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Poisoned Food: Lawsuits and Food Safety

Date post: 18-Nov-2014
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In this 2012 presentation at Washington State University, famed attorney Bill Marler gives an overview of the impact lawsuits have had on food safety in America and what food producers can do to avoid causing an outbreak.
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“Poisoned Food: Lawsuits and Food Safety Bill Marler
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Page 1: Poisoned Food: Lawsuits and Food Safety

“Poisoned Food: Lawsuits and Food Safety

Bill Marler

Page 2: Poisoned Food: Lawsuits and Food Safety

To Put Things in Perspective

• According to the CDC, pathogens cause an estimated 48 million cases of human illness annually in the U.S.

• 125,000 hospitalized

• Cause up to 3,000 deaths

• Most Illnesses are not linked together nor to a product

Page 3: Poisoned Food: Lawsuits and Food Safety

Strict Product Liability

• Negligence– Are you a

product seller?– Did you act

“reasonably”?

• Strict Liability– Are you a

manufacturer?– Was the product

unsafe?– Did product

cause injury?

• Punitive Damages/Criminal Liability– Did you act with

conscious disregard of a known safety risk?

Page 4: Poisoned Food: Lawsuits and Food Safety

Who is a Manufacturer?

A “manufacturer” is defined as a “product seller who designs, produces, makes, fabricates, constructs, or remanufactures the relevant product or component part of a product before its sale to a user or consumer.”

Page 5: Poisoned Food: Lawsuits and Food Safety

• The only defense is prevention

• It does not matter if you took all reasonable precautions

• If you manufacture a product that makes someone sick you are going to pay

• Wishful thinking does not help

It’s called STRICT Liability for a Reason

Page 6: Poisoned Food: Lawsuits and Food Safety

Worthless Excuse No. 1

“I never read the memo.”

Page 8: Poisoned Food: Lawsuits and Food Safety

Jack in the Box

Page 9: Poisoned Food: Lawsuits and Food Safety

Jack in the Box

Page 10: Poisoned Food: Lawsuits and Food Safety

Strange Bugs – Non-O157 E. coli

• E. coli O104:H4

• 4,321 Ill, 852 with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome

• 50 Dead

• Six U.S. Cases

• Egyptian Fenugreek Seeds Likely Source

Page 11: Poisoned Food: Lawsuits and Food Safety

Bugs in Strange Places

• Listeria – Tainted Cantaloupe

• 145 Sickened with over 30 Deaths

• First Outbreak Linked with Cantaloupe and Listeria

Page 12: Poisoned Food: Lawsuits and Food Safety

Bugs in Stranger Places

• 72 E. coli O157:H7 Illnesses – 10 with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome

• Likely Source – Tainted Flour

• Nestle now uses Heat Treated Flour

Page 13: Poisoned Food: Lawsuits and Food Safety

Lessons Learned From An Outbreak

You can insure your reputation

1. Arm yourself with good, current information

2. Since you have a choice between doing nothing or being proactive, be proactive

3. Make food safety part of everything you do

4. Believing your food is safe is not enough

Page 14: Poisoned Food: Lawsuits and Food Safety

Some Resources for All

• Learn About E. coli

• Learn About Salmonella

• Learn About Listeria

• Learn About Shigella

• Learn About Campylobacter

• Learn About Hepatitis A

• Learn About Botulism

• Learn About Norovirus

Page 15: Poisoned Food: Lawsuits and Food Safety

Questions


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