It never ceases to amaze many clients of ours at Marler Clark how foods that seem so healthy can pose so much risk of foodborne disease.  Lettuce and E. coli O157:H7???  Many victims were shocked, not to mention badly injured, when baby spinach was the cause of yet another outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 and other pathogens associated with leafy greens during the 2006 spinach outbreak. 

Sprouts are another case in point.  We’ve all had them, and most of us have never been sick from them, but there are hundreds of victims across the mid-west who cannot say the same thing.  Here is an interesting article on how sprouts are grown and harvested, and why they are such a risky food to eat, especially for young children, the elderly, or the immune compromised. 

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Photo of Drew Falkenstein Drew Falkenstein

Drew Falkenstein joined Marler Clark in January, 2004 and has concentrated his practice in representing victims of foodborne illness. He has litigated nationwide against some of the biggest food corporations in the world, including Dole, Kellogg’s, and McDonald’s.  He has worked on landmark…

Drew Falkenstein joined Marler Clark in January, 2004 and has concentrated his practice in representing victims of foodborne illness. He has litigated nationwide against some of the biggest food corporations in the world, including Dole, Kellogg’s, and McDonald’s.  He has worked on landmark cases that have helped shape food safety policy, HACCP protocol, and consumer rights, such as the E. coli outbreak in fresh spinach in 2006 and the 2008 Peanut Corporation of America outbreak of Salmonella. A frequent speaker for the not-for-profit organization Outbreak, Inc, Mr. Falkenstein travels the country to address public and environmental health organizations as well as food safety meetings and annual educational conferences.  He speaks on the intersection of law and public health, and addresses companies on how to prevent food borne illness outbreaks.