The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has issued its annual Outbreak Alert! report, which claims that “a pound of fish and shellfish is 29 times more likely to cause illness than the safest food category, a pound of dairy foods.” According to CSPI, their database has tracked 1,140 foodborne illness outbreaks linked to fin fish, mollusks, and shrimp and lobsters. The group has attributed “a plurality of seafood outbreaks” to naturally occurring toxins such as scombrotoxin and ciguatoxin, but noted the impact of Vibrio bacteria and noroviruses. “Because foodborne illness is drastically underreported, because much foodborne illness does not occur in outbreaks, and because it is so difficult to prove which food caused an outbreak, CSPI’s data represents [sic] just the tip of the iceberg,” stated the watchdog in a November 25, 2008, press release. See FoodNavigator-USA.com, November 26, 2008.

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For decades, manufacturers, distributors and retailers at every link in the food chain have come to Shook, Hardy & Bacon to partner with a legal team that understands the issues they face in today's evolving food production industry. Shook attorneys work with some of the world's largest food, beverage and agribusiness companies to establish preventative measures, conduct internal audits, develop public relations strategies, and advance tort reform initiatives.

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