"Put a Trial Lawyer Out of Business: Pass Meaningful Food Safety Legislation by Thanksgiving," Says Foodborne Illness Attorney Bill Marler.WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "New food safety legislation is needed, if not for the consumer's sake, then to put trial lawyers like me out of business," says food safety advocate and foodborne illness A foodborne illness (also foodborne disease) is any illness resulting from the consumption of food. Although foodborne illness is commonly called food poisoning, this is often a misnomer. attorney Bill Marler. "Lawyers have been hated throughout the ages," Marler continued. "One of Shakespeare's often quoted lines from 'Henry VI, Part II' is, 'The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.' It's a sentiment many share. "The bottom line is that Congress and the President can do something good by passing comprehensive food safety legislation. Not only will it protect consumers from unsafe food, but also it will protect society from those damn trial lawyersOlike me. "In 2002, in the middle of the recall of 21 million pounds of E. coli E. coli: see Escherichia coli. E. coli in full Escherichia coli Species of bacterium that inhabits the stomach and intestines. E. coli can be transmitted by water, milk, food, or flies and other insects. tainted taint v. taint·ed, taint·ing, taints v.tr. 1. To affect with or as if with a disease. 2. To affect with decay or putrefaction; spoil. See Synonyms at contaminate. 3. ConAgra beef that sickened 50 Americans and killed one grandmother, I wrote an Op-Ed saying that it was time to put me out of business, and that the best way to do it would be to stop poisoning people with contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. food. My entire practice would evaporate e·vap·o·rate v. 1. To convert or change into a vapor; volatilize. 2. To produce vapor. 3. To draw or pass off in the form of vapor. 4. . As strange as it may seem, that has been my goal for 17 years. Yet here I am, helping people sickened by E. coli in cookie dough Cookie dough refers to a blend of cookie ingredients which has been mixed into a solid yet malleable form but has not yet been hardened by heat. The dough is often then separated and the portions baked to individual cookies, or eaten as is. pay for dialysis and kidney transplants. "The House has courageously passed HR 2749, and has sent the legislation to the Senate, which now has S. 501 to consider. The Senate may be consumed by health care reform, but I respectfully suggest that safe food is a vital part of health care. After all, every year 76 million Americans are sickened by foodborne illness; 325,000 of them require hospitalization hospitalization /hos·pi·tal·iza·tion/ (hos?pi-t'l-i-za´shun) 1. the placing of a patient in a hospital for treatment. 2. the term of confinement in a hospital. and 5,000 die. Imagine lifting that load from the health care system, not to mention from the shoulders of American families and businesses. It really is long past time to put me out of business." ABOUT MARLER CLARK: William Marler has been a major force in food safety policy in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and abroad. His food safety blog, Marler Blog, is read by over 1,000,000 people around the world every year. He and his partners at Marler Clark have represented thousands of individuals in claims against food companies whose contaminated products have caused serious injury and death. His advocacy for better food regulation has led to invitations to address local, national, and international gatherings on food safety, including recent testimony to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. In 1998, Mr. Marler formed the not for profit consulting organization, Outbreak Inc. He spends much of the year speaking on how to prevent foodborne illnesses. For more information, please contact Mary Siceloff at (206) 719-4705 or msiceloff@marlerclark.com. Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6066435&lang=en |
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