Photo of Bill Marler

Bill Marler is an accomplished personal injury lawyer and national expert on foodborne illness litigation. He began representing victims of foodborne illness in 1993, when he represented Brianne Kiner, the most seriously injured survivor of the Jack in the Box E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, resulting in her landmark $15.6 million settlement. Marler founded Food Safety News in 2009.

— OPINION —

In recent years, Salmonella outbreaks have become a pressing public health concern, highlighting the vulnerabilities in our food supply chain. Salmonella, a group of bacteria commonly linked to foodborne illnesses, is notorious for causing symptoms ranging from mild gastrointestinal distress to severe infections. It’s time for both

Continue Reading Publisher’s Platform: Salmonella is one nasty bug

— OPINION —

Listeria monocytogenes, a potent and pathogenic bacterium, poses a persistent threat to our food supply and public health. Unlike many other foodborne pathogens, Listeria can thrive at refrigeration temperatures, making it particularly challenging to control. With the ability to cause severe illness — especially among vulnerable populations

Continue Reading Publisher’s Platform: Tackling Listeria – A shared responsibility in safeguarding our food supply

— OPINION —

Democratic senators are expressing alarm about planned budget reallocations at the Food and Drug Administration that they fear will threaten the nation’s food safety system.

In a letter to FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods Jim Jones released Wednesday, Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Tina Smith (Minn.)

Continue Reading Publisher’s Platform: Senators step up to help save FDA funding of state inspection programs

— OPINION —

Multiple federal health agencies have stopped releasing some key health information — including updates on some outbreak investigations — amid a department-wide communications “pause” ordered by the Trump administration, though many other “mission critical” updates are still being released, CBS News has learned.

The Department of Health

Continue Reading Publisher’s Platform: Administration puts clamps on foodborne illness outbreak announcements

— OPINION —

And, where is the Inspector General’s Report? And, where are the Congressional Hearings?

Here is the final paragraph from the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service’s Food Safety Assessment of the Boar’s Head plant in Jarrett, VA, in 2022 plant that in 2024 would sicken 61 –

Continue Reading Publisher’s Platform: Has FSIS been asleep at the switch since 2022? How could they let Boar’s Head operate like this?

1.    Yu Shang Food, Inc. Ready to Eat Meat Listeria Outbreak: As of December 5, 2024, 19 people from eight states have been infected with the outbreak strains of Listeria.  Sick people’s samples were collected from October 24, 2021, to October 28, 2024. Of 19 people with information available, 17 (89%) have

Continue Reading Publisher’s Platform: 2024 was a bad year for Food Safety – here is wishing us all a happier Food Safety New Year in 2025