ERIC'S ECHO, the E.coli Help Organization was formed to fill a void in the world. ERIC'S ECHO was created to provide the victims and the families of victims one website where they can go to learn everything about E.coli poisoning, as well as the latest advancements in its detection and treatment. There are many good websites on the Internet relating to E.coli, but up until now there has been no single website were people could go to find all the information this one website has to offer. In the world of E.coli, time is of the essence. By providing one well organized website, families of victims are given the information they desperately need quickly and accurately. Sure, with a good search engine people could probably find much of the same information found here, but how long would it take to wade through it all in order to find the important information?
In February 1995 Rainer flew to Washington, DC to host a congressional symposium on E.coli food poisoning, to address the need for an updated food inspection system in addition to meeting with senators, congressmen and their staffs to educate them on the E.coli facts and their tragic consequences. In the audience were members of President Clinton's staff, who reported to the President what they had just seen and heard. Two weeks after returning to his Southern California home, Rainer was asked to return to Washington to meet with the President and also Vice President Al Gore. Over the next 18 months Rainer flew to Washington several more times, as well as other cities, to attend various meetings and symposiums on E.coli O157:H7 and its tragic effects. In January 1996 Rainer was elected the president of STOP. He was also selected to be part of a panel which would create the new regulations for meat processing and inspection. These rules were called Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, or HACCP for short. When these regulations were signed into law by President Clinton in July 1996, Rainer was once again invited to the White House.
In March 1997, Rainer flew with another STOP founding member, Roni Rudolph, to Sacramento, California to address the state assembly health committee to urge them to pass a law requiring minimum meat cooking temperatures. The bill was named the Lauren Beth Rudolph Food Safety Act of 1997 in memory of Roni's six year-old daughter who had died ten months before Eric. The bill passed every phase of its legislative life totally unopposed and was signed into law by Governor Pete Wilson in August 1997, becoming effective January 1, 1998. ERIC'S ECHO is the natural progression of Rainer's work. Eric Mueller wasn't given the opportunity to live a full life, but Rainer has made sure that Eric's life was not in vain. In Eric's memory, Rainer continues to do what he can to aid other victims and their families.
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ERIC'S
ECHO was started by Rainer Mueller in 1998. Rainer's son
Eric died in November 1993 after eating an E.coli
contaminated hamburger. In March 1994, he joined STOP,
Safe Tables Our Priority, and organization he found on
the Internet while doing research into the death of his
son. The people at STOP were so impressed with his
knowledge and ability to find the facts that he was asked
to join there board of directors in August 1994.
In
1996 Rainer's home office was the headquarters for STOP
and its hotline, where he answered thousands of questions
from callers. He also directed victims and their families
where to find educational, medical, and legal information
regarding for E.coli poisoning. Armed with this knowledge
he was able to accurately track these food poisoning
cases and outbreaks.