tly, cross-contamination protection and
an emphasis on the control of potentially hazardous foods. It was then that I
became fascinated with the concept of
using both time and temperature as a
means of preventing foodborne illnesses
in the retail trade. Unfortunately, the ’76
code did not include Hazard Analysis
and Critical Control Points (although it
certainly was around at that time) or
specifics on contamination control. For
these, we had to wait until the 1995
Food Code was issued. As a result, much
of our enforcement activities were based
on what the legal profession cobbled together in the form of case law and lawsuits filed in response to a spate of
foodborne illness outbreaks. Seeking redress through the courts was far more expeditious than going through regular
governmental channels when it came
down to actual food safety.
In about 1980 when I was fairly fresh
out of graduate school, I had my first ex-
perience as plaintiff’s expert witness in a
case involving foodborne intoxication.
The defendant’s counsel was a seasoned
criminal trial lawyer, and I learned, per-
haps the hard way, the importance of
knowing the art and science of my pro-
fession and using my knowledge, skills
and attributes to the best of my ability. I
can distinctly remember being asked by
the opposing counsel whether I had writ-
ten anything for which I professed ex-
pertise. At the time I hadn’t, and the rest
of that session was a battle of wits be-
tween attorneys as to whether or not I
was qualified to render the opinions I
had put in my report regarding my find-
ings in the case. Although our side pre-
vailed, it was about as uncomfortable as
sitting on a fire ant hill. This scenario
was not so much about my credentials,
but rather it had more to do with the
lack of information available to both the
retail food industry and legal commu-
nity when dealing with the aftermath of
an unintentional incident as well as de-
veloping a prevention model so that it
would not happen again. However ad-
verse this situation was, it served as a
wakeup call. So, for the past three
decades, I have doggedly written about
environmental health and safety issues
and conditions in institutions and retail
food establishments that are not found
in text books, journals or in the popular
press. I’ve always made it a point to ad-
dress something that I had recently en-
countered in plying my profession, or
what I saw as the next new idea in con-
trolling risk. Needless to say, it’s been
quite rewarding.
A Fond Farewell
So, I gently bow out of another era,
one in which we’ve witnessed significant
changes in attitudes, policies and practices. We’ve seen significant initiatives in
consumer protection, and we have
begun to question the whole issue of
“farm to fork” and sustainability. This
will be our future. In thinking ahead, I
realize that our science has barely
scratched the surface in working with
food safety, including embracing the
Green movement. There is so much left
to do, so many things to find out about
food safety strategies and so many ways
to discover how to control risks in new
cost-effective and cost-efficient ways.
Hopefully, we will all seize the opportunities in this field and run with them.
We’re bound only by the limits of our
imaginations.
Finally, I want to thank all my readers
for their support and particularly those
who provided feedback…good, bad and
indifferent…about my work. I sincerely
appreciated every comment, recommendation and suggestion. I’ve enjoyed exchanging ideas, and most importantly,
I’ve learned so very much from all of
you. I would like to think that we’ve all
made a difference for the better.
With warmest regards,
Bob Powitz, Sanitarian n
Forensic sanitarian Robert W. Powitz,
Ph.D., MPH, RS, CFSP, is principal consultant and technical director of Old Say-brook, CT-based R. W. Powitz &
Associates, a professional corporation of
forensic sanitarians who specialize in environmental and public health litigation support services to law firms, insurance
companies, governmental agencies and
industry. Dr. Powitz can be reached at
Powitz@sanitarian.com or through his
Web site at www.sanitarian.com.
