AAJ Report Decries Food Industry, Promotes Civil Justice System as “Mechanism for Deterring Negligent Behavior”

“American consumers expect and deserve safe food. Yet, time and again, food producers have cut corners on food safety knowing full well that tainted products cause serious illness or even death,” asserted American Association for Justice (AAJ) President Larry Tawwater in issuing a report condemning industry for allegedly prioritizing profits over people.

The report contends that consumer lawsuits have become the most effective “mechanism for deterring negligent behavior and rooting out systemic problems in the food chain” absent adequate food-safety practices by food companies and appropriate monitoring by regulators. Among other things, AAJ calls on Congress to declare multidrug-resistant Salmonella an official adulterant and to enact legislation creating a single food safety agency. AAJ was formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA). See AAJ News Release, September 2, 2015.

Issue 577