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Produce Group Hosts Food Safety Lawyer Elliot Olsen

By PritzkerLaw

Top executives from U.S. produce companies gathered in Austin, Texas, today to hear national food safety lawyer Elliot Olsen tell them how an outbreak of foodborne illness could put them out of business in 24 hours.

It's happened before and likely will happen again, but Olsen's central message to the industry had an unexpected twist. While the Pritzker Olsen law firm has a reputation from coast to coast for collecting millions of dollars from companies on behalf of victims of E. coli O157:H7, HUS, Salmonella, Listeria,and Campylobacter, the firm's overarching mission is to help keep the U.S. food supply safer -- a goal Olsen said his firm holds in common with most food producers.

"It's not just a game to us,'' Olsen said. "Part of our mission is prevention.''

He said companies learn lessons when victims of food poisoning assert their right to compensation for injuries, lost wages, pain and suffering.

Olsen was invited to the one-day Food Safety Symposium in Austin, Texas, by the Produce Marketing Association. The same group invited him to speak last month at an even larger gathering in Monterey, California. Olsen's third appearance for the group is scheduled in Rochester, New York, in October.

A major portion of his presentation focused on the human cost of food contamination. Take, for instance, a past client of Pritzker Olsen described as Mr. Lewis (not his real name.). Mr. Lewis was a very active and healthy 81-year-old man when he contracted Listeriosis from adulterated food. The infection damaged his central nervous system and left him paralyzed. His hospitalization was followed by 400 days in a nursing home, ending in his death. By then, he was hardly recognizable.

Olsen said the crowds in Monterey and Austin -- which included many CEOs and other top-ranking produce company executives -- were very receptive. "Hopefully we'll continue our efforts to eliminate foodborne illness,'' he said.

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on August 19, 2009 (boomark / email).