By Fred Pritzker

Twelve months ago, Faye Bryant had just turned 60 and was about to begin her retirement. She was healthy, strong and was looking forward to spending more time with her grandchildren and working in her large garden.

Faye and her husband, John, live in the small town of Moultrie, Georgia. They often ate at a local restaurant, the Barbeque Pit. Unbeknownst to them, the Barbeque Pit sold beef products produced by Nebraska Beef, Ltd. The beef was adulterated with E. coli O157:H7. On the day Faye was about to begin her retirement, she developed symptoms of E. coli O157:H7 poisoning. Her illness nearly killed her.

In the year since Faye was sickened, thousands of other Americans have become victims of foodborne illness. Many, like her, owe their illnesses to companies that repeatedly violate food safety regulations or ignore them altogether. For example, our firm is involved in the nationwide Salmonella outbreak caused by Peanut Corporation of America. In that case, the processor knowingly distributed and sold peanut products that tested positive for Salmonella. Three of our client families lost loved ones in that outbreak.

Another Salmonella outbreak, involving pistachio nuts produced at the Setton Pistachio plant in Terra Bella, Calif., includes allegations that the company knowingly shipped pistachios that were potentially contaminated with salmonella (although the company is on record as denying that claim). Nebraska Beef, the producer of the product that sickened Faye Bryant, has been implicated in previous E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks.

As a result of these outbreaks and others, it appears there will finally be some long overdue changes to our food safety laws. As needed as they are, all the laws and regulations will not prevent greedy or incompetent companies (or both) from selling adulterated food. Sadly, the only thing available to foodborne illness survivors that really causes companies to change (or go out of business) is forcing them to pay for the harms and losses they cause people like Faye Bryant.

This is one anniversary that people like Faye Bryant will not be celebrating.