Food Poisoning on Trial
(A Play for Youth)
A mock trial in which you may recognize some friends of yours--and some
enemies, too.
DIRECTIONS: Make a list of violations of food safety rules found in the final
script. After the class reaches a verdict, develop the ending of the script
for the trial. Determine who is responsible for this case of foodborne
illness. Discuss what the correct behavior would have been in each instance.
Cast of characters:
BARBIE CUE, the defendant STANLEY "STUB" BORNE, prosecuting attorney
LENA LOTT, the plaintiff IVAN OBJECTION, defense attorney
"SKIP" A. STEPPE, witness MRS. MEANSWELL, teacher, witness
IWANDA PLEASE, witness JUDGE
MEMBERS OF THE JURY
As we enter the courtroom, we hear the prosecuting attorney's opening remarks:
STUB: (with flair) Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, we intend to prove that
Barbie Cue did willfully and openly give a party that made the entire class
ill. That on the date in question, this same Barbie Cue did serve food that
caused her guests severe pain and discomfort. I call my first witness, Lena
Lott. Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but......
LENA: You bet I'll tell the truth!
STUB: Miss Lott, on the day in question, did you attend a party at the home
of Miss Cue?
LENA: I sure did. (aside to the jury) I attend every party.
STUB: Just answer the questions, Miss Lott. Now tell the court in your own
words exactly what happened at that party.
LENA: I always remember everything exactly! Well, as I recall, Barbie
offered her house for the class party. She said she would provide all of the
meat (hamburgers and hot dogs, mind you) if we, the committee would bring
everything else. I should have gotten the meat myself! I should have known
she'd serve dogfood-burgers. She's so cheap!
IVAN: I object! Witness is prejudicing the jury.
JUDGE: Sustained. Jury will disregard that last remark. Miss Lott, we'll
have no more of that kind of outburst. Just give the facts.
LENA: That was a fact! Well, anyway, I made the potato salad the night
before the party. My salad is famous! I put globs of mayonnaise in it and I
put lots of hard cooked eggs in it, and I made this really neat design on the
top with sliced eggs and parsley. A work of art!
IVAN: Objection!
JUDGE: Sustained. Just get to the point, Miss Lott.
LENA: That is the point! My salad is so good, it couldn't have made anyone
sick. I left it out on the counter all night so that I wouldn't forget it.
My cat tried to eat some, but after I fixed it, nobody could even tell where
she put her little foot. All I know is that the day after the party, everyone
was ready to make out their wills. That's how sick her dogfood-burgers made
us. Ask Iwanda, if you don't believe me.
STUB: Thank you, Miss Lott; you may step down. I call Miss Iwanda, please.
IWANDA: I wanted to do something nice for the party. Lena told me that I
could make some fancy hor'd'oeuvres, so I rolled slices of rare roast beef
around cream cheese and made some deviled eggs. I left them out on the table
on the patio so that Skip A. Steppe could just pick them up on his way to
Barbie's house. That's all I remember. Maybe Skip remembers something.
STUB: I call Skip A. Steppe as my next witness.
SKIP: I don't know what happened. All I know is I was so sick, I thought,
"This is it, Skip, old boy, and you are so young."
IVAN: Objection.
JUDGE: Sustained. Just tell us what you remember, Mr. Steppe.
SKIP: Sure, Judge, sure. As Iwanda said, I picked up the stuff by noon and
put it into the trunk of my car. Then I went to my softball game. After the
game, I went to the party. The next day, Mrs. Meanswell, our teacher, called
and told my mother that the whole class had food poisoning and that Lena has
accused Barbie of trying to murder the whole class.
STUB: Mrs. Meanswell, will you please take the stand?
MRS. M: I feel really sorry about what happened, but it's not right to place
the blame on poor Barbie until we know exactly what happened.
STUB: Exactly what did happen?
MRS. M: Oh! I don't know. By the time I got to the party, all the eating
was over. I just helped myself to the leftovers. I like cold hamburgers and
the salad was almost gone so I just finished up the deviled eggs. Then I got
sick, but it's not right to blame poor Barbie until we know.
STUB: I have no further witnesses, Your Honor. I call Miss Barbie Cue.
BARBIE: This is the most embarrassing thing! (sniff)
IVAN: Just tell us what happened, Miss Cue.
BARBIE: Nothing happened. I bought the meat - hamburgers and hot dogs and
kept it in the refrigerator until the second we cooked it. I even had it in a
plastic container with a lid. As soon as the meat was cooked, I put it back
into the same container and served it. That's all that happened. And now
this!
IVAN: Now, now, Miss Cue. I'm sure the jury will see that you've been a
victim. I have no further questions, Your Honor.
JUDGE: (Addressing the jury) I ask you to take all of the facts into
consideration and to render a verdict. Who is responsible?
FOOD POISONING ON TRIAL ANSWERS
CHARACTER VIOLATION HOW TO DO IT RIGHT!
LENA Left potato salad on counter Refrigerate potato salad
overnight. Served food after immediately. Cover food to
it was contaminated by an to prevent contamination by
animal. animals.
IWANDA Left hors'd'oeuvres containing Refrigerate hors'd'oeuvres
meat and eggs unrefrigerated immediately after being
for more than two hours. prepared. Leave a note for
. Skip indicating location of
hors'd'oeuvres or make
other arrangements for pick
up.
SKIP Leaving food containing meat Deliver the food first,
and eggs in car trunk for over then attend activity.
two hours.
MRS. M. Eating meat and egg leftovers Eating only properly
which had been unrefrigerated refrigerated food.
and held in the danger zone
for more than two hours.
BARBIE Placing cooked food into Place cooked food in
unwashed container. thoroughly cleaned
container.
** Barbie did have some food safety smarts because she put the meat into the
refrigerator and kept it covered.
Lena, Iwanda, Skip, Mrs. Meanswell and Barbie all were partly responsible for
the food poisoning.
SOURCE: NUTRITION SUPER STARS, Developed by the Arizona Department of
Education, 1982, Ed 229 375, pages 13-15.
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Updated 8/15/05