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First off, yes, 2018 seems to be – and we are just 1/2 way into it – a very Big, Bad year for foodborne illnesses.  Second, I am not sure why.  It could be better surveillance by state, local and national health authorities utilizing cutting edge tools such as PFGE and WGS.  It could be a lack of support for inspectors.  It is certainly possible that it is more imports with a greater supply chain with a great chance for contamination or temperature abuse.  It also could be more mass produced fresh, ready to eat foods without a “kill step.”  It also could be none of those things, but it seems to me to be more than just random events.  Here are some of the highlights of 2018:

E. coli

Romaine Lettuce – 218 sick in US and Canada with 96 hospitalizations and 5 deaths. McDonald’s Salads – 163 sick with 3 hospitalizations. Del Monte Vegetable Trays – 237 sick with 7 hospitalizations. Jimmy John’s Sprouts – 10 sick. Kratom – 199 sick with 50 hospitalizations. Fareway/Triple T Chicken Salad – 265 sick with 94 hospitalizations and 1 death. Go Smile Coconut – 14 sick with 3 hospitalizations. Rose Acre Shell Eggs – 45 sick with 11 hospitalizations. Caito Cut Melons – 70 sick with 34 hospitalizations. Kellogg’s Honey Smacks – 100 sick with 34 hospitalizations. Hy-Vee Pasta Salad – 21 sick with 5 hospitalizations. Raw Turkey – 90 sick with 40 hospitalizations. Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Venezuelan Crab Meat – 12 sick with 4 hospitalizations. And, we are only 1/2 way through the year.

The food attorneys at Marler Clark are the nation’s leading lawyers representing victims of foodborne illnesses such as E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria.

Marler Clark was established in 1998 by the top food attorneys for the plaintiffs and defendants in the landmark litigation arising from the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak.

The firm has since represented thousands of victims of foodborne illness outbreaks across the country.

The Marler Clark food attorneys focus solely on representing victims of foodborne illness outbreaks, representing victims of E. coli, Hepatitis A, Campylobacter, Listeria, norovirus, Salmonella, and Shigella outbreaks nationwide. Marler Clark has litigated against huge corporations including Cargill, Dole, Wal-Mart, Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Nebraska Beef, Nestle, and Yum! Brands on behalf of clients injured in foodborne illness outbreaks traced back to the companies’ food products. Our food attorneys have won over $650 million dollars in settlements for our clients.

Marler Clark’s attorneys travel widely to speak to environmental health and industry groups, university students, and food safety conference audiences, often on topics related to the intersection of public health and the law and preventing foodborne illness.

The law firm advocates for safer food by working with clients to tell their stories; Bill Marler and several of the firm’s clients have testified before Congress about illnesses from unsafe food. Marler Clark publishes premier sources of online information on food safety: Food Safety News, Food Poison Journal, Real Raw Milk Facts, and the Outbreak Database.

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Common Foodborne Pathogens
