Kathy Dopp of Safe Tables Our Priority (S.T.O.P.) advocates for a stronger federal food safety bill in hometown newspaper, the Battlecreek Enquirer. In doing so, she tells the story of her daughter’s illness after contracting Hepatitis A from Mexican strawberries a decade ago.  Here’s part of that story:

Like most 8-year-olds, my daughter, Hallie, looked forward to Valentine’s Day treats and happily ate strawberry shortcake as part of the festivities in 1997. We had no idea that the frozen strawberries used in the cake – Mexico-grown and fraudulently labeled as having been grown in the United States so they could be sold to schools – would land her in the hospital.

 

A few days later, she was in so much pain she couldn’t stop crying as she struggled to keep food down and battle an extremely high fever. When I arrived at the emergency room with Hallie, teachers and other children from school were there with similar symptoms. She was quickly diagnosed with Hepatitis A, but it took several days until a health department investigation found that the strawberries were to blame for her illness and that of 260 other residents of our small Michigan town.

Hallie left the hospital after a week, but the problems didn’t end there. She missed school and had to give up soccer and dance. And she faced social stigma when parents wouldn’t allow their children to play with her out of fear that she would spread the disease. Her medication caused her to gain weight and she tired so easily that she was unable to play outside with her brother or friends. In many ways, Hallie was robbed of her childhood. She is 20 now, but still copes with a weakened immune system and the emotional effects of what happened.

S.T.O.P. is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing illness and death from foodborne pathogens.  Dopp shares her opinion in the Battle Creek Enquirer.