The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), Consumer Reports, Stop Foodborne Illness, and other food safety advocates have announced their support of a proposal by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) to declare Salmonella an adulterant in breaded, stuffed, not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) chicken products.

This article looks back at the events of the 1993 E. coli outbreak associated with hamburgers served at Jack in the Box restaurants along the U.S. West Coast, examining the regulatory changes inspired by the fatal outbreak and its impact. Also discussed are the corporate and industry changes, spearheaded by Dr. David Theno, that set new standards for leadership and management in foodservice and food safety. 

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with prominent foodborne illness attorney Bill Marler about the deadly 1993 E. coli outbreak in ground beef served by Jack in the Box restaurants along the U.S. West Coast. Marler defended Brianne Kiner, the most seriously injured survivor of the outbreak, as well as hundreds of other victims in a class-action lawsuit. The story of this outbreak—which led to regulatory changes by USDA to declare E. coli an illegal adulterant in ground beef—and its ensuing legal and industry battles, is told in the book Poisoned by author Jeff Benedict. As the central figure in Benedict's book, Marler tells his story of the 1993 outbreak, as well as his outlook on the future of food safety legislation in the U.S.