatalities due to the inclusion of a banned substance on an international scale means his or her company should look more closely at imported ingredients for awhile.

What you, the CEO, should know about food safety comes down to a few key concepts. First, all companies along the food supply chain need to go beyond managing the business: To be successful, food companies are now in the business of managing risk. This means garnering a good understanding of why food safety is important to your business, what risks there are to the business, how you can mitigate or eliminate those risks, and how in doing so the food safety program will provide a return on your investment.Continue Reading Cover Story – Food Safety Magazine – What I tell Food CEO’s

Last week I called on Cargill (same applies to Sam’s Club) to pay the medical costs and wage loss of victims of the E. coli outbreak traced to the company’s frozen ground beef patties.  Despite suing Cargill in Minnesota, it has been very quiet on taking responsibility.

Cargill recalled nearly 1,000,000 pounds of frozen