Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Health Law Blogs -> Food Safety News

Health Law

: Food Safety News

Publisher's Platform

By Dan Flynn and Suzanna Schreck

Oops, I missed my self-imposed deadline to get to Suzanne this week's version of the "Publisher's Platform."  Well, now it is 4:00 am on Mother's Day.  No great excuse for being tardy with this piece except to say it was a very busy week.  But, I did not forget Mother's Day gifts, and yesterday I helped shop (well, just paid for) a prom dress.

I had the pleasure this last week to live vicariously on the Gulf Coast as Helena and Dan "drilled" into what clearly is an environmental and human disaster that has the potential of being a food safety one as well.  Their stories were timely with a bit(e) more local flavor than some of the other news outlets.  I am still waiting for pictures of Helena quaffing beers with BP oil workers.  It was also an honor to have Ross Anderson jumping in to give us all some perspective on oil spills from the not too far distant history of Exxon's oil spill in Prince William Sound just over 10 years ago.

Romaine lettuce and E. coli--this time O145--is in the news--again, and Food Safety News has Helena and Zach on the ground in Yuma getting details on the likely cause of the outbreak that has hospitalized at least a dozen.  Three kids have been diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome.  It is likely that more than 50 people or more are sick, but we may never know given that industry, the government, and most labs never test for E. coli O145.  This is both the first O145 outbreak in food in the U.S. and the first known outbreak of "leafy greens" from Yuma.  Having people there--even in the 100-degree heat--hopefully will generate some answers.

Another excuse for being tardy with this second installment of the Platform is that I was also busy preparing for a Pakistani delegation's visit this week to the Marler Clark offices in Seattle to talk about food safety.  That same day I head to the other Washington to meet the following day at the State Department with a group from China to discuss the pros and cons of a civil justice system.  Perhaps while I am in D.C. I can find out where the S. 510 is hiding.

Finally, let's not forget at least three Salmonella outbreaks in restaurants in Oregon (Los Dos Amigos), North Carolina (Bullock's) and Ohio (Casa Lopez).  Nearly 100 people sickened.

Hope things went better for Mother's Day dinner.  I'm going back to bed for a while.

Full post as published by Food Safety News on May 10, 2010 (boomark / email).