Dr Belinda Stuart-Moonlight

Dr Belinda Stuart-Moonlight is one of the UK’s foremost food safety and infectious disease experts, providing independent, award-winning expert witness services since 2001. Her unique regulatory background, coupled with ongoing consultancy, auditing and training, means she is well-placed to give informed and balanced opinions in both civil and criminal arenas.

Areas of expertise

Why choose Dr Belinda Stuart-Moonlight as your Expert Witness?

• Has worked on landmark and significant cases and inquests, including food fraud, foodborne illness outbreaks, several fatal food allergy reaction cases and sewage impact on risk to food/shellfish supply chains (R v Southern Water unauthorised sewage discharges - £90m fine)

• Regularly accepts instructions in food/water safety cases concerning contamination from microbiological, physical, chemical and allergenic sources. Typical pathogen cases include norovirus, Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, Clostridium, Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora and Aeromonas. Belinda is also now accepting instructions related to SARS-CoV-2

• Regularly accepts instructions in travel litigation cases, including significant outbreaks in semi-closed environments such as cruise ships and holiday resorts/camps

• Regularly accepts instructions in cases of environmentally-transmitted disease, including workplace situations such as Leptospirosis (Weil’s Disease) - waste-water handling, and E. coli - school farm

• In large outbreak cases, she is fundamentally a breach expert (reviewing systems), complementing causation evidence of medics and microbiologists

• Regularly provides reports on risk of harm under Sentencing Guidelines

• Every action instigated as EHO successful in Court

• PhD in microbiological risk and its legal context

• Expert adviser to Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS)

• Advisor to ABTA and Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) for 10+ years

• Holds the Cardiff University CUBS certificate for criminal and civil work

“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

Regarding Dr Belinda Stuart-Moonlight “… she was extremely good. Measured, quietly authoritative and clear. She also gave ground and made concessions where necessary but added the proper context and made her points very effectively. The summing-up was a resounding testament to the very good impression she made on the Court.” – Jonathan Laidlaw KC, 2 Hare Court

“Dr Belinda Stuart-Moonlight was a pleasure to work with and nothing was too much trouble…. Her report was very helpful and instrumental to our negotiations. As a result of her report the client achieved an exceptional outcome. I would highly recommend this expert.”  - L Hannah, Stephensons Solicitors.