Foodborne pathogens kill around 3,000 people in the U.S. every year and hospitalize hundreds of thousands more. Romaine lettuce, cantaloupe, sprouts . . . all have been at the center of outbreaks which have become alarmingly frequent in recent years. Their solutions are simple, but protections are scattershot, with little bureaucratic will to enforce them. And yet, our politicians keep saying that “the U.S. food supply is the safest in the world. 

Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food is a documentary that holds the public and private influences behind these decisions to account, beginning with the Jack In the Box E. Coli outbreak of 1992-1993 and continuing to the present day. Director Stephanie Soechtig provides tips on what to avoid at the supermarket, demystifies the tangle of regulations that govern what we eat, and tells the stories of families who have lost loved ones to foodborne illness. This is a film that will make you think about what’s on your plate and how it got there in eye-opening new ways.

Stephanie Soechtig