16 Nov 2022 Notorious American food poisoning outbreak – a new Netflix documentary
Food safety is being turned into some entertainment and enlightenment on Netflix with the January 2023 release of Poisoned, a documentary account of one of America’s worst mass food poisonings.
The 2013 bestseller “Poisoned” by Jeff Benedict is being made into a Netflix documentary and a new edition of the book will accompany the release of the film.
The 2011 book, “Poisoned: The True Story of the Deadly E. coli Outbreak that Changed the Way Americans Eat,” chronicles a deadly 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak and the rise of Bill Marler as a food safety attorney. The new edition can be pre-ordered now.
The documentary is being executive produced by Benedict, an award-winning author and journalist. Benedict has joined forces with Ross Dinerstein’s Campfire — know for Jiro Dreams of Sushi and HBO Max’s Heaven’s Gate — as well as filmmaker Stephanie Soechtig and her banner Atlas Films — Fed Up; The Devil We Know — for the documentary, which carries the same name as the book.
The documentary will chronicle the evolution and history of America’s food supply system, as well as the untold stories from the victims of notorious outbreaks and spotlighting high-profile criminal prosecutions for those responsible.
“Poisoned” goes directly to the source, following the distribution trail from start to finish, examining where the process breaks down, as well as the bureaucratic red tape and collusion among lobbyists and lawmakers that worked against addressing this life-or-death problem.
The documentary makers are promoting the project as an all-encompassing, infuriating, and at times even humourous roller-coaster ride that seeks to ask the question: “How did we get to a place with 15 government agencies in charge of the country’s food, yet none of them can keep its citizens safe?”
“Turning this story into a film has been a writer’s dream. Grateful to Bill and Julie Marler for trusting me with their odyssey (I didn’t expect to find a love story when I set out to write about a food borne illness outbreak),” Benedict says about the documentary and new edition.
“Fortunate that Simon & Schuster and AvidReader Press keep me around. Lucky to have worked with Ross Dinerstein and his great filmmaking team at Campfire Studios.”
Something to diarise for all involved in food safety!
Source: Marler Clark