Personal Injury Law

Avoid Unnecessary Labeling Claims - Ensure That Cooking Instructions Are Adequate

By Kenneth Odza

Bill Marler funded independent research at the University of Idaho to study the adequacy of cooking instructions found on the packaging on various retail brands of frozen ground beef patties. The research was published this month in Food Protection Trends.

The study found that three of the packages included cooking instructions that 'would be inadequate to produce a safely cooked patty.' Most of the issues raised in the article center on the variability in cooking techniques, e.g., pan frying, using a propane grill, or preheating, and variability in cooking temperatures. Suggested solutions for improved cooking instructions are included in the study.

For food sellers trying to minimize or avoid claims, adequate cooking instructions are a good thing. Even if food-borne illness claims cannot be avoided, the scope of the claims and damages can be limited by providing adequate, "bullet-proof", cooking instructions.

Kudos to Bill Marler for 'putting skin in the game' and funding this study.

Full post as published by Food Liability Law Blog on June 30, 2009 (boomark / email).