United Kingdom ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH EXPERT OF THE YEAR WHY USE DR BELINDA STUART-MOONLIGHT AS AN EXPERT WITNESS? Belinda Stuart-Moonlight Moonlight Environmental Ltd ABOUT BELINDA Dr Belinda Stuart-Moonlight is one of the foremost food safety and infectious intestinal disease experts in the UK. She possesses excellent academic credentials, including a PhD (King’s College, London) and three fellowships (CIEH, RSPH and IFST). She is a member of the Academy of Experts and works in the civil and criminal arenas, retaining an approximate 50:50 balance between prosecution/claim and defence work. She has given evidence in Magistrates, Crown, Appeal and High Courts, and at inquests. Key areas of work include food safety, hygiene, poisoning, contamination, allergen control, risks from pests, gastric illness (travel litigation), large Norovirus outbreaks, Campylobacter, Clostridium, Cryptosporidium, E coli, Listeria, Salmonella, Shigella, foodborne viruses and protozoa. Belinda is regularly instructed to examine, and present opinion on, the risk of harm in high profile food and environmental cases, such as Environment Agency v Southern Water (2021, £90m fine) and the inquest of Celia Marsh (2022, milk allergy). Notable cases include fatal poisonings, injuries and fatalities associated with allergen contamination of food, and significant infectious disease outbreaks associated with food, workplaces and environmental vectors. ‘Belinda Stuart-Moonlight is an outstanding expert witness. She recently prepared a detailed and comprehensive report in the first ever health and safety norovirus prosecution. The report was so compelling in its research and conclusions that the local authority abandoned its prosecution. I have called Belinda to give evidence and she is thorough, objective and highly persuasive. I recommend her highly.’ John Cooper KC, Crown Office Chambers, London ‘.. attention to detail, logic and structure infuse her reports, which are utterly thorough yet accessible for instructing solicitors, counsel and clients alike… She can effectively dismantle weak prosecution cases that appear prima facae strong. She does however remain objective and clearly very mindful of her duty to the Court in cases in which she appears.’ David Young, formerly Eversheds Sutherland LLP • She continues to conduct consultancy, auditing and training, thus ensuring expert witness work is informed by current practice • Holds CUBS (Cardiff University) qualifications in criminal and civil expert witness work • Worked in the field for over 30 years and as an expert witness for approximately 20 years • Worked on landmark and high-profile cases • Considerable experience as a regulator (EHO enforcer for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) • PhD examined pathogen survival in food businesses and consequent risks • She provides expert technical advice to the FSA and FSS, and leading industry bodies including CIEH and ABTA • She quickly establishes excellent working relationships in complex cases involving a multi-disciplinary expert team • Customer care is paramount; she is sensitive to the needs of instructing solicitors and always delivers reports to agreed deadlines 41
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