On Cooking Burgers: Out, damned E. coli! Out!
For decades, the meat industry has insisted that pathogens like E. coli O157:H7 are inherent to raw meat, that there is no way for the manufacturing process to eliminate the...
Contributing Writers
Denis Stearns
Marler Clark LLPSeattle, Washington
—http://www.marlerclark.com/lawyers/view/denis-stearns
—dstearns@marlerclark.com
Denis Stearns, a partner at Marler Clark, earned a BA in philosophy from Seattle University, and his law degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He graduated from both schools with high honors, and won numerous awards for service and academic excellence. Prior to being a partner at Marler Clark, Denis worked as one of the lead attorneys on the defense team that represented Jack in the Box against the hundreds of claims and lawsuits arising from the historic 1993 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak. In this role, he obtained extensive knowledge of the meat and foodservice industry, health and safety regulations, HACCP and other food safety systems, epidemiology, and foodborne illness. He is a frequent speaker and writer on issues related to food safety law, administrative regulation, and public health policy.
Articles Written by Denis Stearns
Tender, but Deadly
E. coli O157:H7 and Mechanically Tenderized Steaks By now, most people have come to understand that a lot of industrially produced, mass-manufactured ground beef sold in the United States can be...
Blame-Game: How Cargill Pointed the Finger
A lawsuit was filed on December 4, 2009, against Cargill seeking at least $100 million to compensate Stephanie Smith for the tragic, life-changing injuries that she suffered as a result...
Losing the Face-to-Face in the Global Food Market
On Tuesday, November 3, 2009, I made a presentation at the Fourth International Conference on Food Safety and Quality. The presentation was one of two keynote speeches given that morning,...
Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics . . .
More Meat Industry Dissembling on E. coliOn October 3, 2009, the New York Times published a lengthy and compelling story about Stephanie Smith and the E. coli O157:H7 infection, and...
Freedom Means Never Having To Be Logical . . .
Rebutting Michelle Bachmann on the 2009 Food Safety Modernization Act. Twenty years ago, when I was in college and studying for a BA in Philosophy, one of the courses required...
RIP Gourmet Magazine: You'll Be Greatly Missed.
Although I am not terribly fond of the term, I must admit at the outset that I am a "foodie." The confirmed symptoms are undeniable. Rarely (if ever) does a...
What The Restaurant Industry Should Do . . .
. . . in Support of National Food Safety Education Month--That is, if it was really serious about food safety.You may or may not know this, but this month, September...
Public Comment on Proposed FSIS Policy
In this public comment on a proposed change in policy by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, I offer strong support for the idea of requiring all meat and...
Why Hepatitis A Vaccinations are Bad for (My) Busi
"Why Hepatitis A Vaccinations are Bad for (My) Business," appeared in the July/August 2002 issue of Food Quality Magazine. It begins: "Let's be honest: as an attorney who makes a...
An Introduction to Product Liability Law
In "An Introduction to Product Liability Law," I explain that when a person is injured by a defective product that is unreasonably dangerous or unsafe, the injured person may have...
An E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak at a Chain Restaurant
"An E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak at a Chain Restaurant: A Case Study on How Easily Legal Liability Can Spread to a Franchisor" was written for the February 2004 Law Journal...
An Introduction to Product Liability Law
In my first article in a series for ID Access, "An Introduction to Product Liability Law," I introduce readers to product liability law and the concepts behind it, beginning with: ...
Product Liability: A Brief History of Its Early Or
"Product Liability: A Brief History of Its Early Origins" begins: Product liability law evolved from contract law, with the first decisions strongly favoring manufacturers. For a very long time,...
Product Liability: How It Turned Strict
The concept of strict product liability is addressed in "Product Liability: How It Turned Strict," one of a series of articles for ID Access that address the legal risks faced...