美国专栏作家：如果我有食品安全的魔法棒

 
食品伙伴网消息：之前我们曾导读过美国从事食源性疾病诉讼律师Colin Caywood的博客，收到的反响还不错。这次我们又将导读Colin Caywood老板Bill Marler的一篇博文。

    作者介绍：比尔马勒  Bill Marler   （Marler Clark LLP）
   华盛顿 西雅图—http://www.marlerblog.com—@billmarler—bmarler@marlerclark.com

    他是一名资深的人身伤害律师，也是一名美国食源性疾病诉讼专家。他于1993年起开始代表食源性疾病的受害者进行诉讼，当时他代表的是Brianne Kiner（Jack in the Box 大肠杆菌 O157:H7爆发事件中的最严重的受害者） ，此项诉讼以具有里程碑意义的受害者获赔1560万美元的结果而告终。从那时起，比尔和他在马勒克拉克律师事务所的合作伙伴们代表了成千上万的个人向生产了被污染的产品并造成严重伤害甚至死亡的食品企业提起诉讼及索赔。他对更好的进行食品监管的主张受邀在与食品安全相关的当地、国家及国际会议上进行宣讲。1998年，比尔和他的律师伙伴成立了非盈利的公司，通过该公司，他用了很多年进行与是源性疾病相关的演讲。比尔的个人博客，Marler Blog，每年有100多万来自世界各地的读者。


正文导读：
    那天早晨，我在一家有线电视频道录制关于鸡蛋沙门氏菌爆发的相关节目时，一名年轻的制片人问我：马勒律师，如果你有魔法棒，你会怎么做来使食品更加安全？

    我的第一反应（对自己说）是：这个我怎么知道？我只是不断忙于善后着那些无关紧要的事情，试图摧毁那些仅仅毒害了一些消费者的可怜无助的食品制造公司，我造成了低价零售连锁店的数亿美元的召回成本，也损害了整个行业的形象和销售情况。

    但后来我继续深入的想了一下，我想到我花了18年的时间在拆除那些无助的公司以确保他们为我的那些失业、伤残的甚至失去生命的的客户提供医疗费用。而我的客户只做了一件大家都在做的事情--每天吃三顿饭，他们吃的食物造成了他们今天所承受的伤害。我想到在加护病房亲眼目睹过医生冷冰冰地向向一位已经脑死亡孩子的父母解释需要肾透析或者就此结束生命时，这对父母眼中的恐慌。我想到我的因食品安全问题导致脑外伤的客户为康复做着英勇的斗争，努力学会刷牙梳头，或者希望再一次的学会走路。我认为，这些家庭之所以恐惧，是因为他们不知如何应付未来，以及没有钱来为这不幸的现实买单。

    我想说：给我那个该死的魔法棒！

首先，我会增加毒害消费者的奸商的刑事制裁。
第二，我将在财政上激励食品制造商和零售商生产和销售更安全的食品。
第三，我会鼓励食品安全的透明度。
第四，我将确保我们的食品法规足够灵活，适用于所有的相关企业--大的小的、国内的国外的。
第五，赋予地方、州和联邦的检察员们足够的人力物力，以确保食品监管法规被公平公正自始至终的贯彻执行。
第六，我将把公共卫生提升到其应有的高度。

   。。。哎呀，我举着魔法棒的胳膊都累了，我知道我漏掉了一些东西，也过分强调了一些别人不会在乎的东西，但我现在感到很累，而且还有一些事情等着我去善后处理。

原文报道：Publisher's Platform: Magic Wand
BY BILL MARLER | AUG 30, 2010

What if I had a food safety magic wand?

The other morning when I was prepping in another studio to talk with another cable channel about yet another food crisis--this time the recall of a half of a billion Salmonella-tainted eggs that had already sickened at least 1,400--I was asked by a young producer, "Attorney Marler, if you had a magic wand, what would you do to make food safer?"

My first thought (to myself) was, "How the hell do I know, I'm just an ambulance chasing barracuda looking to destroy some poor helpless food manufacturing corporation that just poisoned a bunch of people, cost retail chains hundreds of millions of dollars in recall costs, and damaged its entire sector's image and sales?"

But then I thought some more. I thought about my nearly eighteen years spent dismantling those helpless corporations to secure medical expenses and lost wages for clients whose lives were destroyed, or ended, because they did something we all do about three times a day: they ate food. I thought about the ICU's I had been in and witnessed the panic in a parent's eye as a doctor coldly explained the need for kidney dialysis, or the reasons to stop life support because their child's brain had stopped functioning. I thought about the heroic struggles in rehab as a brain-injured client learned to brush her hair and teeth, or learn to walk again as the family looked hopefully on. I thought about the fear that these families have as they wonder how they will cope with a disabled future without the resources to pay for it.

And, then I thought, "Give me the damn wand!"

First, I would increase criminal sanctions for poisoning your customers. If a CEO of a food manufacturer takes unreasonable risks with the public's health, and people get severely sick or die, that CEO should spend time in jail. For goodness sake, we make kids do hard time for smoking dope, yet we do nothing to a CEO who sickens several hundred and kills nine by knowingly shipping Salmonella-tainted peanut butter (Yes, Mr. Parnell, I am thinking of you).

Second, I would financially-incentivize food manufacturers and retailers to produce and buy safer food. I would give them tax breaks for food safety interventions that have been proven to make our food both safer and healthier.

Third, I would encourage transparency in food safety; consumers need to know who produces and sells the safest and healthiest food, not just who produces and sells the cheapest food. Quality needs to replace quantity in the American diet.

Fourth, I would assure that our food regulations were even and flexible for all players--small and large, foreign and domestic. Safety would be paramount, but innovation--especially, those focused on energy consumption, environmental concerns and sustainability--must be encouraged.

Fifth, give local, state and federal inspectors the resources to enforce the regulations fairly and as frequently as necessary to assure compliance. Make all inspections - especially product tests - transparent. Manufacturers and retailers need to work in virtual glass houses. Food production and food safety needs to be seen by all.

Sixth, I would elevate public health to the height it deserves. We need to encourage cooperation between all levels of public health in charge of educating the public on safe food handling. We also need to encourage coordination to those charged with surveillance of foodborne and bioterrorism events. We need to stop outbreaks earlier and prevent the spread of disease.

Damn, my wand arm is tired. I know I missed some things and likely emphasized ideas that others would not, but I am tired now and still have an ambulance to chase.

原文地址：http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/08/publishers-platform-magic-wand/

日期：2010-09-01