Law & Order (TV Series)

Slaughter (2002)

Elisabeth Röhm: ADA Serena Southerlyn

Quotes 

• A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn : [after reading off a list of people who died because of the infected meat]  Jack, these are all children.

• A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn : The USDA thinks half of Elite's livestock was infected with E. coli, but says they couldn't do anything about it.

  Nora Lewin : Half?

  A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn : They were improperly gutting one out of every five cows. So, ground up, one cow can contaminate 32,000 meat patties.

  Nora Lewin : Well why didn't the USDA or the CDC demand a recall?

  A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn : Well the USDA doesn't have the authority, and the CDC only finds out if the companies tell them or if the problem is widespread.

  Nora Lewin : Makes you wonder *why* we even have a USDA.

• A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn : List of affected customers: Beth Lawrence, age five, Emily Miller, age four, Michael Foranda, age three, Lisa Santos, age three, Benjamin Davies, age four... Jack, the plaintiff's claim was for wrongful death. These children are all dead.

• Dan Andrews : What do you know about E. coli? It's a bacteria that can cause serious infections. Sometimes it infects the cow's gut. If the gut is then handled improperly, there's a potential for a pretty dangerous contamination.

  A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn : Is that what was happening at Elite?

  Dan Andrews : If the gutting's done properly, the spill rate is less than half a percent. We put Elite's at 20%. But there wasn't anything we could do about it at the time.

  A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn : What do you mean? You're the USDA.

  Dan Andrews : At most we can pull our inspectors and seals of approval if we think a plant is contaminating meat.

  A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn : You can't just shut down the plant?

  Dan Andrews : We've tried shutting plants down, but the courts keep ruling against us.

  A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn : Who informs the public?

  Dan Andrews : It's not that simple. Our response depends on the severity of the problem. We can't sound the alarm for every case of food poisoning.

• A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn : Why wouldn't the plaintiffs blow the whistle? I mean why would somebody whose child got sick keep quiet?

  Jack McCoy : As a negotiating tactic. The parents sue for compensation, not publicity, but the threat gives them leverage.

  A.D.A. Serena Southerlyn : Once they settled, the confidentiality agreement makes sure everything got swept under the rug.