This week I spent three days in mediation on E. coli O157:H7 cases (and a fair amount of time talking too much about Listeria and cantaloupe).  Last week were speeches in Denver and Phoenix to people in the restaurant and hospitality industies about how to avoid foodborne illness claims.  The week before that it was Salmonella claims in Minnesota.  Next week, well, I’ll be in Canada and Virginia.

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I think it may still be Food Safety Month?  

ABC’s News’ Neal Karlinsky and I had lunch today for his story tonight “Food-Borne Illness Attorney: Top Foods to Avoid.”  This says it all:

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that 13 deaths and 72 illnesses have been connected to the listeria-tainted cantaloupes. Marler, who has worked on dozens of major food-borne illness cases, called this outbreak “stunning.”

“People die, we all will, but you shouldn’t die from eating cantaloupe,” he said. “You shouldn’t die from eating food. You shouldn’t die from having a meal with a friend. It just shouldn’t be that way.”