Food-poisoning expert reveals 6 things he refuses to eat
The attorney, who's litigating suits against Chipotle after the chain's E. coli and norovirus outbreaks, was cited in an article by Health Insider from Bottom Line, outlining what foods he's cut from his diet.
Having won more than $600 million for clients in foodborne-illness cases, Marler says his experiences convinced him these foods aren't worth the risks.
Here are the foods that scare this expert the most.
1. Raw oysters.
Marler says he has seen more foodborne illnesses linked to shellfish in the past five years than in the two preceding decades. The culprit: warming waters. As globally waters heat up, it produces microbial growth, which ends up in the raw oysters consumers are slurping down.
Reuters/Dominic Ebenbichler
2. Precut or prewashed fruits and veggies.
Marler says he avoids these "like the plague." Convenience may be nice, but, as more people handling and processing the food means more chances for contamination, it isn't worth the risk.
3. Raw sprouts.
Sprout outbreaks are surprisingly common, with more than 30 bacterial outbreaks (primarily salmonella and E. coli) in the past two decades.
"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."
Oleksandr Briagin/Shutterstock
4. Rare meat.
Sorry, chefs: Marler isn't going to order his steaks any rarer than medium-well. According to the expert, meat needs to be cooked to 160 degrees throughout to kill bacteria that could cause E. coli or salmonella.
5. Uncooked eggs.
For anyone who remembers the salmonella epidemic of the 1980s and early '90s, this is a no-brainer. According to Marler, the chance of getting food poisoning from raw eggs is much lower today than it was 20 years ago - but he still isn't taking any chances.
6. Unpasteurized milk and juices.
A growing movement is encouraging people to drink "raw" milk and juices, arguing that pasteurization depletes nutritional value. Marler says pasteurization is not dangerous - but raw beverages can be, as skipping the safety step means an increased risk of contamination by bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
"There's no benefit big enough to take away the risk of drinking products that can be made safe by pasteurization," he says.
- US buys 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Russia's ally costing on average less than $20,000 each, report says
- 2 states where home prices are falling because there are too many houses and not enough buyers
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- BSE shares tank nearly 19% after Sebi directive on regulatory fee
- Nainital bucket list: 9 experiences you can't miss in 2024
- Sanju Samson likely to be India's first-choice wicketkeeper for T20 World Cup
- India Inc marks slowest quarterly revenue growth in January-March 2024: Crisil
- Nothing Phone (2a) India-exclusive Blue Edition launched starting at ₹19,999
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market