How E. coli Became a Household Word: "Poisoned", a Book Review

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from Civil Eats:




How E. coli Became a Household Word: Poisoned, a Book Review
May 11th, 2011 By Michele Simon


For most of us working in food policy, it’s hard to remember a time when food outbreaks of bugs like E. coli didn’t happen pretty much weekly. But reading the new book Poisoned by Jeff Benedict made me realize that bacteria-contaminated hamburgers are a relatively recent phenomenon; a striking reminder of how our food system has gone very, very wrong.

Given that the Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak happened back in 1993, it seems odd that no one has written a book about it before. But it’s just as well, because Benedict’s style is tailor made to the task. His detailed and heart-wrenching story-telling makes the 18-year wait well worthwhile.

Each chapter tells the tale from the varying perspectives of several key players: From the parents of the victims, to the corporate executives, to the lawyers on both sides of the inevitable spate of lawsuits. But instead of relying on the past tense to tell their respective stories, Benedict chooses a novel-like style, with events unfolding in “real time.”

Within just a few pages, the reader is swiftly taken from the bedside of nine-year-old Brianne Kiner suffering from a bacteria-induced coma, to the office of Jack in the Box CEO Robert Nugent, wondering if the company would survive this PR disaster, to the laboratory of Dr. John Kobayashi, epidemiologist in the Washington State Health Department, where test results confirmed the source of the deadly contamination and how he decides to go public to prevent more victims. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://civileats.com/2011/05/11/how-e-coli-became-a-household-word-poisoned-a-book-review/