When McDonald’s launched a brief food safety ad at the end of 2024, it raised eyebrows in an industry that typically avoids such topics — especially after an E. coli outbreak tied to Quarter Pounders sickened 49 people across 10 states, hospitalized 10, and caused one death, prompting the chain
Continue Reading McDonald’s food safety ad: A rare move in a quiet industry
In typical lawyer fashion, the answer is “it depends.” The consequences for a company involved in a foodborne illness outbreak can vary significantly based on the circumstances surrounding the incident.
If a company demonstrates negligence — such as failing to follow proper food safety protocols — it risks being named
Continue Reading The Litigated Dish: What is the worst case scenario for a company involved in a foodborne illness outbreak?
By Darin Detwiler
In reflecting on the evolution of food safety over the past three decades, we observe a landscape marked by significant and escalating legal actions against companies responsible for outbreaks and violations. The effectiveness of these penalties, especially monetary fines, in preventing future lapses in food safety, merits
Continue Reading Anticipating the inevitable: Predicting the next major food safety failure
The demand for food away from home has witnessed a surge in recent years, making restaurants a crucial source of food-related illness outbreaks.
A new study, conducted by researchers with the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and Purdue University, has delved into the intricacies of these outbreaks, shedding light on
Continue Reading Study analyzes media and market responses to 2015-2018 Chipotle foodborne illness outbreaks
– COMMENTARY –
You’ve probably heard a lot about the new plant-based foods — meatless beef and poultry and dairy-free milk, for example, but most people don’t know much, if anything, about them. In fact, the first time you heard about them, you might have said “Forget about that. If
Continue Reading Plant-based meat, dairy and eggs: A game changer or a flash in the pan?
The CDC states that the death-dealing virus that causes COVID-19 spreads predominantly from person to person (P>P). A deeper dive into assessing this transmission route — and its presence in the food industry — may help sharpen intervention tactics.
This assessment starts with a look at an infected person’s
Continue Reading Person-to-Person sub-classes emerge in COVID-19 classifications
We learned yesterday from a U.S. Attorneys’ Office Press Release that Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. will pay $25 million to resolve criminal charges related to the company’s involvement in foodborne illness outbreaks that sickened more than 1,100 people between 2015 and 2018.
A criminal information filed in federal court in
Continue Reading Publisher’s Platform: So, why whack Chipotle for $25,000,000 but only send a nasty letter to Jimmy Johns?
In what federal prosecutors say is the largest ever fine of its kind, operators of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. have agreed to pay $25 million to resolve criminal charges related to foodborne illness outbreaks from 2015 through 2018.
More than 1,100 people were sickened in the outbreaks that caused the
Continue Reading Chipotle agrees to pay $25 million federal fine for role in some outbreaks
CHICAGO — Oscar Garrison, senior vice president of food safety regulatory affairs for United Egg Producers, is one of the speakers at this week’s Food Safety Summit who is ending the week as a “thought leader.”
Others are making that transition too, and Garrison provides a good example of how
Continue Reading It’s no simple process to become a food safety ‘thought leader’
Food companies have been at the forefront of technological innovation and scientific research and development for decades upon decades. Cursory attention to the items we eat — how those items are grown, sourced, processed, and packaged – provides ample evidence of scientific research and development and technological innovation in
Continue Reading When is a potato washer not a potato washer? When it’s washing cantaloupes
