He doesn’t like to live dangerously…
Bill Marler is one of the premier attorneys in the world when it comes to food-poisoning lawsuits, and he’s currently litigating the massive E. coli and norovirus case that is levelled at Chipotle.
The expert posted an article in the Food Poisoning Journal at the weekend where he outlined the different food he avoids after 20 years of handling cases involving food borne illnesses.
Prewashed or precut fruits and vegetables
“I avoid these like the plague,” Marler says, “convenience is great but sometimes I think it isn’t worth the risk.”
He buys unwashed and uncut fruit and vegetables in small amounts and uses them within three or four days.
Raw or undercooked eggs
“I think the risk of egg contamination is much lower today than it was 20 years ago for salmonella, but I still eat my eggs well-cooked,” Marler says.
Meat that isn’t well-done
“The reason ground products are more problematic and need to be cooked more thoroughly is that any bacteria that’s on the surface of the meat can be ground inside of it,” Marler says. “If it’s not cooked thoroughly to 160°F throughout, it can cause poisoning by E. coli and salmonella and other bacterial illnesses.”
He orders all his meat well done.
Raw sprouts
“There have been too many outbreaks to not pay attention to the risk of sprout contamination,” Marler says. “Those are products that I just don’t eat at all.”
Unpasteurised milk and packaged juices
“There’s no benefit big enough to take away the risk of drinking products that can be made safe by pasteurisation,” he says.
Raw oysters and other raw shellfish
“Oysters are filter feeders, so they pick up everything that’s in the water,” he explains. “If there’s bacteria in the water it’ll get into their system, and if you eat it you could have trouble. I’ve seen a lot more of that over the last five years than I saw in the last 20 years. It’s simply not worth the risk.”
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