We lost another Food Safety Hero – Ron Austin (Rudolph)

I just learned of the death of someone who was a hero and a friend, Roni Austin (Rudolph). She will be missed. Thanks to Wiki for a great summary of her heroic work.

Roni and Dick did not find out about the cause of Lauren’s death until late January when an article about the Jack in the box E. coli breakout (where Lauren was noted as a victim) was in the paper.^[1] Roni contacted her attorney, Rick Waite and provided Dick’s receipt from Jack in the Box from when he took Lauren out to eat as evidence.^[1] Roni sued Jack in the Box, winning a confidential settlement and cofounded Safe Tables Our Priority (S.T.O.P.) in 1994, a nonprofit advocacy group (rebranded to Stop Foodborne Illness in 2011).^[7][8] STOP’s advocacy has been at the forefront of food safety achievements such as the FDA requiring consumer health warning labels on unpasteurized juices in 1977 and the Lauren Beth Rudolph Safety act of 1977.^[8]

The Lauren Beth Rudolph Food Safety Act of 1997 (California Health and Safety Code 113996),^[9]introduced by Howard Kaloogian, made it illegal for undercooked animal-product food to be served in California.^[10] The act set minimum doneness temperatures for meat and eggs (ground meat at 157 degrees Fahrenheit, eggs and pork at 145 degrees Fahrenheit, fish and lamb at 140 degrees Fahrenheit, poultry or stuffed foods and reheated leftovers at 165 degrees Fahrenheit).^[9] It also sets the maximum holding temperature for a period over thirty minutes to 45 degrees Fahrenheit or lower for potentially hazardous foods.^[9] Roni believes that if this act was in place before Lauren had eaten her hamburger from Jack in the Box, she would still be alive today.^[8] Public knowledge about food safety and contamination by STECs and other pathogens will benefit society and allow for more regulation on the production, preparation, and storage of food to prevent the spreading of harmful E.coli.^[5]

1. Benedict, Jeff (2011). Poisoned: The True Story of the Deadly e. Coli Outbreak That Changed the Way Americans Eat. New York City: AvidReadersPress. ISBN 978-1-9821-9017-0.
2. Wilkens, John (2011-08-21). “Mother’s mission: Making food safe”. San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
3. Clark, Marler (2012-12-24). “20 Years Later – Remembering the First E. coli Victim”. Food Poison Journal. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
4. Bhandari, Jenish; Rout, Preeti; Sedhai, Yub Raj (2024), “Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome”, StatPearls, Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing, PMID 32310498, retrieved 2024-04-16
5. Ameer, Muhammad Atif; Wasey, Abdul; Salen, Philip (2024), “Escherichia coli (e Coli 0157 H7)”, StatPearls, Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing, PMID 29939622, retrieved 2024-04-16
6. “‘Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food’: Everything You Need to Know”. Netflix Tudum. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
7.  “Foodborne Illness – Causes, Symptoms and Prevention | STOP”. Stop Foodborne Illness. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
8.  “Stop Foodborne Illness Organization | STOP”. Stop Foodborne Illness. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
9. “CDPH Home”. www.cdph.ca.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
10. “Temperatures Rising Over Over Nuances in Safety Law”. Los Angeles Times. 1998-02-18. Retrieved 2024-04-16.

Republished with permission from Bill Marler and Marler Clark. Copyright (c) Marler Clark LLP, PS. All rights reserved.