Bill Marler is a prominent food safety lawyer in the United States who has worked for over 20 years of his life studying cases and representing victims of major food outbreaks. The attorney, who is currently working on the case against Chipotle after its E. coli and norovirus outbreaks, details the kinds of food he will never eat.
Having won several foodborne-illness cases worth over $600 million, Marler is convinced that these foods are not worth the associated risks, as cited in a Health Insider article. Here are the things that he will never eat.
1. Raw oysters and other kinds of raw shellfish
Marler says that foodborne-illness cases have increased in number that in the last two decades. The reason? Warming waters. When globally waters heat up, it produces more microbial growth, which eventually ends up in oysters, as they are filter feeders. "If there's bacteria in the water, it'll get into their system, and if you eat it you could have trouble," he explains.
2. Raw sprouts
Outbreaks involving raw sprouts have been surprisingly common, having more than 30 outbreaks in the U.S. since the mid-1990s. Sprouts such as clover, radish, alfalfa and mung bean sprouts, whose seeds are contaminated by bacteria, can easily spread infection.
3. Precut or prewashed fruits and vegetables
Marler shares that he avoids precut and prewashed fruits and vegetables "like the plague." The more a food is touched, the more it is likely to get contaminated. It is understandable that people have become used to the ease of buying prepackaged salads and precut vegetables, however, he thinks that they aren't worth the risk. He chooses to buy uncut and unwashed vegetables and makes sure to consume them within the next few days to decrease the risk of listeria--a bug that thrives at refrigerator temperatures.
4. Rare meat
Though chefs usually suggest eating meat, including steak, medium rare, Marler says he wouldn't eat steaks rarer than medium well. Business Insider reports that according to the lawyer, meat has to be cooked to 160 degrees to thoroughly kill the bacteria that could potentially cause salmonella or E.coli.
5. Raw eggs
The salmonella outbreak which begun in the 1980s and lasted till the early 90s was associated with eggs, which is why there is no need to wonder why undercooked eggs are included in the food safety expert's list. Though the risk of getting food poisoning is much lower today than it was before, Marler says he would rather eat his eggs well cooked.
6. Unpasteurized milk and juices
"There's no benefit big enough to take away the risk of drinking products that can be made safe by pasteurization," Marler says. Raw milk and juices can be easily contaminated with viruses, bacteria and parasites. In fact, one of his earliest cases was the 1996 E. coli outbreak associated with unpasteurized apple juice. Thus the reason why he would never consume raw milk or juice.
There is one thing, however, that he is willing to eat raw--sushi. According to him, only a few disease outbreaks have been caused by sushi, which is usually handled properly from the source to the chef.
Of course, he warns people about buying sushi from grocery stores. "If you're going to eat sushi, spend the money and eat at a good sushi restaurant," he says.
