Before I head over to London to speak at the Royal Society for Public Health, I am stopping over in Rochester, New York for a court ordered mediation on Monday regarding last years E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to another leafy green outbreak.

A total of 33 ill persons infected with the outbreak strain of STEC O157:H7 were reported from five states. The number of ill people identified in each state with the outbreak strain was as follows: Connecticut (2), Massachusetts (3), New York (26), Pennsylvania (1), and Virginia (1).

46% of ill persons were hospitalized. Two ill persons developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a type of kidney failure, and no deaths were reported.

Collaborative investigation efforts of state, local, and federal public health and regulatory agencies linked this outbreak to pre-packaged leafy greens produced by State Garden of Chelsea, Massachusetts.

Ironically, the following morning I am the keynote speaker at the Center for Produce Safety 4th annual Produce Research Symposium.  From the agenda:

Food safety advocate William “Bill” Marler, Marler Clark, L.L.P., P.S. will open the Center for Produce Safety 4th annual Produce Research Symposium on Tuesday, June 25, with a keynote presentation on “The evolving legal and financial realities of produce food safety: what it means for you.” Marler, the leading plaintiff’s attorney in food safety, will describe the evolving legal and financial implications when foodborne illness outbreaks occur. Mr. Marler will share his experiences and provide the human and business context for the importance of developing and implementing risk and science-based food safety programs. Stephen Patricio, CPS chair and president of Westside Produce, stated, “Bill Marler will provide perspective to the difficult issues that surround produce food safety. We are honored Bill will be a part of the symposium.”

After the speech, I head to New York City to take an overnight flight to London where I land a few hours before my talk at the Royal Society for Public Health.  From the agenda:

We are very pleased to announce that Bill Marler will be joining us for this event. Bill is the founder and Managing Partner, Marler Clark LLP PS, the major food poisoning lawyers in the USA who have represented thousands of clients in litigation against restaurants and companies whose food was identified as the source of illness. This includes the 2011 Listeria outbreak in melons where 142 were hospitalized and over 30 deaths were reported.

I will probably sleep somewhere.