I have the great honor to once again speak before the Royal Society for Public Health in London next month.  It will be great to share the stage again with Hugh Pennington.  Professor Pennington just finished an extensive investigation into an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that sickened many and killed a child.  I also look forward to speaking with Frank Yiannas of Wal-Mart.  I hope to give "the mother country" an overview of E. coli O157:H7 and other Shiga-toxin E. coli and their impacts on the food industry and consumers in the United States.

The evening before I will be speaking at the House of Lords.

How one Peanut Company caused $1.5 Billion in Losses: The story of PCA
Speech for House of Lords dinner, May 12, 2009
William D. Marler

The recall of Salmonella-tainted peanuts and peanut products processed and produced by the Peanut Corporation of America has caused one of the largest food recalls in US history; more than 3000 products made by hundreds of companies have been withdrawn, and the number is still growing.  The 700 culture-confirmed cases of Salmonella indicate a much higher number of unreported illnesses – the actual number is probably close to 25,000.  At least nine lost their lives.  Beyond this terrible human toll, the financial toll on businesses and the American food supply has been staggering.  The speaker, whose firm, Marler Clark, represents more than 100 of the victims of the outbreak, explains the complex web of corporate malfeasance, inspections, insurance, and bankruptcy that makes this story a page-turner.