Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food

Post date: May 29, 2025

By Belle Placa

Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food is a Netflix documentary revealing the deadly foodborne illnesses in the United States. Through interviews with food experts and victim’s families, the audience gets exposed to the deadly aftereffects of most American’s diets. 

The documentary opens with the beginning of lawyer Bill Marler’s journey into representing foodborne illness victims. Through the ‘Jack In the Box’ case the audience gets to see the full effects of E. Coli 0157 in children at the time. This sets the tone for the documentary, that is both educational and informative but also extremely disheartening. 

Throughout the documentary, people from all different backgrounds are interviewed. From ‘Perdue’ CEO’s to the victim's family’s, the production team does a great job getting information from all different perspectives. 

However, I wish the documentary touched more upon the science behind foodborne illness. They briefly touch upon how plants are contaminated and spread but not a fully deep drive into science. 

Overall, the documentary was informative, concise, clear and brought light to the many effects of foodborne illness. I would recommend this documentary to anyone looking to find the truth about their food products.