--- title: Bill to Boost School Food Safety date: 2000-02-23T01:36:00-08:00 author: admin canonical_url: "https://marlerclark.com/news_events/bill-to-boost-school-food-safety" section: News --- [All News](/news_events) / [Firm News](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/firm-news) / # Bill to Boost School Food Safety OLYMPIA - There is a lot of talk about school safety in the Legislature, but two bills recently passed in the Senate are aimed at protecting students' health. Bills on how schools handle meat and pesticides unanimously passed the Senate but could be up for changes in the House. Bill Marler, a Seattle lawyer who primarily represents children and families in cases of food-borne illness, is pushing a school-lunch measure he hopes will decrease the risk of bacterial poisonings. The bill, introduced by Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, would require the state Board of Health to set minimum food-safety and sanitation standards for school kitchen workers. The bill passed the Senate unanimously. Meat is delivered to many school districts via the National School Lunch Program, created nearly 50 years ago to make sure all public-school students got healthy lunches. The program provided meals for more than 26 million students in 1998. The meat comes from packaging plants around the nation. While that product is usually safe, Marler said bad meat results in thousands of illnesses each year. Although Marler said McAuliffe's bill is a step in the right direction, he would like to see it amended. First, he said the state Superintendent of Public Instruction should be required to negotiate with the National School Lunch Program for only the highest-quality meat. While this may be slightly more expensive, he said the cost would be outweighed by increased safety. Marler is also recommending tougher certification for school kitchen staff and more frequent inspections of school kitchens. Rep. Dave Quall, D-Mount Vernon, co-chairman of the House Education committee, said he hadn't seen Marler's proposed amendments but is willing to take a look at them. "We don't want to be too nonchalant on the food handlers in our schools," Quall said. Also passed unanimously by the Senate and now in the House is a bill that would require schools notify parents and students when any pesticide is to be used on school property. "It's wonderful that both Democrats and Republicans acknowledge that pesticides can hurt kids," said Erika Schreder, staff scientist with the Washington Toxics Coalition. When pesticides are used outside a school, the only notice usually consists of a few small flags. When spraying indoors, no notification is required. Substitute Senate Bill 6479, also introduced by McAuliffe, would require written notice to students, parents and employees at least 48 hours before application. In addition, signs would be posted with the applicator's name and telephone number. The House considered a similar bill earlier this session. However, proponents withdrew their support after proposed amendments would have "gutted" the bill, Schreder said. Schreder said she fears the House Agriculture and Ecology committee may take the same tactic with this bill, which was scheduled to be heard Thursday. Rep. Gary Chandler, R-Moses Lake, co-chairman of the committee, called the bill "an unfunded mandate" and said he thinks this is an issue for local school boards. ### Lawsuit updates about foodborne illnesses [Reactive Arthritis Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=reactive-arthritis&year=all) [E. coli Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=e-coli&year=all) [Guillain-Barre Syndrome Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=guillain-barre-syndrome&year=all) [Salmonella Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=salmonella&year=all) [Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=hemolytic-uremic-syndrome&year=all) [Listeria Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=listeria&year=all) [Irritable Bowel Syndrome Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=irritable-bowel-syndrome&year=all) [Hepatitis A Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=hepatitis-a&year=all) [Norovirus Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=norovirus&year=all) [Botulism Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=botulism&year=all) [Campylobacter Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=campylobacter&year=all) [Shigella Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=shigella&year=all) [Cyclospora Lawsuit Updates](/news_events/case-news?illness=cyclospora&year=all) ### Lawsuits updates by year [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 1998](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=1998) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 1999](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=1999) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2000](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2000) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2001](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2001) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2002](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2002) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2003](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2003) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2004](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2004) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2005](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2005) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2006](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2006) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2007](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2007) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2008](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2008) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2009](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2009) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2010](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2010) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2011](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2011) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2012](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2012) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2013](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2013) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2014](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2014) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2015](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2015) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2016](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2016) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2017](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2017) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2018](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2018) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2019](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2019) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2020](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2020) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2021](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2021) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2022](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2022) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2023](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2023) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2024](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2024) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2025](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2025) [Foodborne Illness Lawsuits in 2026](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/case-news?illness=all&year=2026) ##### Get Help #### Affected by an outbreak or recall? 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