Cargill to Pilot Video for Food Safety

Cargill is piloting the use of video monitoring at its US beef plants in order to reduce the risk of E. coli and salmonella contamination.

The food giant has already trialled remote video auditing (RVA) at 10 beef-harvesting facilities in the US, and the results are said to have been “terrific”, with a higher compliance rate already identified and competition between plants over performance scores.

The system is now being introduced at the beef facility in Fresno, California. Auditors from Arrowsight Inc. will monitor on how consistently workers perform tasks in near-real time, and provide statistical feedback to management.

For the pilot, Cargill is focusing on the stages where workers clean and sanitise knives and other equipment. It will also look at dressing procedures to check proper protocol is followed.

Elton John has E. coli?

Elton John has postponed two planned Seattle concerts with Billy Joel on the advice of his doctor, Live Nation announced today. The pop singer is suffering from "a serious case of E. coli bacterial infection and influenza," according to a written statement released by the concert promoter today.

Live Nation and KeyArena are asking ticketholders to keep their tickets until more information is available. The concerts, originally scheduled for Nov. 4 and 7, may be rescheduled. Well, I am going to be in China anyway.

Why Should the Food Safety and Inspection Service Declare Enterohemorrhagic non-O157 E. coli to be an Adulterant?

It seems that any serious discussion of E. coli O157:H7 always has to start with one event: the 1993 outbreak associated with the Jack in the Box restaurant chain. This, of course, is with good reason. That outbreak left over 700 persons ill and 4 children dead. The “9/11 for the food industry,” as a certain trial lawyer has occasionally referred to the outbreak, precipitated a whirlwind of events including media coverage, consumer outrage, lawsuits, and stricter federal regulations regarding meat safety. Though the swell of emotion that spiraled out of the Jack in the Box disaster dulls somewhat with each passing year, the federal regulations that sprung up in its wake continue to generate more questions.

To understand the significance of these regulations, a little background information is useful. The Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) stated mission renders it “responsible for ensuring that the nation's commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged.” FSIS operates as part of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). To promote its mission, FSIS has the power—under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA)—to, among other things, seek the recall of products that have been deemed “adulterated.” FSIS drastically shifted how it interpreted and enforced the FMIA in 1994 when, following the Jack in the Box outbreak, the agency declared E. coli O157:H7 to be an adulterant. This marked a dramatic change from its previous stance that pathogens in raw meat were not adulterants.

The declaration of E. coli O157:H7 as an adulterant was met with strong opposition from the meat industry. In a lawsuit filed soon after the 1994 declaration, the industry accused the USDA of not following proper rulemaking procedures and of acting in an arbitrary and capricious manner beyond its legal authority. The United States District Court held, however, that the USDA was allowed to interpret the FMIA and that the USDA has the power to declare substances to be adulterants with the intended purpose of spurring the meat industry to create and implement preventative measures.

During the early part of this decade, however, it became readily apparent that O157:H7 was not the only deadly pathogen in E. coli family—in fact, far from it. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recognized this fact when, in 2000, the agency made all Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) nationally notifiable. The CDC subsequently referred to non-O157 STEC as emerging pathogens that pose a significant health threat, with more strains reported every year. Still, FSIS remained steadfast in its stance that O157:H7 is the only enterohemorrhagic E. coli strain that should be deemed to be an adulterant.

So what’s wrong with FSIS’s position regarding E. coli O157:H7? The simple answer is this: the people of this nation do not deserve another Jack in the Box-sized catastrophe as a pre-requisite for currently needed agency action. The scientific and medical communities have recognized the dangers of all enterohemorrhagic E. coli, not just O157:H7, again and again. Representatives of the CDC estimate that non-O157 STEC causes 36,700 illnesses, 1,100 hospitalizations, and 30 deaths annually. Nearly two years ago today, on October 17, 2007, the CDC and FSIS even went so far as to hold a public meeting to consider the public health significance of non-O157 STEC. In the Notice of the meeting, FSIS referred to the “growing awareness that STECs other than E. coli O157:H7 (non-O157:H7 STECs) cause sporadic and outbreak-associated illnesses.” Nevertheless, following the meeting, FSIS failed to re-interpret its policies.

This brings us to today. We’re nearing the end of 2009, closing in on seventeen years since the Jack in the Box outbreak. Millions of Americans have suffered foodborne illnesses, injuries, and deaths in that time, thousands of them likely due to enterohemorrhagic E. coli other than O157:H7. It is on behalf of those persons that the law firm of Marler Clark has authored a petition to FSIS requesting the agency to issue an interpretive rule declaring all enterohemorrhagic STEC, including non-O157:H7 serotypes, to be adulterants within the meaning of the Federal Meat Inspection Act.

The petition details the scientific and legal bases for the requested action, but perhaps more importantly it details the suffering that food contaminated with non-O157:H7 enterohemorrhagic E. coli inflicted upon three individuals: June Dunning, Megan Richards, and Shiloh Johnson. Ms. Dunning, whose infection was caused by E. coli O146:H21, unfortunately succumbed to her illness, passing in 2006. Ms. Richards and Ms. Johnson endured lengthy hospitalizations, kidney failure, and will both endure a lifetime of medical complications as a result of their E. coli O121:H19 and E. coli O111 infections (respectively).

It would be naïve to assume that a change to FSIS policy will immediately rid the world of all foodborne E. coli infections. It has been unequivocally proven, however, that all enterohemorrhagic E. coli are potentially lethal pathogens that we must fight tooth and nail to keep out of this nation’s food supply. If we trust science, and do our part to push government agencies to enact regulations to require better monitoring, we can no doubt begin to prevent further harm. In the end, after all, the requisite wading through the mess of bureaucracy required to change federal regulation is all worth it, so long as the outcome prevents at least one more case like that of June Dunning, Megan Richards, or Shiloh Johnson.

UK's Cooking Time & Temperature Rule Subject of Dispute Involving McDonald's And Victim's Rights Group

We’ve known since the 1993 Jack-in-the-Box outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 that the big hamburger chains are concerned about cooking temperatures. Jack-in-the Box did not like Washington State’s rule for cooking ground beef to 158 degrees Fahrenheit because customers complained about the hamburgers being too tough to eat.

Sixteen years have passed, but the big hamburger chains are still getting those kind of complaints. In the UK, McDonald’s submitted information to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) about possible reduction in cooking times.

The government’s Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food requires that hamburgers be cooked for two minutes at 158 degrees Fahrenheit. However, other times and temperatures can be used when procedures are proven to be safe.

That’s what McDonald’s was up to in the UK when the victim’s rights group known as HUSH requested a copy of the information that the world’s biggest hamburger chain had submitted to weaken the rule.   FSA refused to give up the information to HUSH.

On appeal, however, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) upheld the HUSH complaint. HUSH argued it could not contribute to the consultation without all the facts.

McDonald’s said its “top priority” is customer safety and that it “fully complies” with FSA guidelines.

Nestle Restarts Cookie Dough Production After E. coli Outbreak

Fresh on the heels of revelations by ABC news that three different E. coli strains have been linked to the nationwide outbreak of E. coli in cookie dough, the Wall Street Journal reports that Nestle is restarting production.  The Danville, Virginia plant was closed on June 19, when E. coli illnesses across the country were tied to the raw cookie dough produced there.  The FDA investigation of the plant found E. coli in an unopened package of the cookie dough and E. coli was also found in in a package of Nestle refrigerated cookie dough in the home of a victim.   Both of those strains, or serotypes, are different from that found in the stool of the 72 people who were infected by eating the cookie dough, meaning that three strains have now been associated with the product. 

Interestingly, Nestle continued processing other food products at the Danville factory while the cookie dough production was shut down. 

Questions continue to swirl around the outbreak, as no source has yet been identified in the E. coli contamination of the Nestle Cookie Dough product.  Now the multiple strains of E. coli connected to the outbreak add another layer of mystery - and yet, production resumes.

One Year Old Isaiah Romero Of Sioux Center, Iowa Fighting Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome

One year old Isaiah Romero of Sioux Center, Iowa finds himself in Sanford Children's Hospital tonight, fighting back against Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS).

KSFY Action News in Sioux Falls, South Dakota  where Sanford Children's is located reports its possible Isaiah is a victim of the the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak blamed on the Greeley Beef Plant owned by the JBS Swift Company.

Post-diarrheal Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (D+HUS) is a severe, life-threatening complication that occurs in about 10 percent of those infected with E. coli O157:H7 or other Shiga toxin (Stx) producing E. coli. D+HUS was first described in 1955, but was not known to be secondary to E. coli infections until 1982. It is now recognized as the most common cause of acute kidney failure in infants and young children. Adolescents and adults are also susceptible, as are the elderly who often succumb to the disease.

According to KSFY: "A few weeks ago Isaiah started with basic diarrhea, then vomiting. There was an E. coli test done, but it came back negative. He developed HUS this past weekend, which commonly forms from E. coli. While not every child that gets E. coli, also gets HUS, there is a small percentage that does. It attacks the red blood cells in the body and that leads to kidney failure. Isaiah has been on dialysis and had a number of other tests done to track his progress."

Girl Gets E. Coli And Then HUS--All From Touching Deer Meat

 

You can’t even trust Bambi anymore. Doug Powell, from Barfblog, emailed me the story of a young girl who suffered HUS after contracting an E. coli infection from handling deer meat.

Beverly said the only other thing she could think of was that her husband, Red, had shot a deer the Friday after Thanksgiving. She helped him skin it and prepare bigger cuts to send off to a local butcher, but Red cut the tenderloin himself. "April was helping her daddy with the tenderloins," Beverly recalled. April placed the pieces of meat into freezer bags, handling the meat with her hands.

Here is the interesting part:

"Deer harbor infection - it's estimated that 17 percent of the whitetail population harbors E. coli," she said, and it appears they harbor a pretty nasty strain of it. The infection grows in the digestive system. But in the process of gutting and cleaning a deer carcass, it is easy to nick the bowels and spill the infected fluids.

E. coli O157:H7 was first recognized as a pathogen as a result of an outbreak of unusual gastrointestinal illness in 1982. The outbreak was traced to contaminated hamburgers, and the illness was similar to other incidents in the United States and Japan. The etiologic agent of the illness was identified as a rareO157:H7 serotype of Escherichia coli in 1983. This serotype had only been isolated once before, from a sick patient in 1975.

E. coli O157:H7 has jumped from cows to Bambi over the last 30 years or so. The fact that E. coli O157:H7 (and other emerging pathogens) have become such a part of the current food environment has to be taken into account in making food safety policy decisions. Comments like, “I used to drink raw milk or eat raw hamburger when I was a kid” are misplaced in light of the reality of the present existence of these pathogens. Beliefs that “grass-fed” meat (wonder what Bambie’s last meal was?) or “locally grown” or “raw” food is inherently safer have to take into account the present reality of these very nasty bugs.

Mystery In Dixon And No Plans To Solve It--But Hey You Are OK!

It's hard to believe, but there is a county in the big, rich state of California where an E. coli death does not even get a full ten days worth of investigation before the case is closed without finding a source.

Oh, but public health officials involved can assure the public that the county's restaurant food and water is all safe. "Everything is fine, move along!"

The place we are talking about is Solano County, CA where a Dixon boy died Dec. 19th from an E. coli infection. We originally reported on the death here on Dec. 20th.  Without finding the source, public health officials there abandoned their investigation on Dec. 26th.

The county health officer, Dr. Ronald Chapman, says he doesn't know how the Dixon teenager was infected, but there was no contamination of the area's water or restaurant food. He says there's no threat to the public.

The boy's name and age were not disclosed, supposedly for privacy reasons.

Tests showed a second Dixon child who recovered from severe diarrhea was not infected with E. coli. No other cases have been reported.

Chapman says E. coli is present naturally in the intestinal tract and sometimes can enter the blood stream. Symptoms include stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting. 

Dixon, CA Child Dies From E Coli Infection

A  Dixon, CA child died of an E. coli infection late Thursday, according to Solano County Public Health officials.  They were investigating the death along with testing on a second Dixon child  who displayed some symptoms but is now home and "doing well." 

"It is a tragedy to lose a child and our hearts and prayers go out to this child's family and friends," said Dr. Ronald Chapman, MD, MPH, Health Officer and Deputy Director in a press release . "Public Health is investigating the death to see if we can identify where or how the minor contracted the E. coli infection. Sometimes an investigation can point to a probable cause and in other cases, the source of the infection remains unknown."

Solano Public Health staff are back-tracking the minor's activities, food sources, and water sources, and are in close communication with the State laboratory which is testing blood samples to determine the specific strain of E. coli.

Both water districts in Dixon have been testing upstream and downstream from the dead child's home with negative results for E. coli.

E coli Kills Kansas Boys in Witchita Medical Center

There is a lot of Kansas separating the towns of Liberal and Matfield Green.  

Liberal is an Oklahoma panhandle border town.  The 20,000 who make Liberal home depend on oil, gas, and helium as well as agriculture.  Its closer to Denver, Colorado than Kansas City, Kansas.

Matfield Green is just off I-35, northeast of Wichita halfway to Topeka. The Chase County town has just 60 people.  Known for the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County has about 3000 residents.

What binds these two Kansas towns together are the deaths of two children from E. coli, and the Wesley Regional Medical Center in Wichita, where both died. 

Dead is 4-year old Brant Burton, son of T.W. and Rachelle Burton of Matfield Green and 18-month old Tanner Strickland of Liberal.  Tanner's brother continues to battle E. coli at the Wichita hospital.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is investigating the deaths.

 

 

Just Another Week of E. coli Taking Victims In Amercia

We thought we'd do something different today, and just give a rundown on the E, coli news we've been involved in.  Every week is getting to be E. coli week in America.  This is a look-back on the last one.  Here we go!

We received several calls last Monday from  sorority sisters who had been sickened by E. coli O157:H7 at the University of Colorado in Boulder.  Interestingly, the common denominator seems to be Jimmy John’s – just off campus.  Coincidentally, the first inspection since 7/28/06 occurred on 9/28/08 and the report was mailed,also on Monday, to Mr. Prescott (the owner) .  The purpose was to investigate "suspect food-borne illness complaint who reported eating at the facility. Complainants had approximately 13 sandwich plates with 10 sandwiches each delivered to their facility on Sept. 20th.  Sandwiches included Big John’s, Turkey Tom, Ham and Cheese, and Vegetarian."  E. coli does not seem to be listed as an ingredient – yet.

On Tuesday Butte County health officials announced  that leftover frozen tainted tri-tip, that sickened at least 27 people, tested positive for E. coli O157:H7 bacteria.  The bacteria in the meat perfectly matches (by PFGE genetic fingerprint) the bacteria found in stool samples taken from several people who became ill.

 

Continue Reading...

Colorado Infant Death Linked To Unlicensed Day Care

Bill Scanlon at the Rocky Mountain News this morning is reporting with some detail on the Colorado 3-year old who died Friday of E coli O17:H7.   According to The Rocky:

 

The Aurora day-care facility attended by a 3-year-old who died Friday of an E. coli bacteria infection was unlicensed, so it was never inspected on how it handled food or changed diapers, health officials said Tuesday.

Twenty-one other youngsters attended the same private home day-care center as the child who died of kidney failure from complications of the bacteria, said Dr. Richard Vogt, executive director of the Tri-County Health Department.

"We're working to test those 21 kids as we speak," Vogt said Tuesday.

While it will take a few days to get the test results back, he said a few of the kids have mild gastrointestinal upset, Vogt said.

By being unlicensed, the day care business escapes the annual inspection required by the State of Colorado.   For more, go here.

 

Connecticut Finds It Was E. coli With That Raw Milk

On July 16th, 2008 the Connecticut Department of Agriculture began an investigation of a possible link between several reported illnesses and the consumption of Retail Raw Milk (unpasteurized milk). Recently we concluded that investigation. The investigation was prompted when the Department was notified by Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) Epidemiologists of 2 reported illnesses in which both patients had consumed Retail Raw Milk from a dairy licensed to produce Retail Raw Milk and pasteurized milk and milk products. The patients were aged 2 and 7, one was on dialysis. After notifying the dairy of the investigation, the dairy voluntarily stopped sale of all milk. Soon after the initial 2 reported illnesses, DPH reported 2 additional cases linked to the dairy. By the time we concluded our investigation a total of 7 known individuals were sickened from consuming Retail Raw Milk and several were hospitalized. The Retail Raw Milk implicated in this incident was purchased from 2 separate national, natural food, chain store locations and directly from the farm. None of the reported illnesses were linked to pasteurized milk and milk products produced at this dairy.

The individuals sickened had acquired a condition known as Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) and one case of Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP). HUS is a disorder that occurs when an infection in the digestive system produces toxic substances that destroy red blood cells. It often effects the kidneys. This disorder is most common in children. It often occurs after a gastrointestinal
(enteric) infection, often caused by a type of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria, O157:H7. Unpasteurized (Raw) milk has been associated with several outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 infections in the U.S. Other outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 have been associated with undercooked or raw hamburger (ground beef), unpasteurized fruit juices, alfalfa sprouts, dry-cured salami, lettuce, game meats and from transmission from animals to humans from contact with infected animals. HUS also
can be caused by other enteric infections, including Shigella and Salmonella, and some non-enteric infections. Patients with TTP have clinical and pathologic features similar to patients with HUS.

In addition to Department of Agriculture staff, the investigation involved the Connecticut Department of Public Health and local health departments. After extensive testing of milk, milk contact surfaces, water sources, the environment in and around the farm and processing plant and, analysis of feces from each milking aged animal, the department obtained a genetic fingerprint match between E. coli
O157:H7 recovered from the feces of 1 cow and E. coli O157:H7 isolated from 3 patients.

Approximately 170 separate samples and specimens of milk, water, feces and swabs of milk contact surfaces were analyzed by the DPH Public Health Laboratory in a 3 week period. A review of scientific literature reveals that E. coli O157:H7 as well as other food borne pathogens most likely are introduced into milk by contamination from animals shedding the organism in their feces. Direct introduction of pathogens into the milk from the bloodstream is unlikely but can not be ruled out. The department has concluded that the most likely cause of this food borne illness outbreak was the consumption of Retail Raw Milk contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. While good sanitation and management practices can lower the incidence of pathogens in raw milk we believe and studies support the position that pasteurization is the only proven way to eliminate pathogens from raw milk.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health and the Food and Drug Administration, and other public health authorities such as the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, the Association of Food and Drug Officials, and National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians all oppose the consumption of unpasteurized milk because of the health risks

E coli Related Death Reported In Franklin County, Ohio

Ohio's Franklin County Health Department tonight (6/4/08) is reporting that the death of a 52-year old Gahanna woman on May 27th was E. coli-related.

Ohio has had 12 confirmed cases of E. coli so far this year. There were 92 confirmed cases in 2007 and 160 the year before. But, officials say deaths have been rare.

The Columbus Dispatch newspaper says the woman who died was sick and hospitalized when investigators became aware of her infection, so they were unable to ask her where and what she'd eaten in the three to four days before she became ill.

The woman's husband is being interviewed now about meals they shared, says epidemiologist Radhika Nagisetty. The woman was admitted to the hospital on May 17, and was being treated for "other conditions" when the E. coli infection was discovered.

The health officials did not know if E. coli was listed as an official cause or contributing cause of the woman's death.  More can be found here.





Your Chance Of Picking Up The Wrong Pound of Ground Beef: 1 in 400.

We've been reading through some of the written comments the United States Department of Agriculture received in conjunction with the big April meeting on E. coli 0157:H7.

We found a letter from Dr. Harry F. Hull,  a pediatrician from St. Paul, most interesting.  Dr. Hull's career highlights includes stints as state epidemiologist for both Minnesota and New Mexico.  He's both investigated outbreaks of E. coli 0157:H7, and as a pediatrician had the experience of having a 7-year old girl in his care die from hemolytic uremic syndrome from E. coli.

We are certain every court in the land would stipulate Dr. Hull as an expert witness.

So, we found this really eye-opening:   After going though the contamination rates, Dr. Hull makes this bold assertion:

"Simply put, at the present time, 1 in every 400 pounds of ground beef contains potentially deadly E. coli bacteria."

Dr. Hull says current approaches will reduce but "cannot eliminate" all E. coli contamination.

"Given the potentially disastrous consequences of eating just one hamburger contaminated with E. coli, the only level of contamination that is acceptable is O.  This is what the American people expect and deserve," the pediatrician writes.

Dr. Hull, currently a consultant in infectious disease epidemiology,  favors irradiation of all ground beef sold as an uncooked product, labeling it as pasteurized, USDA approval of the ready-to-eat petition, and a public information campaign on the safety of food radiation.

Common Misspellings of E. coli - e.coli, e coli, e cloi, ecoli

E. coli O157:H7 was identified for the first time at the CDC in 1975, but it was not until seven years later, in 1982, that E. coli O157:H7 was conclusively determined to be a cause of enteric disease. Following outbreaks of foodborne illness that involved several cases of bloody diarrhea, E. coli O157:H7 was firmly associated with hemorrhagic colitis.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated in 1999 that 73,000 cases of E. coli O157:H7 occur each year in the United States. Approximately 2,000 people are hospitalized, and 60 people die as a direct result of E. coli O157:H7 infections and complications. The majority of infections are thought to be foodborne-related, although E. coli O157:H7 accounts for less than 1% of all foodborne illness.

Rural America Offers To Cure All (But E coli) With Raw Milk

M.L. Johnson, writing in the Seattle Post Intelligencer, charts the rapid growth in Raw Milk dairies and she took time to speak with Bill Marler, the Seattle attorney representing children damaged by rural America's money making scheme.  She writes:

Seattle attorney Bill Marler is suing Organic Pastures, the nation's largest organic raw milk dairy, on behalf of two children who fell ill after consuming its products. Testing at the dairy farm near Fresno, Calif., did not detect the strain of E. coli that sickened the children, but a government report said the dairy was likely responsible.

Marler, who has sued other dairies as well, criticized states for bowing to pressure from farmers and allowing raw milk sales to go on - legally or not.

"My worry is that as it becomes more acceptable and becomes more commercialized, you know, it will reach a critical mass where all of the sudden you're going to get a whole bunch of little kids poisoned," Marler said. "And then everybody will throw up their arms and go, 'Whoa, we've got to stop this, we've got to pasteurize.'"

The rise in dairies that do not bother to pasteurize their milk is striking.  With claims of cure-all powers for Raw Milk,  Johnson reports that Washington State has seen the number of its Raw Milk operators grow to 22 , up from six in two years.   Raw Milkers in Massachusetts have more than doubled in five years, reaching 24.

And there is no doubt about the cure-all claims they are making as evidenced by this poster from Organic Pastures.   For the rest of Ms. Johnson's story, go here.

 

FSIS Wants To Reduce Incidence of Deadly E. coli

Next week, the Food Safety & Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is  putting  reducing the Incidence of E. coli O157:H7 in Raw Beef on the menu in meetings with its many stakeholders.

The public sessions will be held on Wednesday, April 9, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Thursday, April 10, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Georgetown, 2101 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Washington, DC.

William Marler, managing partner at Marler Clark, L.L.P., speaks at 10:30 a.m., on Wednesday, April 9.   The entire two-day agenda can be found here.

Individuals are encouraged to pre-register to attend in person or via teleconference, and should visit www.fsis.usda.gov or contact Sheila Johnson at (202) 690-6498 or by e-mail at Sheila.Johnson@fsis.usda.gov.  There will be opportunities for public comment on both days.

Foodproductiondaily.com recently reported:

Dr. Richard Raymond, US under secretary for food safety, said that despite major advances in battling foodborne illnesses like E-coli in the country during the last decade, reduction levels have recently levelled out.

"It is time for another series of bold, strong moves based on knowledge and science to produce further significant reductions in illnesses attributed to the products we regulate," he stated. "We aim to prevent and not just respond to illnesses, and consumers, industry and our public health partners are critical partners in our long term strategy and we look forward to our continuing collaborative relationship to ensure food safety."

That story can be foundhere.


2006 E. coli Tainted Spinach Changing Who Pays For Recalls

We’ve been doing a lot of thinking about recalls lately. We know its not true, but by their combined actions, we sometimes cannot help but thinking the food industry and its regulators are in cahoots to drag out recalls and confuse the public.

When it became apparent that about one third of the 143 million pounds of beef recalled from the ill-fated Chino slaughterhouse was in the meat lockers of the nation’s public schools, we thought about local taxpayers getting stuck with the disposal costs.

It appears we were not alone in thinking about recall costs. David Mitchell, writing for www.ThePacker.com, says Wal-Mart has told its suppliers that they will, in the future, be charged by the giant discount chain for its costs to participate in a recall. The minimum charge would be $20 per store. Wal-Mart’s 2,500 stores would add up to a minimum charge of $50,000.

Mitchell writes that:

“It’s not a big surprise,” said one Wal-Mart supplier, who requested anonymity. “To be honest, other chains have things that are similar.”

The source said that retailers often have provisions in their supplier agreements that allow for such charges, but fees often go uncollected in the case of products recalled because of minor defects, such as labeling errors.

He said retailers do level assessments against suppliers in more damaging cases, such as the 2006 E. coli outbreak linked to spinach.

Go here for the rest of Mitchell's report.



E coli Kills 8-Year Old Girl In Ozarks

An isolated case in an isolated place where no one has had E coli in four years.   However, 8-year old Evie Hope Wray of Theodosia, MO was a confirmed E coli case; one that evolved into Hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS),   And HUS killed Evie, who was a soccer and cat-loving second-grader at Lutie Elementary School.

The farm, where she lived with her parents and brother, has well-water that was found to be clean and safe.   Ozark health officials are tying to find out where Evie was exposed to E. coli, but say its really difficult with an isolated case.

KSPR-TV, the ABC affiliate in Springfield, MO is telling the sad story.  They report that:

When this close-knit family's youngest daughter became horribly ill, it was devastating.
“Her vitals started dropping… they hooked her up to oxygen and when that didn’t work, they had her on all kinds of drips,” Evie’s dad Tom Wray remembers.

She was diagnosed with a serious strain of E. Coli, but it was HUS that caused her death.
With no way to treat the infection, doctors could merely provide dialysis to support her failing kidneys and sedatives to reduce her pain.

“She was on about seven different machines. I just touched her and said, ‘momma’s here.’” Evie passed away at a Columbia hospital, surrounded by people who loved her.
But those people are still haunted by how- how did this happen?

For more on Evie, go here.

 

 

Evie Hope Wray

FSIS Holding Meeting on E. coli 0157:H7

The USDA's Food Safety & Inspection Service is hosting a public meeting on April 9, 2008 titled: E. coli O157:H7 - Addressing the Challenges, Moving Forward With Solutions.

FSIS will sponsor the public meeting focused on E. coli O157:H7.  "The purpose of the meeting is to have a discussion with stakeholders on recent spikes in recalls/illnesses related to E. coli O157:H7, provide updates on FSIS initiatives and build a foundation for establishing solutions to address the challenges this pathogen causes," the agency statement said.

FSIS's Dr. Richard A. Raymond Tells Congress Why There Have Been More E. coli Recalls

Dr. Richard A. Raymond is Medical Doctor from Nebraska.  Since July 2005, he has been Undersecretary for Food Safety at the United States Department of Agriculture.  He was asked by the U.S. House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations why there's been an uptick in e coli-related recalls.

Dr. Raymond listed several reasons why e coli related recalls involved only a few thousand pounds in 2006 to 33 million pounds in 2007.   Among those reasons:

  • More sensitive testing
  • More use of Pulsenet by state and local/regional health officers, which can connect distant confirmed cases into a single outbreak.
  • Changes he has made to Food Safety & Inspection Service policies to be more aggressive in using recalls.
  • And finally, what the former rural medical doctor called "Raymond's theory."  He believes there has been "an increased load" of e coli in the hind  guts of cattle. 

Dr. Raymond, Nebraska's former chief medical officer, did not say what he thinks increased the load.

Marler's List of Needed Reforms

We think the use of such phrases as "tipping point" and "perfect storm" are often over-used.  However, something may have happened this past week when comes to meaningful reform of the broken system for food safety.

After the cruel treatment of "downer" cows, the assault on the nation's school lunch program, and the nation's biggest beef recall in history,  Chairman John D. Dingell of the House Energy & Commerce Committee called a time out.  He had those who should know sharpen their pencils and raise their hands to testify about what's to be done.

One who came ready, ofcourse, was our own Bill Marler, who represents victims of  E coli and other food borne illnesses in the courts across the land.  Because there's been interest and because we think its important, we are going to publish what Bill had to say specifically about reforms before the House committee. Here goes:

Things are different from Sinclair’s critical view of packing plants of the 1900’s. We now face things Sinclair could not even begin to imagine. Those two things must drive food safety decisions now. The first is the threat of terrorist attacks via the food system. Just as too many could not imagine the horror of 9/11, too many cannot envision this kind of food disaster today. When a terrorist attacks our food system it will look eerily similar to any other outbreak of foodborne illness. Second, is the growth of food imports. Sinclair could not have imagined a world where the meat that may be in one hamburger could originate in Argentina, Canada and Colorado or that we would have fruits and vegetables year-round shipped in from South America, Asia and Africa. It is with these two enormous issues in mind, that I offer suggestions on how to put me out of business.

First, create a local, state and national public health system that catches outbreaks before they balloon into a personal and business catastrophe. Everyone believes that the Jack in the Box outbreak started in Seattle in January 1993. It did not. It actually began in November 1992 when young Lauren Rudolph died and another 30 people were sickened in and around southern California. However, because E. coli O157:H7 was not a reportable illness at the time, the death and illnesses were not recognized as an outbreak and the contaminated meat was shipped to Seattle. CDC’s PulseNet and Food Net were launched and are rightly credited with helping reduce the size of outbreaks by helping to more quickly conclude what suspect product is causing harm. But surveillance of human bacterial disease is lacking. For many foodborne illnesses, for everyone culture positive case, 20 to 50 other cases are missed because of lack of surveillance. Most people who become ill with a bacterial or viral disease are either seldom seen or never cultured. The more people are tested, the greater the likelihood that a source, accidental or not, will be found sooner.

Second, actually inspect and sample food before it is consumed. At present, Local and State authorities, along with the USDA and FDA, employ thousands of inspectors across the nation and world to inspect tens of thousands of plants that produce billions of pounds of food at farms, processing plants and retail outlets. The GAO has warned in the past that our food sampling and inspection is so scattered and infrequent that there is little chance of detecting microscopic E. coli or any other pathogen for that matter.

Third, consider mandatory recall authority on all food products. Recalls must be completely transparent. If a recall is ordered, consumers need to know what in fact is being recalled. Full disclosure must be the rule. Under the present system of voluntary recalls, last September we saw the disastrous Topps recall where the company knowingly left E. coli contaminated product on store shelves three weeks after being confronted with an ill customer and its product both testing positive for E. coli O157:H7. But recalls are not perfect. Although stunned by the video of animal abuse at Hallmark/Westland, I am more stunned that the recall has ballooned to 143 million pounds of meat and is quickly encompassing products that might contain trace amounts of the meat. No people have been sickened. I wonder if resources are better spent elsewhere.

Fourth, on a national level merge and then adequately fund the three federal agencies responsible for food safety. Right now, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service and the inspection arm of the Food and Drug Administration share this mission with the CDC. The system is trifurcated, which leads to turf wars and split responsibilities. We need one independent agency that deals with food-borne pathogens. You have a moral responsibility to consumers in your hometown or anywhere U.S. goods are sold. It is time to adequately fund our health and safety authorities to help business protect their customers.

Fifth, we cannot regulate ourselves out of this. Standards need to be set with the entire food chain at the table – from farmer, to manufacturer, to retailer and customer. Standards must also be based upon good science. We must invest in solid research at our land grant institutions to help producers manufacturer food that is safe, nutritious and the envy of the world.

None of this will stop bacterial and viral illnesses entirely. These invisible poisons have been around a long time. However, these five steps will enable us to help prevent it, help detect it far more quickly, to alert stores and families, and to keep our most vulnerable citizens - kids and seniors - out of harm's way. Thank you Mr. Chairman.

USDA Has Yet To Release Audit On E coli Controls

We have seen some good work in the past from Philip Brasher, who works out of the Washington, D.C. bureau for the Des Moines Register.  On Sunday, Brasher took on the Chino slaughterhouse scandal, which led to the largest recall of beef in U.S. history.

We found it compelling reading.  Brasher seems to hit the nail on the head with the reasoning that what is really at stake is trust in the USDA brand worldwide.   We have suspected the Chino scandal coming just as USDA was on the verge of getting US beef back into Japan and South Korea could not have occurred at a worst time.

Brasher found a top US food executive delivering just that message.  Larry Pope, chief executive officer of Smithfield Foods, is quoted in the Register story saying:

"Every time an incident like this happens, it hurts everybody in this room," he warned a conference of agribusiness leaders. Consumers "trust that USDA stamp a little bit less. When we go overseas they trust the United States a little bit less."

Brasher goes on to report that USDA has not yet gone public with results of nation-wide audit of beef plants that it ordered after last year's "rash of E coli related recalls."  Purpose of the audit was to what controls meat packers have in place to combat E coli.

Go here to read all of the Brasher story.

"Downer" Cattle More Likely To Carry E coli

The ban on non-ambulatory or ‘downer’ cattle is one of many steps in a robust system to produce safe beef, but it is not the only step taken to ensure the safety of the beef supply. The beef we eat is safe because there are multiple safety hurdles before it arrives at our grocery stores or restaurants.”

That was from the statement of the Denver-based National Cattlemen’s Beef Association after USDA announced that Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company was recalling 143.3 million pounds of beef because the Chino slaughterhouse was routinely processing “downer” cattle.

Here’s how Wayne Pacelle, chief executive officer of the Humane Society, sees it:

"There's no ambiguity in our mind that this plant was accepting downers, abusing downers and slaughtering downers."

While some audit evidence was raising doubts, we have been living under a five year old ban on “downer” cattle getting into the human food supply. The cruel practices the Chino slaughterhouse was using to get around the ban should not be the primary concern.

Our primary concern is that “downer” cattle are in the human food supply through one of USDA’s award-winning plants. Bill Marler explains the problem this way:

“Why is this all important? Federal regulations call for keeping downer cows out of the food supply because they pose a higher risk of E. coli, salmonella contamination, or mad cow disease since they typically wallow in feces and their immune systems are often weak. Yummy!”

Network news is reporting that 37 million pounds of the recalled beef went to America’s public schools. Unlike E. coli and salmonella, mad cow disease typically won’t show up for years.

The Secretary of Agriculture says chances anyone will get mad cow disease are “remote.”

However, he will be long gone before we find out if he was right or not.




E. coli lawsuit filed against Organic Pastures

Marler ClarkMarler Clark filed two E. coli lawsuits against Organic Pastures on February 7, 2008. The lawsuits were filed in Fresno County Superior Court on behalf of two children who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) secondary to E. coli O157:H7 infection after consuming Organic Pastures raw milk.

The California Department of Health Services
(CDHS) and California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) conducted an investigation into the E. coli outbreak in September of 2006. CDHS and CDFA identified six children who had become ill with either E. coli O157:H7 or HUS and learned that all six had consumed Organic Pastures raw milk or colostrum in the days before becoming ill.

While investigating the cause of the children’s illness, pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), or “genetic fingerprinting” confirmed that five of the six children were infected with the same strain of E. coli; the sixth did not test positive for E. coli but had HUS. An investigation at Organic Pastures led to the discovery that several cows were infected with E. coli O157:H7, although the strain was different from the outbreak strain. CDHS determined that unpasteurized dairy products from Organic Pastures were the likely source of the outbreak.

Eleven-year-old Lauren Herzog and 9-year-old Chris Martin both consumed raw milk produced by Organic Pastures in early September of 2006. Lauren became ill with symptoms of E. coli infection on September 6. Her illness subsequently developed into HUS, a life-threatening complication of E. coli infection that can cause kidney failure and central nervous system impairment, and she was hospitalized on September 8. Lauren suffered acute renal failure and required approximately two weeks of daily kidney dialysis. She remained hospitalized until October 18, 2006, when she was discharged with over $250,000 in medical bills.

Chris became ill with symptoms of E. coli infection on September 5, 2006 and he was hospitalized on September 7. Like Lauren, Chris suffered HUS. His condition worsened and he was transported by helicopter to a Children’s hospital and was placed in pediatric intensive care. Chris’ kidneys failed and he required weeks of daily dialysis, as well as multiple blood transfusions. He was placed on a ventilator as a result of impending congestive heart failure, and remained on the ventilator for five days, was briefly taken off the ventilator, and later returned for several more days. Chris suffered a number of seizures as a result of his HUS. He also developed high blood pressure and pancreatitis. Chris was discharged from the hospital on November 2, 2006, nearly two months after he was admitted, with over $450,000 in medical bills.


Ethanol Industry Disputes Their Grains Increase E. coli

Powerful interests often find themselves in the position where they do not care--they don't have to. The nation's ethanol industry may be in just such a position when it comes to concerns that the distiller's grains it produces increases e coli O157H7 in cattle.

At least that's the impression one gets from reading "Distillers grain link to E coli disputed" in the Council Bluffs, Iowa Daily Nonpareil.  The article sought the ethanol industry's response to research by Kansas State University and the University of Nebraska that concluded cattle that were fed distillers grain, an ethanol byproduct, had increased levels of E coli 0157H7 bacteria in their hindgut over cattle fed regular corn.

Doug Archer, general manager of Green Plains Renewable Energy, first said ethanol producers haven't received the studies.   The Nonpareil reports:

"We're in a fairly young industry. At this point there's only concern. I'm sure the appropriate agencies will investigate and determine if there is a link between E coli and distillers grain," said Archer.

As far as the distillers grains manufactured at GPRE, Archer said they do a fair amount of testing and meet all the regulated guidelines.

"We've gone through the right processes and have worked with scientists and animal nutritionists. I don't see how there is any kind of health threat."

Archer continued to say until a link is found, there's no cause for alarm.

"When it is found out, it'll certainly be dealt with."

Check out the complete story here.

Bix Wants Out of Taco John's Lawsuit

The e coli-tained lettuce that Taco Johns served to its customers in 2006 continues to be thrown about like a hot potato among those who were involved.   Taco Johns sued Bix Produce , Roma, Pacific Marketing and the Wegis Family Limited Partnership in federal court.

The Sioux Falls Argus Leader yesterday (Jan. 31) reported that the St. Paul-based Bix Produce has asked a federal judge to dismiss it from the litigation. The A-L report said:

Bix’s motion to dismiss filed Wednesday describes the allegations publicly for the first time. It says the Taco John’s corporations are suing because they lost business due to “negative media publicity surrounding an E. coli outbreak at certain Taco John’s restaurants in Iowa and Minnesota.”

The suit asked that a jury award $5 million in damages.
Taco John’s dropped Bix as a supplier in 2006 after contaminated
lettuce showed up at restaurants in Albert Lea and Austin, Minn. and Cedar Falls and Waterloo, Iowa.

You can get the A-L story here.

 

Tennessee family recovering from E. coli

Marti Davis of the Knoxville News Sentinel spoke with the McDonald family, whose two children became ill with E. coli infections last fall after eating Cargill ground beef patties.

Preschoolers John and Michaela McDonald shared a burger that led to a prolonged stay in intensive care and cost 4-year-old John part of his bowel and colon. The frozen hamburgers at Sam's Club near their West Knoxville home a few days before the patties were recalled.

Surgery to bypass John's digestive tract was reversed in December, and both children are well for now.

Only Jim McDonald, the children's father, has eaten ground beef since his children's illness. The rest of the family has not reintroduced ground beef into their diet.

The McDonald family, who is represented by Marler Clark, filed a lawsuit against Cargill last year, but has withdrawn the lawsuit in the hopes that Cargill will compensate the children for injuries they sustained through mediation instead of a jury trial.
 

Beef With E coli Sold On Streets of Dallas

Health officials in Dallas now say they confiscated beef sold off the street to owners of the Chicken Shack, which is located in the 6000 block of Lamar Street, before it could be cooked or sold to anyone else.

The suspected source of the beef is the stolen trailer, which was taken from the parking lot of  the Texas American Food Service on Dec. 19.   The trailer contained nearly 15,000 pounds of beef that was contaminated with e coli.  The beef has been missing since the mostly empty trailer was recovered on Dec. 27.

Since Monday, when the City of Dallas issued a press release, local health officials and inspectors from USDA's Food Service & Inspection Service have been fanning out over north Dallas in hopes of recovering the stolen beef before it makes anyone sick.  They are talking to businesses and inspecting restaurants.
 

Was A Beef Deal Made to Barber Shop Employee?

According to a Texas health department division manager, recalled beef is finding its way into back alley transactions in places as surprising as barber shops, reports the Dallas Business Journal.

14,800 pounds of E. coli-contaminated beef was stolen from a Texas American Food Service truck, and the health department has fanned out across North Dallas to speak with businesses and inspect restaurants.

Ahsan Khan, division manager of the food protection and education division of the Dallas Health Department, said an employee of a barber shop in northeast Dallas reported that a suspicious person attempted to sell him ground beef last week. Seven other businesses -- mostly restaurants -- also said they had been solicited by a suspicious individual peddling ground beef, Khan said.

Dallas restaurant inspectors are also handing out fliers warning against the threat of the tainted meat.
 

Food Safety Infosheet Focus: E. coli O157:H7

E. coli InfosheetThis week's Food Safety Infosheet from the International Food Safety Network (iFSN) out of Kansas State University and the University of Guelph addresses concerns about E. coli O157:H7 - a potentially deadly foodborne pathogen.  From the infosheet:
E. coli O157:H7 can cause vomiting, diarrhea and can lead to kidney damage and is most dangerous for children and the elderly.

Foods that have been associated with E. coli O157:H7 include ground beef, fruits and vegetables, sprouts and unpasteurized juices.

When meat is ground, E. coli O157:H7 can be mixed from the surface into the middle of a patty or meatball. The only way to ensure that the dangerous
bacterium is killed is to use a digital tip-sensitive thermometer.
All three E. coli victims in the infosheet were hospitalized with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), a severe, life-threatening complication of an E. coli O157:H7 infection. Although most people recover from the symptoms of E. coli O157:H7 infection, about 5-10% of infected individuals develop (HUS).  The essence of the syndrome is described by its three central features: destruction of red blood cells (hemolytic anemia), destruction of platelets (those blood cells responsible for clotting, resulting in low platelet counts, or thrombocytopenia), and acute renal failure.

E. coli victim out of coma, recovering

20-year-old Stephanie Smith has woken from nine weeks in a medically-induced coma shortly before Christmas. Smith became ill with an E. coli infection in September after eating a contaminated hamburger, and has since been hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome.

On October 6, 2007, Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation announced that it was recalling approximately 845,000 pounds of frozen ground beef patties for possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination. The recall was initiated after three people in Minnesota tested positive for E. coli and a joint investigation by the Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Department of Agriculture identified the Cargill hamburger patties as the source of the illnesses.

The Cargill products were sold at retail establishments and to restaurants and other institutions. Sam’s Club announced that it was pulling the potentially E. coli-contaminated ground beef patties produced by Cargill from its store shelves nationwide on October 5th.
 

2007 E. coli recalls total more than 33.3 million pounds

The year 2007 is going to be remembered for the big beef recalls due to E. coli returning with a vengeance. All totaled meat producers were forced to recall over 33.3 million pounds of beef products.

Topping the list was the 21.7 million pound recall due to E. coli that sent the New Jersey-based Topps Foods into bankruptcy. When United Food Group in June was forced to recall 5.7 million pounds of E. coli-laced ground beef, no one would have guessed it was going to lead to a second half of 2007 that found E. coli in beef just like the bad old days.

E. coli forced the recall of 3.3 million pounds of Totino’s and Jeno’s frozen meat pizzas. In two separate recalls, Cargill had to recall over 1.9 million pounds of beef they had contaminated with the deadly E. coli pathogen.

Most of the big recalls of 2007 remain on the active case list of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The percentage of recalled products actually returned to manufacturers is often pretty low.

Leafy Green Safety Generates Discussion

The Western Growers Association said there should be no exemptions from uniform steps that growers and handlers should have to follow to certify the safety of lettuce, spinach, endive, kale, cabbage and other greens.

At a congressional hearing in May, Joseph Pezzini, an executive with Ocean Mist Farms in Castroville, Calif., and the chairman overseeing California's Leafy Green Handlers Marketing Agreement, said industry is best suited to define best practices for handling the covered vegetables.

The Consumers Union's Odabashian opposed the marketing-agreement plan in comments, saying the Agriculture Department idea isn't appropriate for addressing safety concerns. She said in an interview that the California agreement, which went into effect in July, didn't prevent two recent recalls.
 

The effects of a cow's diet on E. coli levels

Researchers from Kansas State University have concluded that cattle that are fed distiller's grain, a byproduct of ethanol production, have an increased incidence of E. coli O157:H7.

T.G. Nagaraja, a professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology at Kansas State's College of Veterinary Medicine, and Jim Drouillard, a professor of animal sciences at Kansas State, conducted research to determine whether diet influences the number of bacteria in an animal's gut.

“Feeding cattle distiller's grain is a big economic advantage for ethanol plants," Nagaraja said. "We realize we can't tell cattle producers, 'Don't feed distiller's grain.' What we want to do is not only understand the reasons why 0157 increases, but also find a way to prevent that from happening."

 

Kansas 5-year-old released from hospital

Five-year-old Aubrey Anderson from Hutchinson, Kansas, was released from Wesley Medical Center after being hospitalized for a month with hemolytic uremic syndrome. Aubrey was released from the hospital to recover at home because her mother is a registered nurse.

Public health officials have yet to identify the source of Aubrey's illness, and she will continue medical follow-up for months to years.

Initial indications were that her kidneys were functioning, so the family is optimistic she'll make a full recovery.
 

Kentucky Woman Dies from E. coli Infection

Vickie Shelton, a Knox County resident, passed away on Monday, November 26th at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington after being admitted. Ms. Shelton had eaten ground beef before becoming ill, and public health officials are conducting tests to determine whether that ground beef was contaminated with E. coli.

American Foods Group of Green Bay, Wisc. issued the recall on products produced in October and reportedly shipped to retailers and distributors in seven states including Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Virginia.

USDA regulation for leafy green industries?

The USDA is proposing that they ask the public about whether the leafy green industry should be further regulated.

More regulation is the USDA's response to several E. coli outbreaks that have been the result of consumption of contaminated produce.

One option is a national version of the industry-developed standards that followed the E. coli outbreak and now govern California farmers and leafy green handlers. The USDA is considering both voluntary and mandatory standards, officials say, but favors a voluntary program that allows flexibility.

California and Arizona leafy greens producers have already signed marketing agreements that were designed to encourage good manufacturing practices across their industry, and the United Fresh Produce Association has asked the government to step in and regulate farming and processing practices for leafy greens.
 

E. coli victim still hospitalized

Stephanie Smith E. coliSharon Smith, the mother of Stephanie Smith, a Minnesota resident who has been hospitalized for months after eating a hamburger and becoming ill with E. coli poisoning, spoke with Kirsti Marohn of the St. Cloud Times for an article that appeared in today's paper.  She shared the story of the few days before Stephanie became ill with symptoms of E. coli infection, and of her hospitalization. 

The 20-year-old dance instructor has undergone intensive medical treatment while doctors work to support her body.  Five days after becoming ill, Stephanie was hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome and was placed in a coma when she began having seizures.  As Kristi Marohn wrote:
Two months later, she remains in critical condition at St. Marys Hospital in Rochester, fighting for her life against a severe case of E. coli poisoning.

Doctors have told Sharon that Stephanie remains extremely critical. She was diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, caused when E. coli toxins enter the bloodstream.

The severity of her case is very rare, similar to only a handful of others worldwide. Still, Sharon hasn’t given up hope that her only daughter, with her wide smile and warm personality, will pull through.

There are hopeful signs. Stephanie’s kidneys have started functioning again, and she no longer needs dialysis. But there are setbacks, too. Her tongue has swelled so doctors have had to prop her mouth open and put an oxygen mask on her. So far, attempts to lower the coma-inducing drugs have resulted in more seizures. She continues to breathe with the help of a respirator.
Stephanie's is one of the most severe E. coli cases reported on in recent years, but she is not alone.  Other E. coli victims from outbreaks this fall have also been hospitalized for lengthy periods - at least one other in a coma

Indiana, Utah residents fight E. coli infections

E. coli In September, an E. coli outbreak among students at Galena Elementary School perplexed health officials.  Several children became ill with E. coli and a source of the outbreak was elusive.  The sibling of two students at Galena Elementary battled an E. coli infection during the outbreak, and continues to recover after being on dialysis.  His mother has been hospitalized since she became ill with E. coli over 52 days ago. 

WAVE3 TV out of St. Louis, Missouri, reported the story of Amelia Seraiah's E. coli illness and hospitalization last night:
A Floyd County woman watched her son battle a deadly strain of E. coli back in September. Now she's hospitalized with the same illness. But her health isn't the only problem the single mother of five is facing.

It was 52 days ago -- on September 30th -- when Amelia Seraiah came down with the deadly bacteria. Her children are now staying with family members, who say they just pray she makes a full recovery.

Sharon Peltier has a lot to be thankful for this week. Her 3-year-old grandson, William, is off dialysis and doing better. He spent 17 days last month in Kosair Children's Hospital. Now Peltier's daughter (William's mother) is in Norton Hospital, fighting the same illness: E. coli.
Amelia isn't the only person battling an E. coli infection who will spend Thanksgiving in the hospital.  7-year-old Jayden Moss, of Willard, Utah, is expected to remain hospitalized until February.  He became ill with an E. coli infection earlier this fall and has suffered brain damage due to neurological involvement of HUS.  According to KSL.com:
Jayden is now at the learning level of an infant after developing Hemalitic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) from E. coli.

"He started throwing up and diarrhea," his mother, Rachael, said.

It eventually shut down his kidneys, and blood vessels in his body began bursting, causing severe brain damage. "Right now he doesn't walk, doesn't talk, he doesn't eat on his own, he's fed by a machine," Jayden's father, Jeremiah, explained.
According to the KSL story, Jayden's first-grade classmates have raised $6,500 to help his family pay their medical bills.

E. coli, HUS, a Coma, and Recovery

Matt Roberts, a Mattoon High School senior from Mattoon, Illinois, became ill with an E. coli infection just before an E. coli outbreak was traced to El Rancherito restaurant in Effingham last September.

His E. coli infection progressed to hemolytic uremic syndrome and he was hospitalized for over a month.  While hospitalized, Matt was placed in a medically-induced coma for ten days, and underwent dialysis and blood and plasma transfusions.  Even after he was released from the hospital, Matt continued to receive plasma transfusions.

The Coles County Health Department worked to identify the source of his E. coli infection but has thus far been unable to determine the source of his illness.
 

Meat Safety

In an editorial titled, "Is the meat you buy safe enough?" that appears online at the Eco-Logic Powerhouse website, Henry Lamb evaluates the state of the meat industry and USDA's role in it, including the recent E. coli outbreaks linked to meat produced at Topps and Cargill.

In the editorial, Mr. Lamb analyzes what in his view is the inadequacy of the current USDA inspection system and discusses USDA's current efforts to implement an animal tracking system - which he believes is completely unnecessary.

Mr. Lamb addressed the argument that irradiation will make food safer, and suggests that if food irradiation is implemented, there will be less pressure on slaughterhouses to prevent contamination.
 

Kansas girl on dialysis following E. coli infection

Five-year-old Aubrey Anderson is undergoing dialysis treatments at a Wichita hospital to combat the effects of hemolytic uremic syndrome secondary to E. coli infection. The child has been hospitalized for 18 days.

Aubrey remains on a feeding tube, which goes down through her nose and bypasses her stomach into her intestines. She continues to frequently vomit, however, which displaces the feeding tube.

Possible pizza E. coli case in Iowa

The Des Moines Register reported this morning that an Iowa E. coli case might be connected to the E. coli outbreak that was traced back to consumption of Totino's and Jeno's pizzas earlier this month.  According to the story, testing is still being conducted, and the epidemiologic investigation has not yet concluded that the pizza was the source of the Iowan's illness; however, the investigation is ongoing.  Nigel Duara wrote:
totino's ecoli outbreakDr. Patricia Quinlisk of the Iowa Department of Public Health said Tuesday that either a person in western Iowa contracted a strain of E. coli that matches the DNA "fingerprint" of the E. coli bacterium involved in a national frozen pizza recall, or the person's history involves consumption of the tainted product.

The bacterium in the recall is blamed for sickening 23 people in 12 other states, including bordering states South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin.

Quinlisk said the department has investigated three cases. Two did not match the strain found in the pepperoni in Totino's and Jeno's pizzas, but one case is still under investigation.

"We're still waiting for some further information," Quinlisk said Tuesday. "We don't know it's definitely here. Two (cases) were proved not to be here."
General Mills announced on November 1, 2007, that the company was recalling its Totino’s Crisp Crust Party pizzas and Jeno’s Crisp ‘N Tasty pizzas for possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination. The recall was initiated after over 20 people became ill with E. coli infections after eating the pizzas.

The pizzas were produced on or before October 30, and were distributed nationwide. Each package is marked with “EST. 7750” inside the USDA seal of inspection, and has a “best if used by” date on or before April 2, 2008.

Ground beef positive for E. coli could become part of your lasagna, meat loaf, or pre-cooked hamburgers - even part of your kid's school lunch

A loophole in the food safety system allows E. coli-contaminated ground beef to become part of pre-cooked products destined for the frozen foods section at grocery stores and school lunches through the USDA's National School Lunch Program, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Food Safety and Inspection Service inspectors believe that the amount of E. coli contamination in ground beef products has not declined nearly as much as has been touted in the last several years.

If a company tests ground beef, and it is positive for E. coli and shifted to a "cook only" line, USDA testing is apparently not performed on the product.

After ConAgra recalled 19 million pounds of ground beef for E. coli contamination in 2002, the company planned to "recycle" the ground beef it recovered by using it in canned chili products and pet food. After consumers learned of ConAgra’s plan, the company ultimately announced that it was destroying the ground beef instead of re-using it.
 

More E. coli cases pop up in Ohio, Wisconsin

The Sandusky County Health Department in Ohio is investigating the source of a Ross High School student's E. coli case.

Since the source of the outbreak has not been identified, SCHD sent home a letter with students at Ross High School so that they would be aware of the symptoms of E. coli infection.

Fremont School Superintendent Traci McCaudy said that the cleaning staff disinfected all of the classrooms, following strict health department guidelines. The student can return to school when she is symptom free.

In addition, Wisconsin health officials are investigating an E. coli case in a student who attends St. Norbert College.
 

Topps hamburgers still being sold in New Jersey

Ground beef patties produced by Topps Meat Company that were recalled for possible E. coli contamination in September are still on store shelves.

Over the past few weeks, 141 boxes of Topps burgers have been found at 12 stores, all in northern New Jersey except for one in Gloucester City in Camden County, according to the state Division of Consumer Affairs.

At least six people in New York had become ill with E. coli infections after eating Topps Meats' ground beef, and the investigation into these illnesses by the New York Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was what led to the resulting recall.

Topps Meat Company of Elizabeth, New Jersey, recalled 21.7 million pounds of frozen ground beef products that may have been contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The CDC announced that 38 confirmed illnesses had been tied to the outbreak in 9 states: Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
 

Kansas child hospitalized with E. coli, benefit planned for Wisconsin family

Aubrey Anderson, a five-year-old from Sterling, Kansas, has been hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome, secondary to E. coli infection. Doctors believe she could remain hospitalized for 3-6 weeks.

Public health officials have not yet been able to determine the source of Aubrey's illness, unlike in the case of Courtney Hansen, an eight-year-old from Ellsworth, Wisconsin, who was recently released from the hospital after a five-week stay while she was treated for HUS.

In Courtney's case, the Pierce County Herald reported that she and her younger twin sisters all became ill with E. coli infections after eating wind-fall apples.

Benefits are being planned to raise money for medical expenses.
 

Tennessee family sues Cargill over E. coli illnesses

Marler Clark has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Knoxville, Tennessee, residents Jim and Georgia McDonald and their two children, who both became ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections and were hospitalized after eating hamburgers made from Cargill ground beef patties.

Four-year-old John McDonald was seen in the emergency room, where he was treated for dehydration and released. The next day, he was taken by ambulance to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, and was admitted. While hospitalized, John developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, pancreatitis, compromised liver function, and bowel necrosis.

He was later transferred to the University of Tennessee Medical Center for dialysis, and on October 16th underwent surgery to have part of his bowel removed. After nearly a month’s hospitalization, John was discharged from the hospital, but has not yet fully recovered from his E. coli infection and the following complications.

One-year-old Michaela McDonald fell ill with symptoms of E. coli infection about a day after John, and was treated for dehydration at the emergency room. Michaela was then admitted to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. When her brother was transferred to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, Michaela was also transferred. She remained hospitalized for over a week.
 

Iowa, New York report E. coli cases

E. coli cases in Iowa and New York have surfaced. In Iowa, three children have tested positive for E. coli infection in the last few weeks. Two of the children attend the same daycare center, and an investigation into the cases is ongoing.

Polk County Health Department experts said they have connected at least two cases, but have not found the source.

In New York, one child from Niagara County was recently diagnosed with E. coli. The student in the Wilson Central School District is now back in school after recovering completely from the illness. The public health department is still investigating the source of the child's illness.
 

California E. coli case prompts investigation

A San Bernardino child has been diagnosed with E. coli, according to the Press-Enterprise. Public health officials are working to determine the source of E. coli contamination, and are including the child's daycare in the investigation.

Health department investigators asked Ravon Bivins’ mother, Monique, about animal and food exposures as part of the E. coli investigation.

California Department of Social Services spokesman Oscar Ramirez stated the agency is investigating a complaint filed last week against the KinderCare facility that Ravon attended.
 

Topps meat found in NJ stores after recall

Meat recalled a month ago that could be contaminated with E. coli was found in seven northern New Jersey stores, state consumer safety officials said Tuesday.

Inspectors in the past week have seized 138 boxes of frozen hamburgers made by Topps Meat Co., which issued a nationwide recall on Sept. 29 for 21.7 million pounds of frozen patties.

Four of the stores, all in Jersey City, were located after a distributor was subpoenaed by the state Division of Consumer Affairs and provided shop names and locations. Inspectors found the other three while visiting nearly 200 stores in Hudson County

State authorities have not determined when the meat was delivered to the stores.
 

Topps E. coli outbreak update

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service has announced that in a joint investigation between the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and FSIS, investigators had determined that Ranchers Beef, a Canadian company, had supplied E. coli-contaminated beef trimmings to Topps.

The agency also announced that Ranchers Beef, Ltd., has been "delisted" since October 20, meaning the company has not been eligible to export meat to the United States since that date.

Topps has expanded an earlier recall to include 21.7 million pounds of ground beef products for possible E. coli contamination. The recall was initiated after illnesses associated with the products were reported in New York, Pennsylvania, and several other states.  As of October 26, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had identified 40 illnesses under investigation as being part of the outbreak.
 

Aftermath of an E. coli outbreak: industry changes

Federal investigators are saying that they have recently learned that Topps Meat Company failed to require adequate testing on the raw beef it bought from its domestic suppliers, and it sometimes mixed tested and untested meat in its grinding machines.

The Agriculture Department acknowledged that its safety inspectors, who were in the Topps plant for an hour or two each day, never cited the company for these problems.

Additionally, Topps, like many other beef processors, had bought an increasing amount of meat from overseas. Some types of meat from foreign countries are not required to be tested for contamination.

There have been 15 E. coli O157:H7 recalls in beef this year, eight of which caused illnesses. The USDA now will test meat at large plants about 12 times a year, up from seven.
 

Tennessee toddler dies after fighting E. coli

A Cocke County, Tennessee child has died after fighting an E. coli infection. The girl, who was 20-months-old and was diagnosed with E. coli on October 9, was determined to be brain-dead on Monday and her heart stopped functioning late Tuesday night.

Officials with the East Tennessee Regional Health Department said Wednesday the source of Jaycee's infection has not been confirmed, according to WATE.com.

The toddler’s family says Jaycee had a little bit of hamburger meat the Saturday before she got sick, but they don't know if that was the cause of her infection.
 

New York Couple Sues Topps: Punitive damages sought

A lawsuit seeking punitive damages was filed today against Topps, the New Jersey beef supplier that recalled nearly a year's supply of frozen ground beef patties after its products were identified as the source of an E. coli outbreak in September.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Keith and Kristin Goodwin and their 8-year-old son, Lucas, by Seattle-based Marler Clark and Rochester-based Underberg & Kessler.

The lawsuit states that Topps had knowledge of consumer illness tied to its products and a positive E. coli sample from its ground beef patties no later than September 8th, seven days before Kristin and Lucas Goodwin ate Topps hamburgers.

Kristin was released from the hospital on September 26th, but Lucas developed hemolytic uremic syndrome and remained hospitalized for eight days. While they were hospitalized, Topps recalled 332,000 pounds of ground beef products.  The company later expanded the recall to include 21.7 million pounds of ground beef.
 

E. coli is everywhere!

E. coli cases have sprung up across the nation in recent weeks. Some of these cases have been traced back to the millions of pounds of ground beef that have been recalled by Cargill and Topps, but in other cases a source has not been identified.

Of recent news reported:

  • Two North Carolina children became ill with E. coli infections after eating hamburgers produced by Cargill.  The children have since recovered from their E. coli infections, and Cargill recalled 840,000 pounds of ground beef patties sold at Sam's Club and other stores.
  • J&B Meats Corporation recalled 173,000 pounds of ground beef.
  • Public health officials have been so far unable to determine the source of an E. coli outbreak at an elementary school in southern Indiana where ten children became ill with E. coli infections. At least one child is still hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome.
  • A Tennessee toddler has been hospitalized from eating an potentially E. coli-contaminated hamburger.  If her case is, in fact, tied to ground beef, her case may be related to three other E. coli cases in Knox County that have been confirmed part of the Cargill E. coli outbreak.
     

Non-O157:H7 E. coli getting attention

Federal regulators will be meeting to discuss the incidence of E. coli outbreaks and illnesses that can be attributed to E. coli strains that produce Shiga-toxins, but are not E. coli O157:H7.

For years, E. coli 0157:H7 has been the only strain being the focus of government oversight and has prompted massive nationwide food recalls. But evidence has been piling up in the past several years to show there are other forms of dangerous E. coli bacteria that may be just as deadly to humans.

While the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list just 501 cases of illness caused by these other dangerous E. coli bacteria in 2005, the number is probably much greater than that, USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety Richard Raymond said.
 

Cargill E. coli outbreak gets bigger - fallout of beef recalls continues

Three students from Wisconsin and two North Carolina children were added to the number of E. coli illnesses caused by consumption of E. coli-contaminated ground beef patties produced by Cargill and sold by Sam's Club today.

The Wisconsin students all ate hamburgers served at a cookout before a soccer game on campus. The North Carolina children had both attended a cookout where hamburgers were served.

Sam's Club has pulled more than 840,000 pounds of patties nationwide.
 

Wisconsin E. coli cases investigated for link to Cargill outbreak

At least five Wisconsin residents have been diagnosed with E. coli, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Health officials are working to determine whether the Wisconsin cases have a link to earlier cases reported in Minnesota that were traced back to consumption of E. coli-contaminated hamburgers produced by Cargill and sold at Sam's Club.

One of the victims, an 18-year-old Milwaukee woman, has been confirmed to be suffering from an E. coli infection induced by the same strain of E. coli found in Minnesota children who ate Cargill-brand hamburgers and became ill. The 18-year-old woman linked to the Minnesota cases is the only Wisconsin person whom officials have described.

More tests are being conducted to determine whether any of the other Wisconsin cases share the same strain of E. coli as the Minnesota cases.
 

Indiana E. coli not likely from food

An E. coli outbreak among children who attend Galena Elementary School may not have come from a source inside or close to the school.

DNA test results have shown a link between the strain of the E. coli in the Galena cases with an isolated case reported outside the county in August.

“This finding suggests that outbreak strain may have been circulating in the community or the environment prior to the outbreak,” says Dr. Tom Harris, Floyd County health officer. “Some cases do not attend Galena Elementary School nor reside in Floyd County.”

State and county health officials would not identify the location of the isolated case.
 

Topps E. coli victim's story told, Cargill recall details released

Marler Clark client Emily McDonald's mom Catherine is thankful that doctors did not treat her daughter with antibiotics without knowing whether she was suffering from E. coli or not. The administration of antibiotics is believed to be a potential contributing factor to children developing hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Antibiotics and painkillers can slow the expulsion of the bacteria from the body and cause more complications, said Josh Schaffzin, the state Department of Health's medical director of the regional epidemiology program.

Emily has been able to start school with her third-grade classmates at St. Pius X School in Loudonville. She's returned to her soccer team and is starting saxophone lessons.

Topps Meat Company, LLC, of Elizabeth, N.J., has voluntarily expanded its Sept. 25 recall to include a total of approximately 21.7 million pounds of frozen ground beef products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.
 

Topps closes, USDA admits recall could have happened sooner

Topps Meat Company, the company whose ground beef products were identified as the source of an E. coli outbreak and recalled over 21 million pounds of ground beef in recent weeks, closed today. It is closing its business six days after it was forced to issue the second-largest beef recall in U.S. history and 67 years after it first opened its doors.

USDA officials also acknowledged that the recall could have been announced much faster, admitting that a positive E. coli sample from Topps brand meat was identified weeks before the recall was announced.

Topps began recalling frozen hamburger patties that may have been contaminated with the E. coli bacteria strain O157:H7. The recall eventually ballooned to 21.7 million pounds of ground beef.

Topps Chief Operating Officer Anthony D'Urso, told the Jeff Gold of the Associated Press that a few employees will remain at the processing facility to help USDA scientists investigate the source of the E. coli outbreak, but that the company would not reopen.

Thirty people in eight states had E. coli infections matching the strain found in the Topps patties, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. None have died. The decision will cost 87 people their jobs.
 

Two E. coli cases identified in Grayson County, KY

Two E. coli cases have been reported in Grayson County, Kentucky, according to the Grayson County News-Gazette.

Public health officials have not indicated that the cases are related to the Topps meat recall and E. coli outbreak or to the E. coli outbreak among children attending an Indiana school.

One of the cases being reported in Grayson County is school-based, whereas the other case is not, says Linda Sims, director for the Lincoln Trail District Health Department. She said the two cases do not seem to be related since the two patients do not have any contact with each other.
 

Seattle-area family ill with E. coli

Public health officials and health care providers are trying to determine where a Seattle-area family picked up E. coli, but have not yet come up with any answers.

First, 16-month-old Adelido started to show symptoms of E. coli two weekends ago, according to KING 5 News. Then, 3-year-old Carlitos became ill a few days later. Right after both boys got out of the hospital, their grandmother who often babysits them checked into the hospital with the same symptoms.

 

7 hospitalized with E. coli in Indiana

The number of E. coli infections tied to Galena Elementary School in Floyd County, Indiana, has risen to ten.

Among the ten sickened, seven have been hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome in Louisville, Kentucky. Three of the cases are not students.

Seven children have been hospitalized for E. coli infections, but Kosair Children's Hospital says federal privacy laws prohibited him from identifying them or describing their conditions, reports the Indianapolis Star.
 

Topps E. coli-tainted hamburger recall tops 21,700,000 pounds

Topps Meat Company LLC, of Elizabeth, NJ, has voluntarily expanded its recall announced on September 25 to include 21.7 million pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. This represents all products produced by Topps with a "sell by date" or "best if used by date" that falls between September 25, 2007 and September 25, 2008.

This information may be found on the back panel of the package. All recalled products will have a USDA establishment number of EST 9748, which is located on the back panel of the package and/or in the USDA legend.  So far nearly 30 people had been confirmed ill in at least 8 states.

This recall tops the Con Agra recall of 19,000,000 pounds in 2002 that sickened over forty and killed one and is just under the 25,000,000 pounds recalled by now-bankrupt Hudson Foods in 1997.  Here are a few examples of E. coli illnesses and outbreaks occurring in 2007:

  1. At least thirteen people were confirmed ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections after eating ground beef produced by United Food Group sold in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming and Montana. Over 5,700,000 pound of meat were recalled.

  2. Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. recalled 40,440 pounds of ground beef products due to possible contamination with E. coli O157:H7. No illnesses yet reported.
  3. Seven Minnesotans were confirmed as part of the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that prompted PM Beef Holdings to recall 117,500 pounds of beef trim products that was ground and sold at Lunds and Byerly’s stores.
  4. Twenty-seven people were confirmed ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections in Fresno County. The Fresno County Department of Community Health inspected the “Meat Market” in Northwest Fresno, the source of the outbreak.
  5. At least two people were confirmed ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections in Michigan after eating ground beef produced by Davis Creek Meats and Seafood of Kalamazoo, Michigan. The E. coli outbreak prompted Davis Creek Meats and Seafood to recall approximately 129,000 pounds of beef products that were distributed in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
  6. Following reports of three Napa Valley children who became sick from hamburger patties sold at a St. Helena Little League snack shack, 100,000 pounds of hamburger (that was a year old) was recalled.
  7. Several people were confirmed ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections in Pennsylvania after eating E. coli-contaminated meat products at Hoss’s Family Steak and Sea Restaurants, a Pennsylvania-based restaurant chain that purchased its meat from HFX, Inc., of South Claysburg, Pennsylvania. As a result of the outbreak, HFX recalled approximately 4,900 pounds of meat products.


 

E. coli cases up to 21 in Topps outbreak

A Topps Meats, of Elizabeth, New Jersey press release reported that at least 21 people in eight states could be part of an E. coli outbreak that has been traced back to consumption of ground beef products produced by their company.  The CDC has confirmed three cases linked to Topps, and is waiting on lab testing for confirmation of an additional 18 cases, according to the Associated Press.

Health officials found contaminated burgers in one New York victim's home freezer.  The boxes recalled carry the number "Est. 9748" inside the USDA mark and were produced on June 22, July 12 or July 23.



The recalled products include certain 10-pound boxes of Butcher's Best 100% All Beef Patties; certain 10-pound boxes of Kohler Foods burgers; certain 10-pound boxes of Sand Castle Fine Meat; some 2-pound boxes of Topps 100% Pure Ground Beef Hamburgers; and some 3-pound boxes of Topps 100% Pure Ground Beef Hamburgers.

Illinois child with E. coli infection hospitalized with HUS

A six-year-old first grade student at Galena Elementary School in Indiana has been hospitalized with kidney failure after she developed hemolytic uremic syndrome following an E. coli infection, according to WLKY news. 

The child is one of six students at the school who have been confirmed as suffering E. coli infections, with five cases unconfirmed but possibly linked to the outbreak.  The state health department has joined the outbreak investigation, and is sending three additional investigators to help determine the source of the outbreak.  The school has been thoroughly cleaned but parents are still concerned about the safety of their kids.



State Health Officials said they are sending three more specialists to Floyd County to help track down the source of an E. coli infection.  Two food specialists and a second epidemiologist are scheduled to inspect the school Tuesday.

 

E. coli outbreak one year later

USA Today featured a detailed timeline of last year's spinach outbreak - from the first death to the discovery that spinach was the source of the outbreak to the fifth death and how the spinach industry and federal investigators and regulators responded during the crises and beyond. 

Marler Clark client Jillian Kohl stated in the article:  "By the time I am 40 to 45 years old, I could be laying in a bed hooked up to dialysis machines again. I know death is inevitable, but sometimes it feels like quite a load to carry, knowing a rough timeline has potentially been put on my life."

 

Kindergarteners hospitalized with E. coli

Health officials in Russelville, Kentucky warn that two kindergarten students have been diagnosed with E. coli infections.  It is unclear how the students became infected with E. coli, but an investigation is underway and the school sent letters home with students last week to notify parents about the girls' illness, according to The News-Democrat & Leader.

“When we had the first student become sick we were concerned but didn't do anything because we weren't sure where she had gotten it,” said Logan County Superintendent Marshall Kemp. “But when you have two that get sick you start looking at things differently.”



Kemp said the school has been disinfected in several areas including the kindergarten classes, primary grade classrooms, the restrooms and busses. He said the school notified each parent by letter and attempted to call each kindergarten parent.
 

Ninth E. coli case reported in beef recall

Yesterday, an Idaho woman was added to the list of people who became ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections after eating ground beef produced by a Clackamas, Oregon meat producer and consumers were warned to check their freezers for potentially contaminated ground beef products. Illnesses associated with the outbreak have been reported in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

This morning, Alex Pulaski of the Oregonian reported that a Bend, Oregon, resident helped Oregon health officials determine the source of her E. coli illness and establish a link to the Washington and Idaho cases.

Amber Wark, one of the family members who had fallen ill, discovered a telling clue Saturday morning while taking it on herself to rummage through a dozen garbage bags in a trailer bed: packaging for 4 pounds of ground beef.

The wrappers led state epidemiologists, federal agricultural inspectors and Washington health authorities back to Interstate Meat Distributors Inc. in Clackamas, which had ground the meat that Wark bought July 29 at Safeway.
 

Washington, Oregon residents ill with E. coli after eating ground beef

The Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today that Interstate Meat Dist., Inc., of Clackamas, Oregon, was recalling 41,305 pounds of ground beef products for potential E. coli O157:H7 contamination. The recall was announced after at least eight people in Oregon and Washington became ill with E. coli infections after eating the ground beef products.

This public health alert was initiated after epidemiological investigations conducted by the State of Oregon Department of Health Services and the Washington State Department of Health determined that there is a possible link between the ground beef products and eight confirmed E. coli O157:H7 illnesses reported in Oregon and Washington.

The products subject to this public health alert include:

  • 16-ounce packages of "Northwest Finest 7% FAT, NATURAL GROUND BEEF." The label bears a UPC code of "752907 600127."
  • 16-ounce packages of "Northwest Finest 10% FAT, Organic GROUND BEEF."

     

$5.5 million to go toward E. coli research

Yesterday, the USDA announced that it has awarded $5.5 million to researchers who are working to determine the risk factors and prevention measures for E. coli O157:H7 contamination in fresh produce.

USDA's Agricultural Research Service and Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service are providing the funding to ARS researcher Rob Mandrell and his collaborators at the University of California to continue their research in the Central Valley of California. Over the next three years ARS will contribute $5 million and CSREES will contribute $470,999. In 2006, CSREES awarded Mandrell and colleague Robert Atwill at University of California-Davis $1.2 million to do research in the Salinas Valley.

Mandrell will address where E. coli O157:H7 originates, how it survives on the plant, and what factors lead to an increase in produce-related outbreaks. Potential risk factors include animals, land practices, packing and processing processes and wildlife.

Additionally, the project will feature workshops and publications to educate the animal operators, natural resource managers and the public about animal diseases that can be transferred to humans, how animal waste can contaminate water sources, and beneficial management practices for maintaining and improving water runoff quality.
 

E. coli cases up: Reporter looks at 10-year history of E. coli in ground beef

A lot has happened since the largest ground beef recall in U.S. history, including a significant decline in E. coli contamination and illnesses. Since 1996, E. coli cases have trended downward, but in 2004 and 2006, E. coli cases are back up.

In April, the United States Department of Agriculture began testing beef trimmings - the meat that goes into ground beef - for E. coli contamination.  The testing is done before trimmings leave the slaughterhouse to be processed at a grinding operation.

Packing plants also are encouraged to hold onto ground beef until E. coli tests are returned and are confirmed as positive, Raymond said, a process that could take a day. The USDA offers to cut back on some of its other inspections if plants agree to wait for results.

E. coli outbreaks traced back to ground beef continue to happen, but the significant decline in illnesses is a tribute to the industry's efforts to clean up.  The recent up-tick in E. coli cases traced to contaminated produce are cause for concern.  Like the beef industry, the produce industry must implement an effective industry-wide approach at curbing E. coli contamination to keep the number of cases - and outbreaks - down.
 

Colorado E. coli outbreak investigation focuses on daycare, water sources

Health officials in Colorado are investigating an E. coli outbreak among children in Eagle County. Several cases have been confirmed in children under 5. The county is focusing on swimming pools and child-care centers in its investigation.

In the summer of 1998, 26 children became ill from E. coli O157:H7 contracted while playing in the kiddie pool at White Water Park, a commercial water park in suburban Atlanta. Seven of those children were hospitalized and a 2-year-old boy died from hemolytic uremic syndrome, a kidney disorder caused by E. coli O157:H7.

In August of 2000, the Kindercare facility located on Lexington Drive in Folsom, California, was traced as the source of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak. Health department officials who investigated the outbreak determined that the probable “index case” – a child who unknowingly brought the bacteria into the facility – experienced “explosive diarrhea at the daycare on the afternoon of 8-3-00.”
 

E. coli and the county fair

A 2003 study on the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in livestock at 29 county and 3 large state agricultural fairs in the United States found that E. coli O157:H7 could be isolated from 13.8 percent of beef cattle, 5.9 percent of dairy cattle, 3.6 percent of pigs, 5.2 percent of sheep, and 2.8 percent of goats. Over seven percent of pest fly pools also tested positive for E. coli O157:H7.

Legislation and the implementation of guidelines and regulations will greatly reduce the likelihood of zoonotic disease outbreaks in North Carolina, but most states have not yet enacted the same measures, and outbreaks will continue to happen.

Anniversary of an outbreak

Tomorrow marks one year since E. coli-contaminated spinach was harvested from a field in California's Salinas Valley. One month from today will mark a year from the date US health officials - the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control - confirmed that that spinach was the source of a nationwide E. coli outbreak, and announced that all bagged spinach products were being recalled for possible E. coli contamination.

Earthbound Farms, which is the largest producer of gourmet salad greens, hired food safety microbiologist Mansour Samadpour to set up a testing lab just days after the outbreak was traced to the company's products.  Dr. Samadpour instituted a testing regimen that is the most aggressive in the leafy greens industry.  All products are now checked for pathogens when they arrive at the processing plant and when they are through processing.

E. coli cases in Georgia

Health officials in Glynn County, Georgia have confirmed that they are investigating three E. coli cases. So far this year, 15 E. coli cases have been reported in Georgia, including the three cases under investigation. All three of the Glynn County cases involve adults - one who remains hospitalized, and who who were hospitalized, but have been released.

"We're now waiting on results of more sophisticated testing to see if these three people were infected by the same source," said Saroyi Morris, environmental health director of the Coastal Health District.

They hope to receive those results early in the week.
 

Children die in Canada, Japan, after suffering E. coli infections

A two-year-old Canadian boy and three-year-old Japanese girl died recently after becoming ill with E. coli infections and hemolytic uremic syndrome. The source of each child's illness is being investigated by public health officials.

The Canadian child became ill in June, and died just days after being hospitalized.  He was not part of an outbreak, and investigators are working to determine whether his illness can be associated with any other illnesses across Canada.

The Japanese child became ill at the end of July, and also died just days after her hospitalization.  Health officials have linked the girl's illness to a cluster of E. coli infections associated with the day care facility she attended, but have not yet announced whether the outbreak is foodborne or is from some other source.

Officials said they suspect all five were fed the same food at the school, but they are also investigating whether the source of infection was from outside the school.

Two children are still being treated at a hospital in the city for diarrhea and sore tummies.
 

E. coli/Crohn's Link Discovered

Researchers at Cornell University have conducted research that indicates Crohn's Disease can be caused by unpathogenic E. coli. Crohn's disease is an inflammatory intestinal disorder that affects one in 1,000 people in Europe and North America.

A team of Cornell University scientists from the College of Veterinary Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences have discovered that a novel group of E. coli bacteria - containing genes similar to those described in uropathogenic and avian pathogenic E. coli and enteropathogenic bacteria such as salmonella, cholera, bubonic plague - is associated with intestinal inflammation in patients with Crohn's disease in their research paper published July 12 by "The ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology."

Raw milk risks

Despite evidence that raw or unpasteurized milk carries health risks, growing numbers of consumers are skirting laws prohibiting the sale of unpasteurized milk through creative solutions called "cow sharing." In theory, the practice allows them to buy part of an animal and then, as a co-owner, acquire and drink its raw milk.

But some states are cracking down on these arrangements or tightening laws to prevent them. In Maryland, for example, where it has long been illegal to sell raw milk for public consumption, officials adopted emergency regulations in October to stop farmers from selling shares of livestock to consumers.

"We believe that it is a sham to circumvent the law," says Ted Elkin, deputy director of Maryland's Office of Food Protection and Consumer Health Services. A farmer has since sued to overturn the new regulation. The case remains in litigation.
 

Birmingham - area toddler home after suffering E. coli and HUS

The Troy Messenger published a follow-up story on Mallory Chandler, a Troy, Alabama, toddler who became ill with an E. coli infection and HUS while she was on vacation with her family in late June. Mallory was recently released from the hospital, and The Messenger spoke with her grandmother, Linda Chandler, about her illness and hospitalization.

Where Mallory contracted E.coli, Chandler said probably no one will ever know.

“They thought it might have been from the pool, but I don't really think that,” she said. “It could have come from anywhere. She could have touched something and then put her hand in her mouth. We just don't know.”
 

NACMPI to meet on meat and poultry inspections

FSIS announced today that the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection will hold public meetings to discuss issues related to how data is handled and public health-based inspection.

This spring, millions of pounds of ground beef and other meat products were recalled due to E. coli contamination.  In several instances, the recalled meat was identified as the source of E. coli outbreaks.

The National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection advises the Secretary of Agriculture on matters affecting federal and state inspection program activities, and will address the following at the meeting:
 

  • Data Collection and Analysis at FSIS: Standard Operating Procedures;
  • Technical Plan for Public Health Based Inspection; and
  • Pilot Project to Explore Mechanisms for Sharing Industry Data with FSIS.
     

Risk of E. coli increases in summertime

Researchers at the University of Minnesota and the University of Nebraska have found that from June through September up to 10 percent to 20 percent of all cattle may test positive for the microbe, which is harmless to cows. In winter, the number of E.coli-positive animals declines to less than 5 percent.

Dr. Robert Gravani of Cornell University acknowledged that summertime means more E. coli outbreaks, and pointed out that consumers grilling more hamburgers is not the only cause, reports Newsday.

 

Three still hospitalized with E. coli after eating at Little Rosie's

Health officials say the Huntsville outbreak most likely was caused by contaminated lettuce served at Little Rosie's between June 27 and June 30. Eighteen of the 19 known victims ate at the popular Mexican restaurant on Whitesburg Drive on those dates; the other infected person did not eat at Little Rosie's and caught the bacteria another way.

Three Little Rosie's customers have been in the hospital since about July 4 undergoing dialysis for kidney damage.

E. coli linked to ground beef

Several reports indicate that 7 people who became ill with E. coli infections earlier this summer were infected after eating contaminated ground beef.

All seven patients, including an 8-year-old North Carolina girl who was hospitalized after her kidneys shut down, are recovering, Dr. Humayun J. Chaudhry, the Suffolk County health commissioner, said Tuesday.

Chaudhry stressed that no specific brand of ground beef has been identified; it was purchased at various locations around Long Island. He also said the majority of those who became ill between June 9 and July 3 were believed to have eaten the beef products at local barbecues and not at restaurants.

He said federal and local health officials are continuing to investigate, but early findings suggest the E. coli contamination is not specific to Suffolk.
 

California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement

The California Department of Food and Agriculture today announced that members of the California Leafy Greens Handler Marketing Agreement can begin using a service mark on July 23. The service mark certifies membership in the LGMA program, and "indicates a handler's commitment to a set of Good Agricultural Practices audited by the LGMA."

In a press release issued by CFDA, Chairman of the LGMA communications committee and member of LGMA board of directors Tom Nunes stated, "The service mark reflects a handler's commitment to implementing enhanced food safety standards.  By using it on their bills of landing, our signatories will be communicating to customers that they are members in good standing of the LGMA."

Using the service mark communicates that a handler is in compliance with the marketing agreement, which means they are producing and marketing lettuce, spinach and other leafy green products in California according to the enhanced Good Agricultural Practices.
 

3 Kentucky children ill with E. coli, 2 hospitalized with HUS

The Bracken County, Kentucky, health department is investigating how three children became ill with E. coli infections. Two siblings and another child fell ill with E. coli nearly a month ago. Two of the children were hospitalized for several weeks with hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Nicole Logan, the mother of two of the children who were ill, tells WLWT that one, her son, Zachary, has been receiving treatment for HUS for over 3 weeks.

"Sometimes the children are not very sick and just have abnormalities in their blood tests. Other times they become very ill and require dialysis or even [have] permanent kidney failure," said Dr. Mitchell Cohen of Children's Hospital.

The Health Department is investigating what could have caused the three cases.

"They're for some reason leaning toward hamburger or spaghetti sauce," said Logan. "I just hope they can find it. I hope it's not still out there. I don't want more people to get sick."
 

Update: Huntsville, Alabama, E. coli Outbreak

In what is now the largest E. coli outbreak in Alabama in 20 years, 18 people who ate at Little Rosie's restaurant in Huntsville, Alabama, have been confirmed as suffering from E. coli O157:H7 infections, and testing is being conducted to determine whether there are additional victims of the outbreak.

The Huntsville Times reports that two people remain hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome, and a third hospitalized E. coli victim's status was not available.

The newest confirmed victims are a 65-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman. Neither got sick enough to need hospital care.

Although state and county health officials point to shredded lettuce as the most likely culprit, Bill Marler, a Seattle lawyer who specializes in foodborne illness cases, said he suspects that the outbreak ultimately will be tied to ground beef.
 

Food Safety Bills Defeated in Assembly Agriculture Committee

The California Assembly Agriculture Committee defeated Senate Bill 202, and did not vote on Senate Bills 200 and 201, all bills introduced by California Senator Dean Florez. The bills were introduced in response to last year's E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks traced to contaminated spinach and lettuce grown in California.

During the hearing, Assembly Member Nicole Parra blasted Florez: "I know you're going to go out to the press and probably say that if someone else dies, it's on our back. Well, don't blame the members of this committee, senator. Blame me if you have an issue, but that is not the message that we want to get out of this committee."

Florez shot back, criticizing Parra and the committee for failing to vote on two of the bills.

"I think this is one of those cowardly acts that will just kind of haunt people as they go on," he told reporters after the hearing. "And people will ask the question, 'Why didn't you ever vote on food safety?' At least say yes or no."
 

Child hospitalized with HUS in Birmingham

A 22-month-old child has been hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome in the Birmingham, Alabama, Children's Hospital.

Her grandfather, Dr Malone Chandler, told The Troy Messenger in regards to Mallory’s condition, “The concern for Mallory is that her kidney function began to decline in the past 24 hours. She is on dialysis, temporarily, and she has had a blood transfusion. She is not in great shape, but the news that we got today is encouraging.”

“At the beach, Mallory played in the pool,” he said. “She had not eaten anything much since last Wednesday or Thursday, so we really don't know of any food that she might have eaten that could have made her sick. We are wondering if it could have been something in the pool water.”

Chandler said in the past week four children have been admitted to Children's Hospital suffering from the same symptoms as Mallory.

Chandler said the source of Mallory's illness is not known and may never be.
 

Vermont children hospitalized in Boston with HUS

Two Vermont children have been hospitalized in Boston with hemolytic uremic syndrome secondary to E. coli infection.

According to family and friends a five-year-old Barre Town girl and a three-year-old girl from Randolph both remain on dialysis after being diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome - a potentially life-threatening disease that destroys red blood cells and causes kidney failure.

Health officials investigating the two cases at this point do not believe that the cases are related, but are continuing to look into the source of both children's E. coli infections.
 

New Jersey child dies after suffering E. coli infection

A first grade student from Hackensack, Bergen County, New Jersey died Thursday after suffering from an E. coli infection.

Health officials are investigating the source of the child's illness, but have yet to find the source.  Jackson Avenue School sent a letter home to parents, alerting them of the child's illness and death, and notifying parents that health officials had not found reason to believe the child contracted E. coli at school.

"We are very confident at this point based on the information they provided us that this is an isolated incident and there is no need for concern," Hackensack Superintendent Dr. Joseph Montesano told CBS 2 HD.
 

No criminal charges over spinach E. coli outbreak

Federal prosecutors have decided against charging companies involved in the September 2006 E. coli outbreak traced to contaminated spinach.

Following the outbreak, which led to the deaths of three people and sickened about 200 others, FBI agents raided two produce processing plants and several farms for evidence of environmental and food-safety violations. The investigation did not find that growers or processors had deliberately skirted the law or were negligent in preventing tainted foods from entering the marketplace, said U.S. Attorney Scott Schools.

Authorities had searched plants in October run by Growers Express LLC in Salinas and Natural Selection Foods LLC in San Juan Bautista, as well as farms in Santa Clara, Monterey and San Benito counties.

The outbreak last August and September caused 205 illnesses in 26 states and killed two elderly women and a toddler. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that about 4,000 people were sickened by the spinach, taking into account that relatively few cases typically are reported.

The companies involved in the spinach E. coli outbreak still face civil litigation.
 

South Dakota reports two E. coli cases

Two children in Yankton County have been diagnosed with E. coli infections. Although a source has not yet been reported, KXMC reports that health officials are working to determine common exposures between the two children who have been diagnosed.

In addition, health officials in Ontario, Canada, have determined that Yaman restaurant, the source of an earlier E. coli outbreak, continues to operate although the restaurant's water supply had been shut of for an 18-hour period.  Sixty-nine diners who had eaten at the restaurant reported symptoms of E. coli infection during a public health investigation.  Nine people were confirmed ill with E. coli, and five were hospitalized.

With no clean water flowing to the restaurant, it would have been impossible for those preparing food to properly clean bacteria from their hands, utensils and surfaces touched by raw meats and other food items, said Dr. Doug Sider, Niagara's associate medical officer of health.
 

E. coli lawsuits and food safety

Chris Waldrop, director of the Consumer Federation of America's Food Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. sees a disturbing return:

"It looked like (improvements in food safety) were working, but something has happened. Something's going on in the food supply chain. We need to figure out what that is. We can't let our guard down. We need to have the same level of vigilance."

Testing at beef processing plants varies from processor to processor, but relies on a combination of industry and USDA guidelines and beef industry "best practices," according to the Sacramento Bee.

In a 2006 Texas A&M study prepared for the beef industry, examples included sampling finished ground beef products every 15 minutes to test specifically for E. coli O157:H7; documenting the source of raw material through lot or serial numbers; and discouraging the introduction of excess meat into the processing flow.

The United Foods recall is the largest of a number of recalls in recent months. In all, more than 6 million pounds of ground beef and related products have been recalled from stores and distribution sites in 25 states since April.
 

First suit filed against UFG by E. coli victim

The first lawsuit stemming from an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak traced to ground beef produced by United Food Group, Inc. was filed yesterday in Riverside County Superior Court, in California.

The lawsuit was filed against UFG by Seattle-based Marler Clark and San Diego-based Gordon and Holmes on behalf of Lawrence Fournier and Cynthia Centura of Hemet, California, whose four-year-old daughter, Lauren, became ill with an E. coli infection and was hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome, a severe, life-threatening complication of E. coli infection that can lead to kidney failure, after eating UFG ground beef.

“The meat industry has made significant progress in preventing E. coli outbreaks traced to meat products in the last five years,” said William Marler, who has dedicated his law practice to representing victims of foodborne illness outbreaks since representing over 100 victims of the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak. “One has to ask, ‘Who dropped the ball at UFG?’”

On June 3, 2007, UFG recalled 75,000 pounds of ground beef due to potential E. coli O157:H7 contamination. After additional testing and more reported illnesses, UFG expanded the recall on June 6 to include 370,000 pounds of ground beef. By June 9, UFG had again expanded its recall to include a total of approximately 5.7 million pounds of both fresh and frozen ground beef products.

The California Department of Health Services, the Colorado Department of Health, and the CDC reported 14 illnesses associated with the outbreak – 6 in Arizona, 3 in California, 2 in Colorado, 1 in Idaho, 1 in Utah, and 1 in Wyoming.
 

E. coli lawsuit filed against PM Beef, Lunds

A lawsuit has been filed against PM Beef Holdings, LLC and Lund Food Holdings, Inc., the producer and retailer who sold E. coli-contaminated ground beef traced to an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in Minnesota and Wisconsin residents in April, 2007.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Minneapolis, Minnesota, woman who became ill with an E. coli O157:H7 infection and was hospitalized after eating contaminated ground beef in April. The plaintiff is represented by Marler Clark, a Seattle law firm with a long track record of successfully representing victims of foodborne illness.

The plaintiff is one of seven Minnesotans who were confirmed as part of the E. coli outbreak that prompted PM Beef Holdings to recall 117,500 pounds of beef trim products that was ground and sold at Lunds and Byerly’s stores. She consumed the ground beef on April 19, and became ill with symptoms of an E. coli O157:H7 infection, including bloody diarrhea, on April 24. The plaintiff was hospitalized twice between April 25 and April 30, when she was finally discharged to recover at home.

She has yet to make a full recovery.
 

E. coli outbreaks, recalls reminder of challenges to food safety

The latest technology allowed scientists at the Colorado Department of Health and Environment to link a pair of illnesses in Denver to the same E. coli pathogen sickening several people in California.

The Colorado scientists used an international computer database called PulseNet, created by officials who track illnesses.

"We then saw 11 cases with the same DNA fingerprint in five states," said Jim Beebe, Colorado's chief microbiologist.

"By using information shared worldwide, we can identify outbreaks that once were only viewed as isolated events," Beebe said.

Once Colorado made the link and the source was identified, the USDA announced on June 3 that United had issued a 75,000- pound recall of ground beef processed at its plant on April 20. It later expanded the recall to 5 million pounds of ground beef.
 

China Grove Captain's Galley E. coli Outbreak - Real People - Real Illnesses

I received the following comments on my posts on the Captain's Galley E. coli outbreak:

Chris - June 8, 2007 06:35 AM

My daughter and her boyfriends family all ate there on the 27th. The 2 women in the group both ate the slaw, and both got sick. My daughter's boyfriends mother has been diagnosed with e coli, and my daughter is on her way to the Rowan health dept to get tested for it. Another note, we had to take her to NE Medical ER last Sunday night for the same symptoms and their diagnosis was possible gastoenteritis.

Susan - June 11, 2007 06:21 AM

My great aunt ate at Captains Galley on the 27th.She also ate the slaw. She has been in the hospital since June 2nd, and in ICU since June 2nd.She was diagnosed with e coli. On June the 7th they removed her entire colon. She is still in critical condition and remains in ICU.

Arizona Health Department ID's two cases of E. coli O157:H7 in county

The Arizona Department of Health Services has identified another case of E. coli 0157 in Yavapai County, raising the county total to two.

The Health Department previously identified three other cases in Maricopa County and one from Navajo County.

Four out of the six patients ate hamburger prior to the illness, although officials have not confirmed that the hamburger they ate is part of the United Foods recall.  The Arizona Department of Health Services is working closely with the CDC and the USDA to determine the exact source of the hamburger they ate.

Health officials are urging everyone to cook ground beef to 160 degrees F to kill E. coli and most other bacteria.
 

E. coli lawsuit filed against Minnesota meat supplier, grocer

A lawsuit will be filed today against PM Beef Holdings, LLC and Lund Food Holdings, Inc., the producer and retailer who sold E. coli-contaminated ground beef traced to an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in Minnesota and Wisconsin residents in April, 2007.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit is Anne Herwig, a Minneapolis resident who became ill with an E. coli O157:H7 infection and was hospitalized after eating contaminated ground beef in April.  Ms. Herwig is represented by Marler Clark. Ms. Herwig is one of seven Minnesotans who were confirmed as part of the E. coli outbreak that prompted PM Beef Holdings to recall 117,500 pounds of beef trim products that was ground and sold at Lunds and Byerly’s stores.

 

North Carolina E. coli Outbreak traced to restaurant

Lab tests have confirmed four cases of E. coli so far, and another nine cases are considered probable and are awaiting lab tests.

Officials say many of the sick people ate at the Captain’s Galley Restaurant prior to becoming ill.

The North Carolina Division of Public Health is conducting an investigation into the outbreak along with Rowan and Cabbarus County health departments.
 

More on California Senate passage of food safety bills

Senators have approved a three-bill package by Sen. Dean Florez, giving state health regulators power to set standards for growing and processing leafy produce, including spinach and lettuce, and to set up an inspection program with state agricultural officials.

Growers also would have to set up a system that meets state standards to quickly track contaminated products and to conduct recalls.

The bills head next to the Assembly, where the fight could be just as tough, since Governor Schwarzenegger has not taken a position.
 

E. coli recall: 4 Arizonans part of outbreak

Four cases of E. coli infections have been identified by Arizona health officials as possibly linked to beef that a California meatpacking company recalled Monday.

The beef was processed by United Food Group LLC of Vernon, Ca. and shipped to retail distribution centers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon and Utah. It was sold at Albertsons, Save-A-Lot, Grocery Outlet, Fry's, Save-Mart, Smart and Final, Smith's, and Stater Bros. stores.

E. coli Outbreak: Ground Beef Recall Expanded

United Food Group, LLC, a Vernon, California, establishment, is voluntarily expanding its recall of ground beef products because they may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

The expanded recall totals approximately 370,000 pounds.

The ground beef products in the expanded recall were produced on April 13, while the products subject to the original recall were produced on April 20. The ground beef products were shipped to retail distribution centers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
 

California Senate advances reforms to ensure produce safety

The California State Senate became the first legislative body in the nation to recognize the unique risk posed by leafy greens when it approved Senate bills that enact food safety reforms.

Senate Bill 200 gives the Department of Health Services the authority to recall or destroy produce which may pose a threat to the public. The measure also creates an inspection program to proactively address the threat of outbreaks. DHS inspectors would have the authority to conduct periodic on-farm inspections, including testing of water, soil and produce.

Senate Bill 201 mandates Good Agricultural Practices for leafy green growers, covering everything from water and fertilizer use, to worker hygiene, to the creation of buffer zones between fields and potential contamination sources. Growers would be required to maintain extensive documentation of these practices. These documents would be reviewed by DHS to ensure compliance.

SB 202 calls for the creation of a traceback system that can quickly trace contaminated produce through the various stages of the distribution process, from farm to processor, to distributor, to retailer. In the most recent E. coli outbreaks, lettuce and spinach producers nationwide took a major economic hit, because it could not immediately be determined where the infected produce came from and every farm was suspect. The ability to quickly find the specific source in an outbreak, combined with DHS’ ability to destroy suspect produce, will prevent a similar industry-wide hit in future E. coli outbreaks.
 

E. coli Attorney: Recent outbreaks traced to meat products

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have announced that the incidence of E. coli O157:H7 infection traced to ground beef products had significantly declined. CDC attributed the decline to the implementation of a new set of recommendations from the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service in 2002 and the beef industry's subsequent enhancement of food safety systems, including testing and control measures.

It is true that since 2002, there has been a general decline in the number of E. coli cases traced to red meat, and an increase in the number of E. coli cases traced to fresh produce, namely bagged lettuce and spinach. But in the last weeks E. coli outbreaks traced to beef products have underscored the importance of continued efforts to protect the public from E. coli in meat.

Washington dairy at center of 2005 E. coli outbreak to begin selling raw goats milk

Dee Creek Farms, the Washington dairy that was the source of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak among Washington and Oregon residents in 2005, has recently obtained a license to sell raw goats milk.

After the farm underwent renovations and constructed a milking area, the Washington Department of Agriculture granted Dee Creek Farms a license to bottle and sell the milk, but the license stipulates that the milk must be labeled as "raw" or "unpasteurized."

Dee Creek owners Anita and Michael Puckett are appealing the $8,000 state fine for health and safety violations uncovered while officials were investigating the outbreak and its cause. The administrative hearing is scheduled for June 12-13 in Vancouver.
 

Fresno E. coli outbreak update #3

The number of confirmed cases linked to an E. coli outbreak in the Fresno area has increased by three to 11, according to an article in the Fresno Bee.

Samples are still being tested and additional positive results may be confirmed in the coming days, said Tim Casagrande, director of Fresno County's environmental health services department.

Health officials are focusing on determining which food item served at three separate parties could have been the source.  Early reports indicated that beef tri-tips from the Meat Market was served at all three events.
 

Fresno E. coli outbreak update #2

Health officials have identified two additional people who tested positive for E. coli and may be part of the recent outbreak traced to private gatherings held in the Fresno area.

Investigators are tracking down everyone who attended three private parties where tainted food might have been served.

Officials need to know what the people ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the past week, said David Luchini, division manager of communicable diseases for the Fresno County Community Health Department. He did not have an estimate on how long the interviews would take.

E. coli O157:H7 can cause a complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS.  HUS occurs in 5-10 percent of E. coli patients, and can cause damage to the kidneys, brain, pancreas, and central nervous system.
 

Fresno E. coli outbreak update

KFSN-TV reported that health officials are investigating 20 reported E. coli cases - 16 from the same source - in an outbreak that apparently began after two graduation parties on May 19.

Food from the same Fresno market was served at both graduation parties.

A number of food sources are under scrutiny, but the parties were catered by the same company, said Tim Casagrande, the county's director of environmental health.

Health workers are talking to people in attendance at two other parties held on the same day to determine if more people have become ill.
 

More tips for grilling, picnics

Summer grilling season brings more awareness of E. coli contamination in ground beef and the need to properly cook hamburgers. But other foods must also be properly prepared, stored, and served to prevent foodborne illness, according to the Contra Costa Times.

Realistically, unless you have thermometers in all of your food, it will be difficult to gauge when your food is in the temperature danger zone. Therefore, the FDA recommends leaving perishable food out no longer than two hours, and for no more than one hour in temperatures above 90 degrees.

The best way to keep salads and other cold foods at the right temperature on picnics is to pack them on plenty of ice, and even put serving bowls in a pan or platter of ice.
 

This Memorial Day, Grill Safely to Prevent E. coli

With Memorial Day being the official start of grilling season, the International Food Safety Network highlights the importance of cooking foods to an internal temperature hot enough to kill pathogens like E. coli and salmonella.

Dangerous microorganisms like E. coli and salmonella cannot be sensed by sight, and will happily contaminate good cuts of meat as well as bad ones.

E. coli outbreak in New York

An E. coli outbreak may be ongoing in Montgomery and Fulton Counties in New York.

The State Health Department has confirmed that three children have tested positive for E. coli, and one has been hospitalized. Two of the children attend the same daycare, but officials are not releasing the name of that facility yet, according to WTEN TV.

It is not known how the third child became ill, but health officials say they are performing tests on some of the children attending the daycare program.

During summer months, exposure at pools and water parks has been linked to outbreaks of E. coli, Cryptosporidium, and other bacteria, parasites, and viruses.  Recently, several children became ill with E. coli infections after attending a back yard water slide party near Bakersfield, California.  In 2004, thousands of people became ill with Cryptosporidiosis after exposure to Cryptosporidium at the Seneca Lake Spraypark near Geneva, New York, and in 1998 dozens of children became ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections, including seven children who were hospitalized and one child who died, after playing in a kiddie pool at the White Water waterpark near Atlanta, Georgia.
 

Spinach - a "risky" food

A salad could be one of the riskiest foods on American tables right now, according to New York Times Op/Ed columnist Paul Krugman.

As he puts it,

These are anxious days at the lunch table. For all you know, there may be E. coli on your spinach, salmonella in your peanut butter and melamine in your pet’s food and, because it was in the feed, in your chicken sandwich.

Marler Clark clients Michael and Elizabeth Armstrong and their two daughters, Isabella and Ashley, experienced the repercussions of eating what has been deemed a "risky" food in September, when the daughters became ill from E. coli-contaminated spinach. Ashley nearly died from a complication of E. coli infection known as hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Although Ashley is home now and doing well, she remained on dialysis until December. She must take six medicines daily and has only about 25 percent kidney function. Eventually, she will need a kidney transplant, doctors say.
 

Victims of E. coli outbreaks look for answers, solutions

Marler Clark client Teresa Kaiser was recently interviewed by CNN regarding her E. coli infection.

Teresa became ill with an E. coli infection and suffered kidney failure after eating E. coli-contaminated lettuce at a Taco John's restaurant in Minnesota last November.  Although her kidney function is up to around 44 percent, Teresa now has high blood pressure.

She is looking for answers as to how the lettuce she consumed at Taco John's became contaminated, and health officials' investigation into the outbreak has been hampered since other recent outbreaks have demanded attention that would normally have been afforded to tracing back the Taco John's E. coli outbreak to its source.
 

Florida E. coli settlements

A settlement has been announced involving lawsuits filed against the Florida Strawberry Festival.

Health officials traced the 2005 E. coli outbreak to a petting zoo owned by Plant City-based Ag-Venture Farms, which had brought more than a dozen goats, sheep, cows and chickens to the Florida Strawberry Festival, the Florida State Fair in Tampa and the Central Florida Fair in Orlando.

About 50 people from six counties were sickened at the three events, and 15 filed lawsuits against the petting zoo, according to the Tampa Tribune. Those claims were resolved last year when the 15 victims shared a $1 million settlement from an insurance company representing the petting zoo.

Other suits are pending against the state fair and Central Florida Fair.
 

Food safety video

CNN is featuring a video on food safety on their Web site.  The video, which can be accessed here, focuses on how spinach fields can become contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. 

New York Times focuses on E. coli, food safety

Marler Clark client Elizabeth Armstrong testified in front of the US House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations in regards to food safety.

Her 2-year-old daughter, Ashley, one of more than 200 people affected by the outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 in spinach last year, is still dealing with the effects of kidney failure. Today she is off dialysis and home from the hospital. But she is on daily medication and will eventually need a kidney transplant, said her mother, who lives with her family in a suburb of Indianapolis.

Armstrong suggested efforts to overhaul the US Food and Drug Administration. Her report included comments from important players in the food industry, including a quote from former FDA commissioner Dr. David Kessler, who stated, "Our food safety system is broken."
 

Food Safety Advocate: Barbara Kowalcyk

Barbara Kowalcyk and her husband, Michael, were propelled into food safety advocacy in 2001, when their two-year-old son, Kevin, died after suffering an E. coli O157:H7 infection and hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Barbara served on the Board of Directors for S.T.O.P. (Safe Tables Our Priority) for several years, and recently formed the Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention (CFI).

The Kowalcyks had limited knowledge of foodborne illness before their son got sick. The family lived in Wisconsin at the time. They now live in Loveland, Ohio, near Cincinnati.

"Our public health department didn't have the resources or, frankly, the desire to spend a lot of time investigating our case because it wasn't part of an outbreak," Kowalcyk said. "They did very little to help us. We only found out what we did because we contacted an attorney and he worked on our case.
 

Source of Bakersfield E. coli outbreak found

The Kern County Health Department issued a press release today stating that the investigation into an E. coli outbreak among several Bakersfield, California-area resident had been traced.

Early speculation about the source of the outbreak indicated that health officials were investigating potential exposure to the E. coli bacterium at a restaurant; however, the press release shows that health officials have pinpointed the exposure as happening at a water slide event.

One child is still hospitalized in fair condition, according to an article from the Bakersfield Californian.
 

E. coli victim's story told in local paper

The family of Ashley and Isabella Armstrong, 2 girls affected by E. coli infection from contaminated spinach, told the Herald Journal that one thing they would like to see come out of their ordeal and those of anyone affected by foodborne illness from contaminated food is more stringent government regulations on food safety.

Although Isabella recovered quickly from the infection, her sister Ashley suffered from hemolytic uremic syndrome and kidney failure. As a result, she had to endure blood transfusions and dialysis.

In response to the spate of recalls over the past year - from spinach to peanut butter to pet food - the House Committee on Energy and Commerce last month addressed food safety at its Oversight and Investigations subcommittee hearing.
 

Bakersfield-area E. coli outbreak investigation continues

California health officials continue their investigation into an E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least a dozen people in the Bakersfield, California, area.

A common thread is a restaurant in Bakersfield, but the Kern County Health Department will not reveal its location. Health officials continued to say there is no immediate threat to the public and that is why the health department will not officially name the pizzeria.

Two of the hospitalized children have been released, and two developed hemolytic-uremic syndrome -- a condition marked by kidney failure and seen in serious foodborne illnesses -- and were transferred to hospitals outside Kern County.
 

E. coli infosheet from Food Safety Network

This week's food safety infosheet from the International Food Safety Network focuses on E. coli outbreaks in California and Minnesota.  Both outbreaks were traced to ground beef, and both are still being investigated by health officials. 
Minnesota E. coli Outbreak

California kindergarteners sick with possible E. coli

The Bakersfield Californian reported today that at least four children have become ill with symptoms of E. coli infection, and have been hospitalized - two with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).  Health officials are continuing their investigation into the apparent outbreak, and are assessing potential common exposures the children may have had.  According to the article, "At this point, all that's known is that the four children, who know one another from school or play dates, suffered bloody diarrhea after attending several parties and playing at a local park."

KGET reported
that seven children had been counted as being part of the potential outbreak:
[S]ix kindergardners are sick, some of them hospitalized with the sometimes fatal disease.

An eighth student is a 10-year-old relative of of one of the kindergarders.
HUS develops when the toxin from E. coli bacteria, known as Shiga-like toxin (SLT) [1,2], enters the circulation by binding to special receptors. These Shiga-toxin receptors, known as Gb3 receptors [1], are probably heterogeneously distributed in the major body organs allowing disparate thrombotic (blood clotting) impacts in different HUS victims, although the greatest receptor concentration appears to be in the kidneys, especially in children. As the inflammatory reaction process accelerates, red blood cells are destroyed and cellular debris aggregates within the microvasculature while the body’s inherent clot breaking mechanisms are disrupted. The result is formation of microthrombi within particularly susceptible organs such as the kidneys and brain. Because there exists no way to halt the progression of HUS, doctors are left to support the HUS victim while the acute process runs its course.

E. coli video Some organs appear more susceptible than others to the damage caused by these toxins, possibly due to the presence of increased numbers of toxin-receptors. These organs include the kidney, pancreas, and brain.  An animated video of how E. coli attaches to the intestinal wall and releases shiga-toxins, causing infection, is available at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Web site.


[1]  Recent research suggests that E. coli O157:H7 acquired its pathological character when a bacteriophage (virus that infects bacteria) transmitted genetic material for the creation of the toxin from a closely related Shigella bacterial species (hence the epithet, Shiga-like toxin) to a formerly benign species of E. coli.

[2]  Verotoxin-globotriaosyl ceramide binding receptors.

Snack Shacks quit serving burgers

After an E. coli outbreak that sickened at least three children, St. Helena Little League will no longer serve hamburgers at concession stands during games.

The Napa Valley Register reported that Jim Gamble, president of St. Helena Little League, said the organization's snack shacks now serve only pre-packaged and pre-cooked food. "The resolution was passed in early April. ... (The children's infection) was an isolated incident and we received contaminated beef. Unfortunately, these children got sick from it. We're all very grateful they've fully recovered. It was scary."

Gamble said the three confirmed reports of E. coli were in children between the ages of 8 and 12.
 

Maine beef producer recalls meat for potential E. coli contamination

The Maine Department of Agriculture announced that Bubier Meats is recalling meat products for potential E. coli O157:H7 contamination. Products subject to the recall are:

  • 2 whole sides of beef carcasses-736 lbs stamped “Est. 4”
  • 45 plastic cryovac bags @ 10 lbs-450 lbs of beef labeled Bubier Meats “Hamburg”
  • 30 plastic cryovac bags @ 10 lbs-300 lbs of ground beef labeled “Caldwell Farms Beef All Natural Beef”
  • * 450 lbs of beef primal cuts labeled “Caldwell Farms Beef All Natural Beef”

Plant officials said the recall was related not to E. coli contamination, but to paperwork issues.  However, the Knox County Times reports that Hal Prince, director of the Department of Agriculture's division of Quality Assurance and Regulation, said that while paperwork is one concern, an inspector found contamination.

“In doing a preprocessing inspection, the inspector found fecal contamination on equipment,” said Prince.”Half of the suspect product was still in the freezer, but half had been shipped already so we sought the recall as a matter of safety.”
 

Are E. coli vaccines the answer?

A vaccine is being produced by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that is designed to prevent E. coli infection in humans, according to the New York Times. A vaccine is also being produced by Bionishe, a Canadian company, that is designed to reduce the number of E. coli bacteria shed in cattle feces.

Although vaccines produced by NIH and Bioniche may prove effective in their purposes, it may prove to be cost-prohibitive for the general public and the meat industry to adopt widespread use of either vaccine.  Beyond that, experts in the food safety field are skeptical about whether vaccines are the most effective solution to the problem of E. coli contamination.  And bacteriophages, which are an alternative to vaccines, are not touted as the answer by food safety experts, either.

Researchers at Washington State University and the University of Idaho have combined their efforts to develop a fresh produce wash - termed FIT - that is more effective in killing E. coli and other pathogenic contamination on fresh fruits and vegetables.

Currently most produce is washed in a chlorine source, either from bleach or from chlorine dioxide. However, these chemical compounds quickly deactivate and become ineffective in very dirty water, such as a potato or spinach flume. FIT's commercial produce wash helps overcome that problem when washing fresh cut and other processed produce. The ingredients in FIT, specifically its natural surfactants, act as "wetting agents" which are designed to lift off and kill the pathogens even in very dirty water. FIT is able to get into "nooks and crannies" that other washing systems may not and continues to keep killing bacteria via its patented surfactant technology.
 

After E. coli outbreak, Hoss's switches meat producers

Hoss's, a restaurant chain that operates restaurants in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, has changed meat suppliers after an E. coli outbreak was traced to one of its restaurants, according to an article posted at Lancaster Farming. Health officials are still investigating the outbreak, but believe it was caused by consumption of mechanically tenderized steaks purchased at Hoss's restaurant.

Five people ate E. coli tainted steaks at four Hoss’s locations in Centre, Dauphin, Venango, and York counties between March 24 and 29. Each person was infected with a potentially deadly strain of E. coli, the same strain that killed three people and hospitalized hundreds last summer as a result of consuming E. coli-tainted spinach.

The department states each person ate a different cut of steak, but the fact they got it at Hoss’s is the only common link. Four of the five people were hospitalized with symptoms of E. coli, which include severe bloody diarrhea.

Hoss’s stated it would be eliminating three practices it has used to tenderize and flavor its steaks before they arrive at a restaurant: blade tenderization, vacuum marination and marinade injection.
 

Lawsuits over E. coli spinach deaths settled

The families of three octogenarian women whose deaths were linked to last year's E. coli outbreak from tainted spinach have settled wrongful death lawsuits against companies that brought the produce to market, according to Scientific American.

Terms of the settlements between the families and the three companies that grew, handled and sold the tainted California spinach are confidential, said lawyer William Marler, whose Seattle-based law firm represented the families.

"We have nearly 90 other cases that are still pending against the three companies," Marler added, referring to Mission Organics, Natural Selection Foods and Dole Food Co.

Natural Selection Foods spokeswoman Samantha Cabaluna said: "We are hopeful that these settlements bring some closure.  Everyone at Natural Selection Foods remains deeply saddened by the human toll of the outbreak," Cabaluna said. "As we said we would do from the beginning we tried to work as honestly, fairly and expeditiously as possible to resolve the cases."
 

House committee addresses E. coli, Salmonella outbreaks

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce today addressed food safety at its Oversight and Investigations subcommittee today on Capitol Hill. Three families whose members suffered food poisoning after eating contaminated food sent representatives to testify in front of the committee, as did companies whose products were responsible for large foodborne illness outbreaks.

The Associated Press reports that Andrew Bridges quoted testimony from Marler Clark client Michael Armstrong, an Indiana resident whose two daughters became ill after eating E. coli-contaminated spinach last fall.

Gary Pruden, joined by his 11-year-old son, Sean, who was seriously sickened in November by E. coli after eating at a Taco Bell restaurant. Pruden said a key element of trade and commerce is trust - whether placed in accountants, airline pilots or auto mechanics.

"That is also extended to the trust in the food we order or buy from the grocery store - that it's edible and safe. Without that trust, commerce cannot work. And where failure occurs, oversight is required," Pruden told the subcommittee.

Terri Marshall, another Marler Clark client whose mother-in-law became ill with a Salmonella infection after eating Peter Pan peanut butter in January and has not yet recovered, also testified. Mora Lou Marshall has been hospitalized or in a nursing home since early January, after she became seriously ill from eating Peter Pan. The elder Marshall, 85, had kept a jar of the peanut butter on her nightstand to supplement her diet - and had unwittingly continued to eat it, even after she fell ill.

Bill Marler was also in attendance at the hearing, and while he did not provide oral testimony, he did provide written testimony for the food safety hearing.
 

Meat Company Blames E. Coli on Supplier

AP reported that the company that distributed hamburger patties believed to have sickened at least three children with E. coli bacteria is blaming the contamination on the slaughterhouse that processed the meat.

Steve Wood, vice president for Merced-based Richwood Meat Co. Inc., said he does not know which slaughterhouse provided the meat.  Richwood receives raw, boneless meat from suppliers and turns it into hamburger patties and other products. 

The recalled products are hamburger patties and ground beef sold under the brands Fireriver, Chef's Pride, Ritz Food, Blackwood Farms, California Pacific Associates, C&C Distributing, Golbon and Richwood.
 

17,252 confirmed cases of food poisoning in 2006 in US

The CDC today released its preliminary 2006 food-borne illness data from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Tennessee. A total of 17,252 confirmed cases of food-borne illness were reported in those states in 2006, according to the CDC.

The most commonly reported illnesses were:

  • Salmonella: 6,655 cases
  • Campylobacter: 5,712 cases
  • Shigella: 2,736 cases
  • Cryptosporidium: 859 cases
  • E. coli O157: 590 cases
  • E. coli non-O157: 209 cases
  • Yersinia: 158 cases
  • Vibrio: 154 cases
  • Listeria: 138 cases
  • Cyclospora: 41 cases
     

Because many victims do not go to the hospital for treatment, actual cases may be anywhere between 20 and 30 times the confirmed cases.

E. coli legislation moves forward in California

Yesterday, the California Senate Health Committee passed three bills introduced by Senator Dean Florez.  Before they reached the Senate Health Committee, the bills could be summarized as follows:Spinach Harvest
  • Senate Bill 200 gives the Department of Health Services the much-needed authority to recall, quarantine, or destroy produce which may pose a threat to the public. The measure also creates an inspection program to proactively address the threat of outbreaks. DHS inspectors would have the authority to conduct periodic on-farm inspections, including testing of water, soil and produce.
  • Senate Bill 201 mandates Good Agricultural Practices for leafy green growers, covering everything from water and fertilizer use, to worker hygiene, to the creation of buffer zones between fields and potential contamination sources. Growers would be required to maintain extensive documentation of these practices. These documents would be reviewed by DHS to ensure compliance.
  • Senate Bill 202 calls for the creation of a traceback system that can quickly trace contaminated produce through the various stages of the distribution process, from farm to processor, to distributor, to retailer. In the most recent E. coli outbreaks, lettuce and spinach producers nationwide took a major economic hit, because it could not immediately be determined where the contaminated produce came from and every farm was suspect. The ability to quickly find the specific source in an outbreak, combined with DHS’ ability to quarantine or destroy suspect produce, will prevent a similar industry-wide hit in future E. coli outbreaks.
According to an article in today's Salinas Californian, the bills passed out of the Senate Health Committee into the Senate Appropriations Committee, but were amended to instruct public health officials to set safety standards for growers of leafy green vegetables to follow.  The Californian's Jake Henshaw wrote:
Florez originally proposed that the state health department license growers, set field standards and enforce them with inspections.

But SB 201 was amended in the Senate Agriculture Committee, chaired by [Senator Abel] Maldonado, to make state health department regulation a backup to the industry if it failed to adopt its own mandatory safety standards.

SB 200 does require the departments of Public Health and of Food and Agriculture to administer jointly an inspection program of farmers' records and field operations to be sure they are meeting approved standards.

E. coli and Salmonella making a comeback in U.S., CDC says

E. coli and salmonella infections are on the rise in the United States, but other foodborne illnesses appear to have leveled off, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported.

But after falling sharply in 2003 and 2004 when the meat industry pulled together to make ground beef safer, rates of E. coli O157:H7 infections have rebounded, and many appear to be related to outbreaks in fresh produce, according to Reuters.

"As recent outbreaks have shown, too many people in the United States are getting sick each year from foodborne illnesses," CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding told reporters in a telephone briefing. "For instance, the outbreaks involving tomatoes, lettuce and spinach underscore the need to more effectively prevent contamination of produce.”
 

E. coli Infection In Orange County Claims 15th Victim

According to KNBC News, a 15th person has tested positive for an E. coli infection after eating at a Foothill Ranch restaurant in Lake Forest on one of three days last month.

The newest victim, who was not hospitalized, was described as a young adult. The total number now stands at 14 customers and one employee.  The restaurant remains closed while employee testing continues, health officials said.

New case identified in E coli outbreak - Total now 14

The largest E. coli outbreak in Orange County history grew this week to 14 victims, all linked to the same restaurant, according to the OC Register.

Ten children and four adults, including a restaurant employee, were infected with the same O157:H7 strain of E. coli after dining at the restaurant between March 23 and March 25. 

The latest victim identified Tuesday is in their 30s and was not hospitalized, officials said. A 12-year-old girl remained hospitalized Tuesday at Children's Hospital of Orange County. She suffered kidney damage and is now reported in good condition. 

The last large E. coli outbreak in Orange County was linked to salads served at Pat and Oscar’s restaurants in 2003. In that incident, 12 people became sick.
 

Orange County Health Department Update on E. coli

A girl hospitalized with an E. coli infection after eating at a restaurant was expected to be transferred out of intensive care by the weekend, a hospital spokeswoman said Friday.

The 12-year-old girl was one of 10 people sickened by the bacteria after eating at the Foothill Ranch restaurant in the city of Lake Forest. The source of the contamination has not been identified, the Orange County Health Agency said in a statement. 

The girl could be transferred to a general care ward of Children's Hospital of Orange County as early as Friday evening.
 

12 year old Girl with E. coli still hospitalized

A 12-year-old girl remained in intensive care Wednesday after being infected with the E. coli bacteria at a Lake Forest restaurant, hospital and health officials said.

After being diagnosed with the most serious complication of E. coli Wednesday afternoon, the girl was transferred from Children's Hospital of Orange County at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo to the CHOC facility in Orange.

The girl, whose name has not been released because of privacy issues, was admitted to the hospital Friday. Two others hospitalized after dining at the Foothill Ranch Restaurant have been released. One person over age 70 was discharged Tuesday or Wednesday. An 8-year-old boy was discharged Tuesday.  Health officials said they were still trying to determine the source of the bacteria that caused seven diners to become ill.

Denise Almazan, a CHOC spokeswoman, said the 12-year-old girl, a dancer, was in excellent health before she became ill.  Almazan said the girl was diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, which occurs in less than 10% of those infected with E. coli, usually those younger than 5 or the elderly. People with HUS may develop kidney failure and anemia, and 3% to 5% die.
 

E. coli linked to SoCal restaurant

An E. coli outbreak in Orange County has been traced to a restaurant, health officials said Monday.

The seven people who tested positive for the dangerous bacterium dined at the same restaurant in Lake Forest, six of them on March 23 or March 24, said Howard Sutter, spokesman for the county's Health Care Agency. The seventh could not confirm an exact date.  Authorities have yet to determine the source.

The restaurant was allowed to remain open after health inspectors concluded its food and conditions were safe, Sutter said.  The seven cases were reported to county authorities in recent days. Three of those sickened were hospitalized, although their symptoms were not considered life threatening.
 

Spinach harvest underway: Health officials worry about E. coli

As California spinach producers began harvesting their crops this week, legislators, consumers, and health officials discussed the possibility of another E. coli outbreak while spinach farmers and processors tried to assure the public that they were doing all they could to prevent another outbreak.

According to the Salinas Californian, the industry-designed, government-supervised plan will require all handlers who voluntarily sign up to accept spinach, lettuce and other leafy greens only from growers who follow new growing standards.

Participating handlers will begin paying 2 cents per carton to pay for inspections and other activities under the new plan. Government inspectors, paid by the assessments to ensure that farmers follow the designated growing practices, will start making rounds Monday — primarily to test the checklist they’ll use in future inspections.

"We may have traced the outbreak to a certain area, and we may have identified the genetic marker," said Patti Roberts of the Department of Health Services, referring to four ranches in Monterey and San Benito counties. "But there are still a lot of unknowns out there."
 

E. coli in produce: Is irradiation the answer?

Dateline NBC reported on fresh food contamination, with emphasis on fresh spinach and lettuce grown in California, and whether irradiation is the answer to ensuring our fresh produce is safe.

"We can say all day long that we have the safest food system in the world," says Seattle attorney Bill Marler, who specializes in cases involving victims of E. coli-contaminated produce. "Well, we don't. And we have systems that are broken. We have things that need to be fixed."

Marler represents Michelle Matthews, who is suing Dole Foods and Natural Selections/Earthbound Foods to cover her past and future medical bills and her pain and suffering. He says the industry has known about and ignored the problem for years.

"It's easy in these situations to go, 'I'm not sure exactly what caused the problem, so there's nothing I can do. But I'm making a lot of money selling spinach and lettuce in a bag, so I'm going to keep doing that.' They didn't take the time to figure out what the problem was," says Marler.
 

E. coli lawyer profiled in The Oregonian

The Oregonian recently profiled Bill Marler, a lawyer from Seattle who began representing victims of E. coli and other foodborne illness outbreaks in 1993 during the Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak. Since 1993, Marler has represented thousands of victims of foodborne illnesses, including salmonella, hepatitis A, and shigella.

Marler has emerged as the country's preeminent plaintiff's lawyer in food-borne-illness cases. His firm has won nearly $300 million in settlements from restaurants and suppliers, and the financial drain -- coupled with Marler's constant calls for reform -- has leveled pressure on industry and government to better police food.

"Put me out of business," Marler repeats as his rallying cry.

But business has never been more brisk. Government regulators play a limited role in addressing rising consumer claims of harm from what they have eaten. As a result, lawyers on both sides of such food fights have found a lucrative line of business working out differences between consumers and corporations over U.S. food safety.

Even before ConAgra Foods Inc. began recalling salmonella-tainted peanut butter last month, resulting in 4,500 potential victims contacting Marler's office, he and his staff were inundated. Among their current caseload are reports of deaths and illnesses tied to E. coli in spinach, E. coli contamination at two taco chains and a hepatitis A outbreak at an Illinois restaurant.
 

Johnny Depp's Daughter Was Lucky to Survive a Battle with Deadly E. coli

Lily-Rose, the daughter of Johnny Depp and his longtime partner Vanessa Paradis, is said to survive a battle with the deadly E. coli bacteria.

The seven-year-old girl was hospitalized in London earlier this month suffering a mystery illness. It was reported at that time that she had contracted blood poisoning after stepping on a rusty nail. Despite all the persistent rumor, a member of the production crew on Depp's new movie "Sweeney Todd" claims Lily had the deadly E. coli bacteria, which caused her kidneys to shut down.

"Everyone gasped when we were given the real reason for Lily-Rose's illness. It was touch and go for a while," British newspaper The Sun quoted a source as saying.

"Sweeney Todd," a musical, drama, thriller flick directed by Tim Burton, has to halt its production because Depp wanted to be by his daughter's side until she got the all-clear.
 

E. coli in spinach: final report issued

The California Department of Health Services and the FDA have released their final report on the spinach E. coli outbreak.

Authorities for the first time said they had isolated the deadly E. coli strain on Paicines Ranch in San Benito County from a field the ranch leased to Mission Organics, a spinach grower.

They found E. coli "indistinguishable from the outbreak strain" in river water, cattle feces, and wild pig feces on the ranch within a mile a from the spinach fields, the California Department of Health Services and U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a joint report.

Investigators also said they could not make a "definitive determination" as to how the E. coli contaminated the spinach.

The Paicines Ranch, which breeds Angus cattle and quarter horses, said in a statement on its Web site that it leases land to crop growers and was not under investigation in the outbreak.
 

E. coli outbreak: spinach farmers to benefit from Iraq War bill

The addition of $25 million of funding for spinach farmers who lost revenue during last year's spinach recall is affecting those victims of the E.coli outbreak.

The losses to the farmers came when they were unable to sell their crops last fall after Americans got sick and died from e-coli bacteria in a batch of tainted spinach.

Some of that spinach found its way to the Matthew's dinner table. Michelle got sick, but her daughter, Arabella, almost died. Arabella was just two-years-old when she came down with E. coli. She spent nine days at Primary Children's Hospital, had an operation and was on kidney dialysis from hemolytic uremic syndrome.

The Matthews have about $60,000 in medical bills now, mostly covered by insurance. She says the family has been assured the spinach grower's insurance company would pay the bills, but no money has arrived. Then Mrs. Matthews read that the spinach farmers stand to gain $25 million from the Iraq war spending bill.

"I understand this is the way our legislature works, but I think it's just sickening," Michelle Matthews of Eagle Mountain told ABC 4 News.

In an article for USA Today, Marler Clark client Darryl Howard whose mother, Betty, died after becoming ill with an E. coli infection, said, "They killed my mother, and now they want me to pay for it." Marler Clark is also representing Michelle Matthews.
 

Son of Woman Killed by E. coli Testifies: Legislature must go farther than industry-led marketing agreement

Darryl Howard, the son of Betty Howard, a Richland, Washington, resident who died after contracting E. coli O157:H7 last September after eating California-grown spinach, will testify before the California Senate Agriculture Committee in Oakland, advocating for legislation to ensure fresh produce safety.

Mr. Howard and his two brothers will attend the hearing in support of Senate Bills 200, 201 and 202, which are sponsored by Senator Dean Florez.

“The state needs some jurisdictional teeth not just over products, but over potential E. coli sources,” said Mr. Howard.  “After listening to testimony by John Dyer, CFDA’s chief counsel who helped write the agreement for the state, say, ‘Growers aren’t subject to this act, and to the agreement’ and ‘Marketing Orders and Agreements are not food safety-empowered programs,’ I knew this agreement did not go far enough and gives the public a false sense of security.”  The leafy greens marketing agreement goes into effect on April 1st, to which Mr. Howard said, “It’s appropriate because it’s April Fools Day.”

Howard will submit for the record the federal testimony of Dr. Kevin Reilly, Deputy Director, Prevention Services, California Department of Health Services.  Dr. Riley gave testimony on November 15, 2006 to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.  In his testimony, he stated that, “The Salinas Valley appears to have systemic E. coli O157:H7 contamination in the environment that has led to a number of fresh produce associated outbreaks over time.”
 

A Secret Of The Fatal Food Poisoning Bug E. Coli O157 Is Revealed Is It Looking For Iron?

Microbiology researchers trying to uncover the secret of the success of the dangerous food poisoning bacterium E. coli O157 have discovered that it uses a unique iron-gathering trick that may help it to overcome our bodies' defenses.

Part of the normal way our bodies fight off bacteria and other disease threats is by withdrawing supplies of iron from our tissues iron, which is vital for the bacteria's growth and reproduction. Some very dangerous bacteria overcome this defense mechanism by specifically targeting supplies of iron in our bodies.

Scientists at the University of Reading have discovered that the dangerous O157 strain of the common E. coli bacterium possesses an iron transporter, which is mutated and non-functional in the closely related but harmless K-12 strain that lives in our gut.

"The presence of the active form of this transporter in E. coli O157 appears to give the bacterium a special advantage when operating in low-iron, acid conditions conditions that may reflect those experienced inside the human host", says Jieni Cao from the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Reading, who made the discovery. "This could allow the food poisoning strain of E. coli to grow and multiply quickly during infection".

The researchers hope that by identifying the unique way the bacteria operate they will have also discovered a new target for antibacterial treatments in the future. A key component of the iron transporting system is similar to iron-uptake systems in some fungi, such as Candida, which causes thrush.
 

Senator demands E. coli outbreak results

Senator Dean Florez has criticized the California Department of Health Services after the department refused to release its report on September's deadly E. coli outbreak.

That outbreak, which killed several people and sickened hundreds, was linked to a California spinach farm, but the Department of Health Services refused to acknowledge which farm is responsible, and what went wrong.

Florez thinks the department is keeping the report from the public because he believes they "dropped the ball" when it comes to protecting the public from food-borne illnesses.

"When you have this cloud of secrecy and you have this whole department unwilling to come and tell the public ultimately what went wrong, why it went wrong, and ultimately who is responsible, it is very difficult for the public, I believe, to think the government is actually working toward the food safety policy," said the senator.
 

Officials trace tainted spinach to San Benito County farm

Fresh spinach that sparked a nationwide E. coli outbreak last fall was grown on a roughly 50-acre plot in San Benito County, health officials told state lawmakers.

Officials said at a legislative hearing Tuesday that investigators identified the grower who was farming that plot, which was in the second year of a three-year transition to organic production.

However, they declined to release further details until they complete a full report on the outbreak. Dr. Kevin Reilly of the California Department of Health Services did not give an exact date for releasing the report with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but said "hopefully within the next few weeks."

Eleven suits filed over Taco Bell E. coli outbreak

Yum Brands Inc. said Wednesday that 11 lawsuits have been filed against the company and its Taco Bell Corp. subsidiary for an E. coli outbreak in November and December.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the outbreak was associated with food at Taco Bell restaurants in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Delaware. The CDC said that 71 people fell ill because of the outbreak.

In its annual report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Louisville-based Yum said the stores named in at least five of the lawsuits are not company-owned, and therefore, Yum believes it is not liable for any losses at those stores. Yum said it has provided for the estimated litigation costs.

The company has said that the E. coli outbreak cost it about $20 million in the fourth quarter because of lost sales and franchise and license fees, and increased marketing costs.

Irvine, Calif.-based Taco Bell operates in 14 countries and territories. As of the end of 2006, there were 5,608 Taco Bell stores in the United States and 238 international stores. About 23 percent of the U.S. units and 1 percent of the non-U.S. units are company-owned.

Bills hit a range of topics

Salinas-area lawmakers this year have focused their bills on everything from preventing future E. coli outbreaks to bolstering health care to keeping a lid on gang violence.

Senators Jeff Denham and Abel Maldonado, plus Assemblyman John Laird, all have bills on health care to cover children, allow tax-free savings for medical expenses and refund a tax credit for insurance expenses of small businesses.

"Child health is going to be big this year," Laird said.

Assemblywoman Anna Caballero has introduced several bills to help address E. coli outbreaks with more research and better water treatment.

Pa. mushroom farm cleared in E. coli scare

BJ's Wholesale Club Inc., the third-largest U.S. warehouse retailer, said a batch of mushrooms it recalled this week wasn't contaminated with E. coli.

The news clears the name of Kaolin Farms in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, the source of the mushrooms.

John Pia, co-owner of Kaolin Mushroom Farms, told The News-Journal on Wednesday he was convinced that all his products were safe and the testing would prove it.

Action on mushroom recall spoke loudly, but words would have helped, too

BJ's Wholesale Club showed extreme caution when it learned that some of its store-brand mushrooms might be contaminated with E. coli.

Without waiting for either government order or confirmation of preliminary test results, BJ's quickly pulled the mushrooms from its shelves Monday, protecting customers from possible harm.

The company had not received any reports of illness.

E. coli bacteria migrating between humans, chimps in Ugandan park

Scientists from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana have found that people employed in chimpanzee-focused research and tourism in a park in western Uganda are exchanging gastrointestinal bacteria - specifically Escherichia coli - with local chimpanzee populations. And some of the E. coli strains migrating to chimps are resistant to antibiotics used by humans in Uganda.

Their study will appear in the April 2007 issue of Biological Conservation and is available now on the journalís Web site.

Other studies have found bacterial exchanges between humans and non-human primates - particularly in areas where the animals are known to frequent garbage piles near human settlements. But this is the first study to document the exchange of E. coli between humans and chimps in a protected wildlife area. It is also the first to find antibiotic-resistant strains in chimpanzees in Africa.

The research team, which included researchers from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and McGill University in Montreal, examined two of 10 known communities of chimpanzees living in Kibale National Park, Uganda. One of the two chimp groups has been the focus of two decades of research by international teams of scientists. The other is regularly visited by employees of a local tourism venture.

BJ's Recalls Mushrooms For E. coli Risk

BJ's Wholesale Club has announced a mushroom recall.

The Massachusetts-based retailer said the voluntary recall covers pre-packaged Wellsley Farms brand fresh mushrooms purchased between Feb. 11 and Feb. 19.

The company said a routine inspection found the possible presence of trace amounts of E. coli from one lot code of sliced mushrooms.

Fair organizers to learn about risks of farm animal contact

CBC news reports that visitors to agricultural fairs face health risks that can be prevented if organizers take simple steps to ensure their safety, says a national non-profit organization. Exposure to E. coli bacteria, according to the Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions, is the largest health risk facing visitors.

It said it is especially a concern when young children are involved because they might pet farm animals and then use their hands immediately afterwards to eat.  The association is scheduled to hold a workshop on Friday in Charlottetown to educate organizers on how to protect consumers at such events as rural fairs, urban exhibitions and petting zoos.

Moore said organizers will be told that it is essential to set up handwashing stations and post signs that remind people to keep their hands clean. 

The workshop in P.E.I., one of five across Canada, is being held at the Charlottetown Hotel. Similar education sessions will be held in the B.C. communities of Westbank, Abbotsford, Saanichton and Prince George.

An onion a day keeps E. coli away

In the wake of E. coli 0157:H7 outbreaks associated with spinach and other produce in 2006, Congress and California state legislators are looking for new strategies to assure the public that government is working hard to reduce future food-borne outbreaks.

Will the proposed legislation and additional oversight make a difference?

The answer is, unfortunately, probably not.

The well-intended legislation will probably fall short of anything meaningful, as its patrons fail to understand the basic evolutionary rules of the germ warfare raging in the American gut and the bigger challenges facing the populace in this biological arms race.

The produce industry need only look out to the fields beyond their office windows to see a better solution to what ails them and the public.

Copper Alloy Surfaces Can Eliminate E. coli

Scientists at the University of Southampton, U.K., have found that E. coli O157:H7, a harmful bacterium primarily associated with raw and undercooked ground beef or foods that come into contact with raw meat, cannot survive on certain copper alloy surfaces. The study, published in the June 2006 issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology, compares the ability of copper alloys to eradicate E. coli with that of stainless steel, which is commonly used for food processing surfaces.

The results were significant. While stainless steel had no effect on the viability of the E. coli at room temperature, three copper casting alloys effectively eliminated it, and two others significantly reduced it. The bacteria sample tested on silicon bronze (95% copper) were significantly reduced in 45 minutes and completely eradicated in 75 minutes. Brass (85% copper) and red brass (93% copper) killed the bacteria in 3.0 hours and 4.5 hours, respectively. Significant reductions were noted after six hours on Ni- Al bronze (81% copper) and yellow brass (61% copper).

More measures needed to ensure food safety

CBS News correspondent Wyatt Andrews interviewed Marler Clark client Lisa Brott, who became ill with an E. coli infection after eating E. coli-contaminated spinach in September, former USDA and FDA food safety official Michael Taylor, and Senator Dick Durbin for a story that aired tonight on the CBS Evening News. Notable comments included the following:

  • "There's no one in charge in the federal food safety system."  - Michael Taylor
  • "The basic allocation has nothing to do with who's getting sick, and it's out of proportion to where the actual risks in the food supply." - Michael Taylor
  • "When you consider 75 million Americans with food-borne illnesses each year, I do believe a better, more modern, streamlined agency would reduce those numbers. And it means that more people would survive." - Senator Dick Durbin
  • "It's outrageous so many people are poisoned by food.  A lot more has to be done, whatever it takes, to protect people's health." - Lisa Brott

Preventing E. coli: Industry group asks for federal regulation

In the wake of E. coli outbreaks traced to spinach and lettuce last year, and in many years prior to 2006, the United Fresh Produce Association is asking for federal regulations to set standards for produce safety and the Government Accountability Office listed food safety as a high-risk area. In an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer, which focused on what small, local, farmers are doing to ensure produce safety, concerns about regional marketing agreements and state or local regulations were highlighted:

However, such state-by-state and commodity-by-commodity standards are not satisfactory, said Tom Stenzel, president of the United Fresh Produce Association in Washington. Stenzel's trade group is calling for national regulations enforced by government agencies.

"The consumer is not going to have full trust in a self-regulatory system. That's a hard pill for us as an industry to swallow," said Stenzel, who is scheduled to speak tomorrow at the New Jersey State Agricultural Convention in Atlantic City. It starts today and runs through Wednesday.

Existing federal regulations on food safety need to be improved, according to the federal Government Accountability Office, which added the federal food-safety system to its list of high-risk areas of government activity less than two weeks ago. The main issue is fragmentation, with 15 agencies administering at least 30 laws related to food safety.

Discussions among produce-industry groups and regulators are coming at a time when E. coli and other human pathogens are less prevalent - the colder months.  It is in anticipation of the summer and fall growing season that concerns are being addressed now.  From the Arizona Republic:

Lettuce and spinach production begins in the Salinas Valley in the spring. Production moves south as the weather cools, with farms in Yuma County and California's Imperial Valley producing the crops during the winter.

"In the history of Yuma agriculture, we have never had any sort of an outbreak with our leafy-greens," said Kurt Nolte, area agriculture agent for the Yuma County Cooperative Extension, part of the University of Arizona. "The nature of food outbreaks occurs during the warm periods of the year."

Second Taco E. coli Outbreak Traced to Central Valley

Investigators for the FDA and CDC have indicated that the E. coli-contaminated lettuce that sickened customers at Northeast Taco Bell restaurants in November and December of 2006 came from California's Central Valley. The Taco Bell outbreak was reported just before an outbreak at Taco John's locations in the Midwest, which was also traced to lettuce grown in the Central Valley.

In an article for the Salinas Californian, Brian Tumulty reported that FDA was continuing its investigation and that a final investigation report into the Taco Bell E. coli outbreak would not be published for at least another month, while a report on last fall's E. coli outbreak traced to baby spinach will be issued before then.

California legislators speak out on E. coli contamination in leafy greens

The Hollister Free Lance is reporting that California Congressman Sam Farr has introduced a bill in the US House of Representatives to assist spinach growers and processors in recovering from lost sales after last fall's E. coli outbreak.

On Wednesday, the California state Department of Food and Agriculture announced that it approved a food safety pact called the Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement. The marketing agreement would require handlers of fresh spinach and other leafy vegetables to voluntarily abide by safety guidelines designed to prevent food-borne illness. 

On February 1, Senator Florez introduced three bills into the California legislature that were designed to increase the safety of fresh produce.   Attorney Bill Marler, who represents nearly 100 victims of the spinach E. coli outbreak, will speak at the Steinbeck Center's Ag Forum Luncheon, to be held at the end of this month.

E. coli outbreak at Connecticut nursing home

The Connecticut Post Online reports that residents at an Astoria Park nursing home have become ill with E. coli infections. Astoria Park health officials are investigating the source of the outbreak, which has sickened at least ten residents.

City Health Director Maian Evans said "other people ate the food and didn't get sick," in regards to the infection coming from contaminated food.

Authorities will try to determine whether the illness was caused by sources such as produce from outside the nursing home or food-handling problems within the facility.

In 2003, residents of a San Mateo, California, retirement facility became ill with E. coli infections after eating E. coli-contaminated spinach during the Sequoias Portola Valley E. coli outbreak.  Two women died after suffering complications of their E. coli infections, and dozens of residents were sickened.
 

Taco Bell to Report 4th Quarter Earnings

Taco Bell will report earnings for the 4th quarter of 2006 on Monday, and financial analysts are questioning whether earnings will fall short of expectations following the E. coli outbreak traced to Taco Bell restaurants in the Northeast last December.

The OC Register reports that the time of the incident, the survey by Sandelman & Associates showed that eight out of 10 people had heard of the E. coli incident. The poll included roughly 400 people, Sandelman said.

Of those who were aware of the E. coli incident, 94 percent were able to tie the outbreak to Taco Bell. "There was no confusion," said Sandelman.
 

California growers approve plan to improve food safety

The LA Times and the San Jose Mercury News both report that the California Department of Food and Agriculture approved a farm industry plan to establish voluntary safety standards for leafy vegetables, such as lettuce and spinach.

The plan, which was approved by 70 percent of California’s leafy greens packagers and distributors, establishes a “seal of approval” for leafy greens that are grown and handled according to the new standards.

Under the plan, the agriculture department will appoint a panel of industry representatives that will have authority to enact safety rules. The state will provide inspectors to help ensure compliance, but the industry board will administer the program and make enforcement decisions.

As a first step, the program focuses on “handlers” -- companies that package or distribute vegetables. Those that choose to participate would agree to make sure that their growers comply with the new rules.

The Western Growers Association and other fresh produce trade groups stated that self-regulation was the fastest way to make changes in the industry; however, consumer groups have expressed concern over the industry’s ability to police itself. California Senator Dean Florez last week introduced legislation that would require the California Department of Health Services to develop and enforce food safety standards.
 

Marler Clark E. coli client interviewed for story on food safety

SCNow.com recently interviewed Erica Sturkie, a Marler Clark client who became ill with an E. coli infection after eating contaminated spinach during the 2006 E. coli outbreak. The outbreak was traced back to spinach grown in the Salinas Valley.

“I worked out five to six days a week. I ran everyday -- ate really healthy. I love spinach, so I decided I would just go on an all salad diet. Then I got sick,” Erica Sturkie said.

She spent more than two weeks in the hospital as a result. Doctors told her she had E. coli, but it was never confirmed as the culprit. Her lawyers said that was because the antibiotic she was given to treat it probably killed the bacteria before tests could be completed.
 

Tips for preventing E. coli infection

Phil Lempert, the Today Show's food editor, wrote a recent article that appeared on MSNBC.com. The article, "Protect your family from Salmonella and E. coli," gave some useful pointers for preventing E. coli infection:

As we have heard in the headlines recently, it is critical to understand that meat is not the only source of contamination with E. coli or other dangerous bacteria — any contaminated water source or contaminated person can spread these bacteria onto fruits, vegetables, or any kind of foods. Be sure to wash fresh fruit and vegetables thoroughly before eating. And if you like your meat and especially hamburgers, "rare", you are taking a significant risk.

Talking about meat… one of the reasons to make sure that all meat is thoroughly cooked is that as the meat is cut with a knife (or punctured with a fork) the utensil will carry the bacterial cells down into the cut or puncture. Bacteria are microscopic so even a tiny, pretty much invisible cut in the meat could introduce bacteria inside. It's always safest to cook all meat at least until the juices of the meat run absolutely clear — not pink.
 

Antibiotic treatment for E. coli not recommended

The CDC's Patricia Griffin recently commented on antibiotic treatment of E. coli infection in a September, 2006 Clinician Outbreach and Communication Activity conference call, during the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak traced to spinach grown in California's Salinas Valley:

If you strongly suspect E. coli O157, there are some concerns about antibiotic treatment. Whenever a person has diarrhea, it’s important to hydrate them.

We know that there are fluid losses in diarrhea, and hydration is very important. And Dr. Tarr is going to talk more about the particular importance of hydration in E. coli O157 infections. Also in colitis, there are data indicating that giving Imodium or loperamide can increase the risk of complications, and we do not recommend that for E .coli O157.

In particular, there’s some retrospective data suggesting that the use of antidiarrheals could actually increase the risk of complications. With E. coli O157, there are some particular concerns about antibiotics, and those concerns come from looking back at people who have been treated with antibiotics. And some of these people have been more likely to develop hemolytic uremic syndrome.

There are many reasons why looking back at treatment can be a biased way of making decisions, but we’ve also looked at whether antibiotics have helped in the treatment of E. coli O157, and we haven’t found any good data that patients who were treated with antibiotics actually did better.
 

Michigan E. coli study: 2001 - 2005

The February issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention includes a report by the Michigan Department of Health. The report shows the findings from surveillance of shiga toxin-producing E. coli, including E. coli O157:H7, between 2001 and 2005.

A surveillance system used different detection methods to estimate prevalence of Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli during 2003–2005 and 2001–2002. More non-O157 serotypes were detected by enzyme immunoassay than by evaluation of non–sorbitol-fermenting E. coli isolates. We therefore recommend use of enzyme immunoassay and culture-based methods.

Infection with Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is a frequent cause of gastrointestinal disease, particularly among children and elderly persons.
 

E. coli lawyer to speak at Steinbeck Center in Salinas

Bill Marler is scheduled to speak at the National Steinbeck Center on February 28.

Mr. Marler will be the keynote speaker for an Ag Forum luncheon, and will concentrate his presentation on fresh produce contamination and litigation that follows outbreaks, such as the recent E. coli outbreak traced to fresh spinach.

E. coli can be carried by pets

The Food Safety Infosheet from the Food Safety Network focuses on pathogens that can be transmitted by pets.

Recently reported by the CDC was a study linking a household cat to E. coli in a two-year-old girl. The cat was not ill, but carried the bacteria.

Each spring, there are reports of children becoming infected with salmonella after handling baby chicks, ducklings, and turtles.

Contact with reptiles and amphibians account for an estimated 74,000 salmonella infections nationwide.
 

E. coli in lettuce: Why hasn't Arizona had an outbreak yet, and what can ranchers do to help?

National Public Radio's All Things Considered aired a story on lettuce production near Yuma, Arizona, the region where leafy greens are grown during the off-season in California's Salinas Valley.

America gets much of its winter lettuce from the fields of Yuma, Ariz. But unlike the country's other big lettuce region — California's Salinas Valley — Yuma's crops haven't been hit with E. coli contamination. Produce companies are learning new lessons about avoiding future outbreaks.

The Capital Press reports that California State Senator Dean Florez is preparing to introduce legislation designed to reduce E. coli contamination in California's fresh produce.  Now ranchers are working to help be part of the solution.  According to the Capital Press, Central Coast cattle ranchers are learning ways they can help in the fight against food-borne pathogens. At two "Cut the Crap for Ranchers" seminars this week, including one today in Guadalupe, Rob Atwill, a University of California Extension specialist in veterinary medicine, will tell ranchers how to prevent potential contamination of surface water with pathogens like E. coli.

"Cattle certainly can carry it, shed it, and spread it. Other things can carry it, shed it and spread it," Atwill said. "Are they (cattle) just light bulbs for us telling us that it has moved into the valley -- this E. coli -- and are they are also being taken over and invaded by these bacteria, or are they in fact the ones that keep it going from year to year?"

Cattle have been implicated as possible sources of the E. coli outbreak linked to fresh spinach from the Salinas Valley last September. Health investigators have made no definitive connection to livestock, but Atwill said ranchers can still act on their own to help by establishing buffers between livestock operations and crops.
 

Food safety legislation to be proposed in California tomorrow

The Bakersfield Californian reports that California State Senator Dean Florez will introduce controversial food safety legislation in the California legislature tomorrow. The legislation, which is being proposed in three separate bills, would:

  1. Allow the Department of Health Services to assess fees on all growers of leafy green vegetables.
  2. Require the Department of Health Services to set standards for members of the produce supply chain, such as growers, shippers, and processors, to minimize the danger of contamination with E. coli and other foodborne pathogens, and would outlaw the use of unprocessed manure as fertilizer on food crops.
  3. Require the food industry to implement a trace-back system so that individual packages of fresh produce can be traced back to the fields they were grown in.
     

"This will start a real conversation about the food safety rules that we have to have in California," said the senator.

Senator Florez will hold a press conference tomorrow, where Marler Clark clients Ken and Pauline Costello will add their remarks on the new legislation.  Pauline Costello's mother, Ruby Trautz, passed away after eating contaminated spinach in September.
 

Future E. coli outbreaks inevitable

With absolute certainty, another E. coli outbreak will explode, a visiting lecturer said Thursday.

John Besser, a clinical laboratory manager for the Minnesota Department of Health, was recently the guest lecturer a the University of Iowa. The MDH investigated an E. coli outbreak that had been traced to lettuce served at Taco John's restaurants in Austin and Albert Lea, Minnesota, as well as in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Though a recent outbreak was traced back to spinach grown in California, E. coli is not limited to the leafy plant. It is becoming prominent in a number of substances, said Besser. Last fall, an E. coli outbreak ripped across the United States, killing three and causing 31 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome, which shuts down the kidneys.

Since there has been an increase in E. coli outbreaks traced to leafy greens and other produce, experts are predicting future outbreaks. Consumer advocacy groups have stepped into the debate over what can better be done to protect the public from E. coli and other harmful pathogens.  The Consumer Reports blog posted the Consumers Union opinion about California produce growers' intent to publish marketing guidelines for crops:

Costco now requires suppliers to random test spinach at the processing plant, including for E. coli 0157:H7 and salmonella, another bacteria that can cause serious infections in some people. Within weeks, Costco expects similar testing for other bagged and ready-to-eat products, such as lettuce salads and baby carrots.

Shortly after the spinach outbreak, Natural Selection Foods, which processed the implicated spinach, started random testing of raw product for E. coli and salmonella. This month, it started testing finished product, too.

The United Fresh Produce Association has asked for federal oversight of the produce industry. Now, the FDA regulates processing plants but only gives growers guidelines.
 

California agriculture addresses E. coli concerns

USAToday reports that one of the more controversial proposals in the food safety debate would require that farmers plow under a buffer zone between fields and "undisturbed, open, non-farmed land with evidence of wildlife," as well as ponds, rivers, wetlands and creeks. But many point out that the overwhelming evidence is that cattle manure, not wild animals, is the primary source of E. coli O157:H7. A study out this month in The Journal of Food Protection found that 3.6% of beef cattle and 3.4% of dairy cattle carry the dangerous strain.

The most recent drafts of the proposal would require that buffer to be anywhere from 30 feet to a quarter-mile wide, says Linda Sheehan, executive director of the California Coastkeeper Alliance.

"There's no scientific support for believing that ripping out any plants alongside rivers is going to help," Sheehan says. In fact, there is strong evidence that vegetation around waterways creates a living filter that captures some of the pathogens present in animal waste, keeping them from the water that might eventually be used to water crops, she says.

Requiring farmers to plow under vegetation up to waterways could also severely degrade water quality, because plants help protect stream banks against erosion, said Daniel Mountjoy of the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the state Department of Agriculture.
 

The E. coli O157:H7 bacteria and the significance of age

Fresh spinach contaminated with E. coli bacteria led to the death of Elizabeth "Betty" Howard of Richland, said her attorney, William Marler of Seattle.

Howard, 83, contracted E. coli O157:H7 from eating bagged spinach in September, the state Department of Health said.

The Tri-City Herald reports that Benton County Coroner Rick Corson said the cause of death still was under investigation. He said it was premature to say the E. coli infection caused her death, but it is a possibility that's being investigated. Corson said there were other age-related health issues that may have been contributing circumstances.

The elderly are far more susceptible to the lethal complications of disease, particularly E. coli O157:H7, than most.  Death rates for infectious diarrheal disease alone are five times higher in people over 74 years of age than in the next highest group, children under four years of age, and fifteen times higher than the rates seen in younger adults.

Published studies attribute the elderly’s heightened risks, both of infection and mortality due to infectious disease, to several factors:  the aging of the gastrointestinal tract (reduced gastric acidity/mobility), a higher prevalence of underlying medical disorders (co-morbidity factors), and immune system changes that leave the host less able to defend itself against infectious agents.
 

In wake of E. coli outbreaks, California legislator calls for regulation

The Associated Press reports that California State Senator Dean Florez plans to introduce a bill that would create a system to track produce from farm to table, and would impose new regulations on the produce industry with the aim of reducing the likelihood for E. coli contamination, particularly in leafy greens.

In response to Senator Florez' announcement that he would be introducing legislation that would impact the argiculture industry, the Western Growers Association plans to introduce self-regulation measures that would go into effect before February 1.

Both proposals will specify how large and deeply buried fences must be to keep out stray animals, and how far away from livestock areas crops can be grown. Both will likely specify allowable bacteria levels in irrigation water.

Under his plan, shippers and handlers would also have to create a "trace back" system to enable health officials to quickly determine where contaminated produce was grown.
 

E. coli outbreaks at fairs and petting zoos

The Moose Jaw Times Herald reports that fair organizers are increasingly addressing issues related to human-animal interaction.

The Western Fair that year had 61 cases of E. coli traced back to fair barns with seven confirmed cases, one leading to severe kidney illness. Since 2004, at least seven U.S. fairs have been sued over E. coli outbreaks traced to livestock events at fairs.

Cows are not the only culprit.  Sheep, goats, and other animals also carry harmful E. coli in their intestinal tracts.
 

E. coli Q & A

The News-Leader, a newspaper out of Springfield, Missouri, posted questions and answers about E. coli on its Web site recently:

Q. What is E. coli?
A.
E. coli is a bacteria. It is found in things with which we come into contact daily, including water and food. E. coli develops in the system when animals or humans ingest food or water containing the bacteria. Over time, our bodies become acclimated to the stains of E. coli which we have encountered. These strains are usually harmless. If you come into contact with an unfamiliar strain, it can cause a diarrheal illness. One strain, 0157:H7, produces toxins as a byproduct that can damage kidneys and, in rare cases, lead to death.

Q. How can you tell if you've come in contact with food or water contaminated with E. coli?
A.
Symptoms will usually appear about three days after exposure and may last for a period as short as one day or as long as nine days. In most cases, people develop severe diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Blood is often seen in the stool. Persons with bloody diarrhea should consult a physician for treatment. Fever may or may not be seen. Some infected people may have mild diarrhea or no symptoms at all.
 

E. coli and raw milk - the ongoing debate

Salon.com recently investigated the health benefits some people say they get from drinking it. They also looked into raw milk, cow shares, and organizations that promote raw milk consumption, and came to conclustions about raw milk:

Many people come to raw milk as a last resort; one man I spoke to for this article had terrible asthma, one woman had debilitating arthritis, and another had osteoporosis (which pasteurized milk hadn't improved) -- and all saw complete reversals of their diseases after a few months of drinking it. Their stories were persuasive, but in an age where E. coli is turning up at Taco Bell and even in organic spinach, I wondered: Is it really safe to drink unpasteurized milk?

In a word: No. A scan of the CDC's Web site turns up several recent bacterial outbreaks traced to raw milk: Last year in Washington and Oregon, four children were sickened by E. coli O157:H7; in 2002, there was a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella enterica serotype typhimurium; and in Wisconsin, in 2001, 70 people were infected with Campylobacter jejuni. Such outbreaks were the reason pasteurization was introduced in the first place, of course (it was only an added benefit that the process also extended milk's shelf life). As early as 1908, cities such as Chicago and New York required the pasteurization of milk -- and in 1948, Michigan became the first state to ban raw milk. Today, though pasteurization is not compulsory on a national level, it is required of any dairy hoping to ship its wares across state lines and has become the law in states that have adopted the Food and Drug Administration's pasteurized milk ordinance, an operating manual for the handling and production of milk. Public health officials unanimously agree that pasteurization has dramatically reduced infectious diseases.
 

Marler Clark currently represents children who have become ill with E. coli infections and hemolytic uremic syndrome, requiring extensive medical treatment, after drinking contaminated raw milk. And while advocates claim that there are health benefits to drinking raw milk, the parents of these children would argue otherwise.

Fresh Express to fund E. coli research

Fresh Express has announced that the company will donate up to $2 million for E. coli research. According to the press release, which was posted at Infection Control Today, Fresh Express will help fund an independent advisory panel that has already been formed.

Members are respected scientists in the food safety community:

  • Dr. Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota
  • Dr. Jeff Farrar, California Department of Health Services
  • Dr. Bob Buchanan, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  • Dr. Robert Tauxe, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Dr. Bob Gravani, Cornell University
  • Dr. Craig Hedberg, University of Minnesota
     

Taco John's E. coli outbreak update

The Food and Drug Administration has announced that it has moved closer to identifying the source of illness for the Taco John E. coli outbreak.

FDA and the state of California, working in conjunction with state health officials in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin, have DNA-matched the strain of E. coli O157:H7 bacteria associated with the outbreak with two environmental samples gathered from dairy farms near a lettuce growing area in California's Central Valley.

The outbreak sickened approximately 81 individuals in November and December of 2006. Illnesses were reported in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Twenty-six people were hospitalized, and two suffered hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious complication of E. coli O157:H7 infection that can cause permanent kidney damage and death. No deaths have been associated with the outbreak. No new cases of illness are being reported and the outbreak is now considered over.

Epidemiological studies by Minnesota and Iowa health officials had previously identified shredded iceberg lettuce served in the restaurants as the likely vehicle of transmission in the outbreak. FDA was able to focus on specific lettuce growing regions based on the traceback from records obtained from the lettuce processor. The recent DNA match provides a clue as to one possible source of the contamination for the lettuce, although others may exist. It has yet to be determined how the E. coli contaminated the lettuce. The traceback investigation is ongoing and will hopefully yield further insight into how this contamination occurred.
 

California budget includes increase for food safety

Governor Schwarzeneger's proposed 2007 budget includes an increase in food safety funding, up from $1.7 million last year to $2.1 million this year.

It also includes a shift in responsibility from the Department of Health Services to a newly formed Department of Public Health, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

The additional money would help fund future investigations of food-related illnesses, like last year's E. coli outbreak. A particular strain of the bacteria spread nationally, killing three people. More than 200 got sick, and several dozen had lasting kidney damage. A federal investigation traced the source to a spinach farm in San Benito County.

State Assemblywoman Anna Caballero remarked on the Governor's budget proposal, "I think it's a good beginning, but I also believe we need to fully fund research that can find the source of contamination."
 

Is irradiation the answer to safer food?

Dr. Mike Osterholm, a nationally known food-safety and infectious-disease expert at the University of Minnesota, argues that the public has some misperceptions about irradiation.

Dr. Mike Osterholm, a nationally known food-safety and infectious-disease expert at the University of Minnesota, argues that the public has some misperceptions about irradiation.
 
“The food does not become radioactive, as many people seem to think,” says Osterholm. It's what NASA uses to sterilize astronauts' meals, he said, and is also widely used to decontaminate spices.

Osterholm says irradiation could prevent hundreds of thousands of cases of food-borne illness every year, and save hundreds of lives.

But opponents say that irradiation can harm food by killing nutrients and, in some circumstances, generate cancer-causing chemicals. They also argue that there are other ways to protect the food supply, such as better sanitation and inspections.

“I don't think irradiation is a solution,” said Dr. David Wallinga, director of the food and health program at the St. Paul, Minnesota-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. “It's at best a Band-Aid on a much bigger problem.”
 

E. coli outbreak reports are in

Last fall, several students at the University of North Carolina became ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections after eating at McAlister's Deli. In a follow-up story on that outbreak, the Daily Tarheel reports that the Orange County Environmental Health Department's final report also showed a strong statistical likelihood that the restaurant's lettuce was the source of the infections.

Though Orange County interim environmental health director Tom Konsler said in a November interview that food-borne illnesses can strike even the cleanest restaurant, a health inspection conducted on Oct. 24 gave McAlister's a raw score of 89.

That score included deductions for improperly storing meat, improper handwashing and hygiene and improper handling of utensils.
 

E. coli-Contamianted Spinach: From California to the Midwest

In the last decade, lettuce and spinach grown in California's central coast region have caused at least nine outbreaks of illness associated with E. coli bacteria. Today, fresh produce outpaces even meat as a source of food-borne illness. The beef industry tightened its safety practices after Jack In the Box burgers contaminated with E. coli killed four children in 1993, but with vegetables, regulators and growers are still catching up.

As health officials have urged Americans to eat more green, leafy vegetables, the produce industry has responded to consumers' unrelenting demand for convenience by giving them salad that's pre-washed and packaged in plastic. Yet the convenience may have a price: Some steps in processing might actually contribute to the spread of contamination.

Even after one of the biggest food-safety investigations in U.S. history, officials can only guess at what exactly caused the recent outbreak involving bagged fresh spinach, which killed three people and sickened 201 in 26 states and Canada. Worse, they still can't guarantee that every salad will be safe to eat.
 

E. coli contamination - is our food safe?

Work on safety guidelines that the FDA is ready to propose began in 2004 -- though it has been slowed because staff time has been devoted to finding the source of the most recent outbreaks of E coli.

Even when these guidelines are finished, the FDA says they will be voluntary, according to the Sheboygan Press.

Growers are ready to implement new procedures on how to prevent contamination in green leafy vegetables from the planting stage to the time they reach the dinner table.

Because produce grows outdoors in the dirt, there is little you can do that will make it 100 percent safe unless you cook it or irradiate it, and it is unlikely that consumers will begin cooking all fresh produce, while there is skepticism about the public's acceptance of irradiated product. Researchers at the University of Illinois expressed concerns about existing technologies - including irradiation - that can reduce or eliminate pathogenic bacteria from fresh produce.

Food science professors are testing ozone, high-intensity ultrasound, electrolyzed water, irradiation, and temperature, and they say no treatment singlehandedly can reduce the number of pathogens sufficiently to meet the standards set by the FDA.

 

E. coli top headline of 2006

QSR.com recently highlighted several E. coli outbreaks that happened at the end of 2006. The author, Fred Minnick, brought up the E. coli outbreaks due to the impact they had on quick-serve restaurants, such as Taco Bell and Taco John's.

"E. coli was another big headline maker in the QSR segment as Taco Bell and Taco John’s served food contaminated with the virus,” said QSR.com. “Both brands quickly responded to consumer and public concerns with targeted store closures and the temporary removal of green onions from its menu. Taco John’s even paid hospital bills for those inflicted with the illness. Despite their efforts, however, both brands are being sued.”
    
“This latest outbreak is proof that the food industry has not done enough to protect consumers from deadly pathogens like E. coli O157:H7,” said William Marler, a food safety advocate who has represented over a thousand victims of E. coli outbreaks. “It is time for Congress to step into the arena and call hearings to explore the causes of recent outbreaks and to help prevent future outbreaks from happening.”
 

Monterey County Grand Jury Addresses E. coli Concerns

Among the concerns outlined in the Monterey County Grand Jury's 2006 report was E. coli contamination in the Salinas Valley lettuce and spinach fields, which has plagued the area for years now, reports the Monterey County Herald.

As part of their investigation, grand jury members accompanied federal, state and local health officials on a survey of Santa Rita Creek last May. During the survey, the report said, the group observed land littered with cans, tires, bed frames and mattresses as well as animal feces.

Fecal material and samples of water samples from one parcel containing cattle and a llama with access to the creek were tested for E. coli 0157:H7. Although the results were negative, the grand jury report recommended that the county health department enforce state codes protecting waterways from animal contamination.
 

New York E. coli victim sues Taco Bell

Another E. coli lawsuit has been filed against Taco Bell today by Marler Clark. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Michael Notar, a Clinton, New York, resident who became ill with an E. coli infection and was hospitalized for four days after eating E. coli-contaminated food at Taco Bell.

The filing coincides with Taco Bell’s announcement that Taco Bell President Greg Creed and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell will tour the Taco Bell restaurant located at Franklin Mills Circle in Philadelphia today.

“While Taco Bell is parading around with politicians, the victims of this outbreak continue to incur costs related to their illnesses,” said William Marler, attorney for Mr. Notar and managing partner of Marler Clark. “The least a multi-million dollar corporation like Taco Bell can do is make a good will gesture and pay my clients’ medical expenses.”

According to the complaint, Mr. Notar ate food from Taco Bell locations in Yorkville and Utica, New York, before becoming ill with symptoms of E. coli infection on December 5. His symptoms worsened, and he was hospitalized at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Hartford, New York, on December 6. Mr. Notar was released from the hospital four days later, but continues to suffer gastrointestinal discomfort as a result of his illness, and has scheduled several medical procedures in January to further treat the injuries he sustained while he was ill with E. coli.

“Corporate responsibility means stepping up to the plate and saying you’re sorry when you’ve done something wrong – like poison your customers – and then putting forth an effort to make things right,” Marler concluded.

Marler Clark has associated Underberg & Kessler, a respected Rochester law firm, on the case. The two firms have worked together in other New York litigation, including E. coli and Salmonella cases. Most recently, they were appointed by the New York Court of Claims to represent over 700 victims of cryptosporidiosis at the Seneca Lake State Park Spraypark during the summer of 2005. The case was recently designated a class action.
 

Six illnesses in area (Rochester) may be linked to Taco Bell

Six people in the Rochester area might have gotten sick as part of the Taco Bell E. coli outbreak that happened about a month ago.

The New York state Health Department is reporting all confirmed and potential cases on its Web site, and says that four people from Monroe, one person from Genesee and one person from Ontario counties are potential cases related to the outbreak.

Most reported cases associated with the outbreak in New York state have not been confirmed — 294 potential cases, compared with 22 confirmed cases that have been reported to the federal government.

The federal government has been unable to definitively know what actually contained the E. coli bacteria reported at restaurants in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. They surmise it could have come from lettuce, cheddar cheese or ground beef. The outbreak occurred between November 20 and December 6 and is considered over.

Ten Taco Bells in Nassau and Suffolk counties have temporarily closed for testing and cleaning in early December.

Ingesting E. coli bacteria, which is found in the intestines of humans and animals, can cause diarrhea. But the one particular E. coli strain called 0157:H7 involved in this outbreak can cause severe diarrhea and kidney damage.
 

E. coli outbreak picked as top food story of the year

Notably, the E. coli outbreak that was traced to contaminated spinach was the most memorable story food writers across the nation wrote about this year.

While Taco Bell and Taco John's try to recover from the effects of E. coli outbreaks traced to letuce served at their restaurants, The Daily Mail acknowledged that food editors, who would usually focus on the positive - good recipes, the history of a particular food, etc. - found this to be the most important headline of the year.

E. coli-contaminated spinach traced to a farm in California's Salinas Valley killed three people and infected more than 200 people in 26 states this past September, bringing the topic of food safety back into the limelight once again.
 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania E. coli Death

KDKA TV reports that a child from Mercer, Pennsylvania has died, likely of hemolytic uremic syndrome caused by E. coli O157:H7.

The State Health Department has confirmed that a young child from the area has died from E. coli. The state is investigating the death and has alerted local hospitals to be on the look out for other cases.

The Health Department says this appears to be an isolated case and not related to any recent scares. Officials are not releasing the child’s identity.
 

Taco Bell E. coli outbreak not the first, won't be the last

The Times-Tribune reports that the Taco Bell E. coli outbreak was not the first outbreak to be traced to tainted produce, and will probably not be the last, according to the CDC and other health officials.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared the Taco Bell-associated outbreak over and the company says its food is safe, health officials acknowledge another E. coli outbreak somewhere is just a matter of time.

“If there is something good about something like this, it’s that it helps us improve and prepare for the next one,” said Chris Ryder, spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture.

The Taco Bell chain and Yum! Brands are facing multiple E. coli lawsuits, and produce companies like Natural Selections Foods, whose spinach was the source of a large E. coli outbreak earlier this year, are facing similar litigation.
 

Public Health Expert Says E. Coli Outbreaks Prove Need To Enforce Food Regulations

Dr. Robert Field, chair of the Department of Health Policy and Public Health at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia said Americans' lives depend on enforcing food regulations, reports the VitaBeat blog.

“We have come to take the safety of what we eat for granted. We know that too much fast food can kill us over time, but how many people realized that on rare occasions, it can do so much more quickly,” Field in a press statement. “A tremendous amount of effort that we never see goes on in the trenches by regulators every day. It is not glamorous, but our lives can depend on it.”

After E. coli outbreak, Taco Bell restaurants reopening

The King of Prussia Courier reports that Taco Bell has reopened several restaurants that were implicated in the recent E. coli outbreak.

“Early on, Taco Bell came out and said they had a culture match of the E. coli on the green onions and pulled all the green onions out of their restaurants and then fired their supplier,' said Bill Marler, a Seattle attorney who is representing victims of the outbreak in litigation against Taco Bell and its produce supplier.

 “It looked logical that it was the green onions, because why would Taco Bell do that? But apparently when the FDA came in, they found that the E. coli test was wrong,” he noted. “Their interviews with the victims indicated that lettuce was the most likely source of contamination.”

More than 70 cases of E. coli have also occurred recently at the Taco John chain of Mexican restaurants in the Midwest. "The Taco John outbreak in Iowa and Minnesota, at last count, had official numbers that are more than the Taco Bell outbreak," Marler said.
 

Taco Bell tries to earn consumer confidence, congresswoman calls for single food safety agency

Bob Sandelman, CEO of a research company that did a survey on whether people would return to Taco Bell restaurants after an E. coli outbreak sickened over 70 people in the northeast, says, "It's still a raw issue because it's still in the news."

But he adds that consumer concerns will fade over time, or even disappear, once the cause of the outbreak is pinpointed.

In Congress, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., who will chair the agriculture subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, intends to hold her first hearing on food-safety issues. She hopes to haul in Taco Bell executives, along with other industry figures.

One of her priorities will be to reintroduce legislation she co-sponsored with Illinois Senator Dick Durbin to create a single food-safety agency. Different agencies, she pointed out, regulate Taco Bell's products. The Food and Drug Administration oversees produce while the Agriculture Department is supposed to monitor the meat and cheese.
 

Second E. coli lawsuit filed against Taco John's by Iowa resident

A second lawsuit has been filed against Taco John's on behalf of a victim of the recent E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that was traced to contaminated lettuce served at Taco John's restaurants in Iowa and Minnesota.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Waterloo resident Karen Hibben-Levi. Ms. Hibben-Levi is represented by Seattle attorneys Marler-Clark, the nation’s leading law firm representing victims of foodborne illness, who filed its first E. coli lawsuit against Taco John’s on December 14.

A joint investigation by Iowa and Minnesota health officials indicated that E. coli-contaminated lettuce was the source of the Taco John’s E. coli outbreak, which ultimately resulted in 77 E. coli cases among customers who ate at Taco John’s locations between November 28 and December 6. On December 13, Taco John’s announced that the company had contracted with a new vendor to supply produce to its approximately 100 Midwest franchises.

“E. coli in lettuce has become almost a systemic problem for the fresh produce industry,” said William Marler, attorney for Ms. Hibben-Levi. “Given the recent history of lettuce E. coli outbreaks, I question Taco John’s’ decision to switch produce suppliers. At this point, the issue is at the farm level, not at the distribution level, and it seems that one supplier’s produce is not likely safer than the next.”

“Instead of looking at one restaurant or one supplier, it’s time we took a hard look at all aspects of lettuce production in this country – from farm to fork – and came up with some real solutions to prevent future outbreaks,” Marler continued. “It’s time for the federal legislature to take up this issue and bring all parties involved, including players from the fresh produce industry, university researchers, FDA, CDC, and consumers, to the table and hammer out real solutions to this recurring problem.”
 

Produce E. coli outbreaks a big concern

A Scripps Howard study of state health department reports made to the CDC, found in the five years 2000 through 2004, found that fruits and vegetables sickened three times more people with E. coli than meat.

Fruits and vegetables accounted for the worst E. coli outbreaks in years, including one Milwaukee outbreak attributed to contaminated watermelon that sickened more than 700 and killed a young child. Other serious outbreaks involved cucumber salad in Illinois and unpasteurized apple cider in New York. The Milwaukee Sizzler E. coli outbreak was ultimately traced to watermelon that had been cross-contaminated with E. coli-tainted meat.

The Times Leader interviewed researchers from the University of California at Davis and Berkeley about the increase in reported foodborne illness outbreaks.  Dean Cliver, a food safety professor at U.C. - Davis, said, "I don’t necessarily feel that there’s more [foodborne illness] happening now.  In all probability, it’s less. But we sure know when it happens these days, and we didn’t use to.”

Irradiation introduces the prospect of a final "kill step," for fresh produce, an additional layer of protection if other precautions fail. The high-energy rays can penetrate packaging, making it possible to do a final disinfection after, say, spinach leaves have been washed and sealed in a bag. The technology can also kill pathogens nestled where disinfectants like chlorine don't always reach: in a crevice in a leaf of spinach, for instance.

Recent studies have shown that the technology will reduce populations of common foodborne disease pathogens by at least 99.9 percent without hurting the quality of most fresh produce, according to Brendan Niemira, a lead scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Intervention Technologies lab in Pennsylvania.
 

Abilene E. coli cases reported

The Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District is investigating three reported cases of E. coli that have been reported in December.

All three ill individuals had eaten at a buffet before they became ill.  A health district spokesman told the Reporter-News that the three illnesses were not considered an E. coli outbreak, and that the investigation is ongoing. 

Health district investigators had examined the area where the food was prepared by the Hendrick catering service and did not find any problems. Although they all ate at the same event, that fact does not mean Hendrick is the source of the E. coli - it is merely one common point in their food histories.
 

Washington dairy to resume sale of raw milk

The owners of Dee Creek Farm, who operated a cow share program that last December was the source of an E. coli outbreak that sickened 18 people in Washington and Oregon in December of 2005, say they will begin selling raw milk again this summer.

Dee Creek Farm faces an $8,000 fine from the Washington Department of Agriculture for selling raw milk without a license, but the farm is appealing the fine, reports The Daily News. Dee Creek Farm owners Anita and Michael Puckett will argue their case in a March administrative hearing run by the state Department of Agriculture.

The Pucketts claim they didn't violate state milk production and processing laws and shouldn't have to pay the $8,000 fine assessed in March. The fine is not for the E. coli outbreak itself, but for violations uncovered while officials were investigating the outbreak and its cause.

DNA tests tied milk from the dairy to the bacteria that made 18 people sick in Washington and Oregon; including three children who were in critical condition.
 

E. coli Attorney Calls on Taco John's to Pay Victims' Medical Bills

William Marler, a food safety advocate and attorney who is representing 10 victims of an E. coli outbreak at several Taco John's locations in Iowa and Minnesota, called today on Taco John's to pay the medical bills of all individuals who became ill with E. coli infections as part of the outbreak.

“We know that at least 26 people were hospitalized during this outbreak,” Marler said. “Some families are already facing bills in the tens of thousands of dollars. It’s only right that Taco John’s should step up and pay all victims’ medical bills.” 

Marler noted that in other outbreak-situations companies such as Dole, Jack in the Box, Odwalla, Chi-Chi’s and Sheetz advanced medical costs for outbreak victims whose illnesses were traced to their food products. “Other companies have shown their commitment to corporate responsibility and have put their customers first. It is my hope that Taco John’s will follow their lead,” Marler concluded.

Health officials have counted at least 77 people as being part of the outbreak, which was traced to Taco John’s restaurants in Iowa, and Minnesota. The Black Hawk County, Iowa, health department reported that at least 18 people had been hospitalized with E. coli infections after eating at Iowa Taco John’s restaurants, and Minnesota health officials reported 8 hospitalizations. At least two people developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a complication of E. coli infection that can cause kidney failure and central nervous system impairment and requires extended hospitalization and medical treatment.
 

Taco Bell E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak: Q&A with the FDA

The Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition has published a fact sheet, titled, "Questions and Answers: Taco Bell E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak."

Q. Does FDA know what caused the E. coli O157:H7 infections linked to some Taco Bell Restaurants in several Northeastern states?
A:
Shredded Iceberg lettuce has been implicated in the current E. coli O157:H7 outbreak. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in conjunction with state and local health authorities, initially identified three food items served at the Taco Bell restaurants considered to be the most likely sources of the bacterial infection: shredded iceberg lettuce, cooked ground beef, and cheddar cheese. For a variety of reasons, it now appears very likely that the shredded lettuce was the vehicle of transmission, and very unlikely that the infections were transmitted by the meat or cheese.

Q: Are people still getting sick as a result of this outbreak?
A:
This outbreak is considered to be over. According to the CDC, the latest onset of illness connected with this outbreak is December 6, 2006. The rate of newly reported illnesses has declined substantially. Cases still remain under investigation, but the data indicates that these individuals consumed iceberg lettuce no later than the first week of December.

Q: Where exactly are the restaurants and the reported illnesses located that have been associated with this outbreak?
A:
A total of 71 cases in five states have been reported to the CDC: Delaware (2 cases), New Jersey (33 cases), New York (22 cases), Pennsylvania (13 cases) and South Carolina (1 case — this person ate at a Taco Bell in Pennsylvania). 53 hospitalizations and 8 cases of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) have been reported. Taco Bell restaurants in other states have not been connected with this outbreak.

Q: Is lettuce in grocery stores and other restaurants safe?
A:
There is no reason to suspect that lettuce in grocery stores is unsafe. Lettuce available in grocery stores has not been connected with the lettuce implicated in the outbreak linked to some Taco Bell restaurants in the Northeast.

Q: Are onions and green onions safe?
A:
Early reports that green onions were implicated in this outbreak were inaccurate. There is no indication that any type of onions, including green onions, are unsafe or are connected in any way with this outbreak.

Q: Where did the shredded lettuce at Taco Bell restaurants come from?
A:
The precise source of the shredded lettuce is under investigation. FDA has expedited its traceback efforts in an attempt to quickly find the source of the lettuce. The agency has set up a special team of food safety experts to review all available information as quickly as possible to pinpoint where the lettuce originated.

Q: How could the lettuce have become contaminated?
A:
It is too soon to tell. FDA is working with state health agencies and the CDC to determine how and where the lettuce may have become contaminated.

Q: Could any of the shredded lettuce connected with the outbreak still be in distribution?
A:
FDA believes that this is unlikely and that the suspect lettuce was distributed only to some Taco Bell restaurants.

Q: Is the lettuce in this outbreak related in any way to the current outbreak linked to Taco John's restaurants in Iowa and Minnesota?
A:
Detailed DNA analysis (fingerprinting) has proved that the E. coli O157:H7 causing illnesses in Iowa and Minnesota is a different strain than that linked to illnesses from Taco Bell restaurants in the Northeast.

Q: What should I do if I believe I may be infected?
A:
Consumers who are concerned that they may have contracted E. coli O157:H7 infection from eating this lettuce should contact their health care provider to seek appropriate medical evaluation and treatment.

Q: What is FDA doing to increase the safety of lettuce and other fresh produce?
A:
The FDA developed the Lettuce Safety Initiative in response to recurring outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 in lettuce. The primary goals of the initiative are to reduce public health risks by focusing on the product, agents and areas of greatest concern and to alert consumers early and respond rapidly in the event of an outbreak. On August 24, 2006, the State of California Department of Health Services and Department of Food and Agriculture and the FDA met with industry and academia to further clarify the goals, objectives and the next steps for the Lettuce Safety Initiative. This meeting was facilitated by the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security. This initiative is based on the 2004 Produce Safety Action Plan, intended to minimize the incidence of food borne illness associated with the consumption of fresh produce.
FDA is considering a variety of options to increase the safety of all fresh produce marketed in the United States. The agency will hold a public hearing on the issue in early 2007.
 

E. coli-contaminated lettuce: Taco John's supplier will re-examine food safety

Bix Produce, the company that the Minnesota Department of Health has identified as the supplier of E. coli-contaminated lettuce to Taco John's restaurants in Minnesota and Iowa, announced that it will implement new measures to ensure produce safety.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that Bix is hiring a longtime crisis management spokesman and trying to prevent further loss of sales.

The changes came a day after the produce processing company was dropped by Taco John's as its supplier of shredded lettuce. Minnesota health officials have linked the E. coli cases to shredded lettuce supplied by Bix. The E. coli-contaminated lettuce has sickened more than 20 people in Taco John's restaurants in Minnesota and Iowa.
 

E. coli outbreak in Chelan, Washington

The Chelan-Douglas Health District has issued a press release regarding an E. coli outbreak that sickened a at least six people, one adult and five children, in the Chelan and Manson areas around Thanksgiving.

The Seattle Times and the Associated Press are both reporting that at least one child is hospitalized at Seattle Children's Hospital with hemolytic uremic syndrome.

According to the Chelan-Douglas Health District press release, the agency is receiving investigative support from the State Department of Health, as well as the Seattle-King County and Snohomish County Health Departments in this investigation.
 

Treatment of E. coli: Antibiotics should not be used

In a reminder to physicians treating potential victims of E. coli poisoning, the CDC is warning doctors not to prescribe antibiotics for individuals who exhibit symptoms of E. coli infections.

Some doctors still prescribe antibiotics because they are unaware of the advice, misdiagnose the still-rare E. coli O157:H7 or don't find the relationship between antibiotics and greater medical risk convincing, according to the LA Times.

A 2000 study found that children infected by E. coli O157:H7 and given antibiotics developed a life-threatening complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome at higher rates than children who did not take antibiotics. The syndrome is the leading cause of kidney failure in children.
 

Taco Bell E. coli Outbreak Update

The FDA and CDC E. coli outbreak investigation into illnesses at Taco Bell restaurants in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware took a turn this week, when health officials determined that green onions were not the source of the outbreak.

Investigators from the CDC and FDA announced that the likely source of the outbreak is E. coli-contaminated lettuce.

The New York Post reported an increase in the number of victims from the Taco Bell E. coli outbreak. While the outbreak continues, Taco Bell stores that had been closed due to the E. coli outbreak have reopened. Taco Bell has written an open letter stating that food in Taco Bell stores is safe.
 

Taco John's food is source of E. coli outbreaks in Iowa and Minnesota

An E. coli outbreak that had been traced to a Taco John's restaurant in Cedar Falls, Iowa, has also been potentially linked to an outbreak in Albert Lea, Minnesota.

Minnesota officials announced that they were investigating an apparent outbreak of E. coli infections tied to a Taco John's restaurant in Albert Lea, which is just north of Iowa.

18 people in Black Hawk County have been hospitalized this month after eating at a local Taco John's restaurant.

Approximately 100 Taco John's franchises in the Midwest will be using a new produce vendor starting as soon as today as an extreme precautionary response to reports of potential E. coli contamination at three of the franchise locations, one in Iowa and two in Minnesota, that used a common vendor. The remainder of the Taco John's system utilizes other produce vendors.
 

New York man files E. coli lawsuit against Taco Bell

The Seattle law firm Marler Clark filed its second lawsuit in the Taco Bell E. coli outbreak. The lawsuit named Yum! Brands, the parent company of Taco Bell and Ready Pac Produce Inc., the company that packaged and distributed fresh produce to Taco Bell restaurants.

According to the suit, Jared Keller, a Utica, New York, resident, became ill with symptoms of an E. coli O157:H7 infection two days after eating at the North Genesee Street Taco Bell location in Utica. Mr. Keller’s symptoms worsened over the course of the next few days, and he was admitted to St. Luke’s Hospital.

Seattle attorney William Marler has proposed congressional hearings focused on the following:
 

Taco Bell E. coli Cases up to 200

Bloomberg News reporter Josh Fineman reported that E. coli cases from Taco Bell have topped 200. Fineman discusses confirmed cases that are counted by the CDC, and breaks down other potential cases by state:

  • New York – 22 confirmed cases, 220 potential cases
  • New Jersey – 28 confirmed cases, 55 potential cases
  • Pennsylvania – 9 confirmed cases
  • Delaware – 2 confirmed cases
  • South Carolina – 1 confirmed case (food was eaten in New Jersey)
  • Utah – 1 confirmed case
     

Iowa E. coli outbreak sends 14 to hospital

An E. coli O157:H7 outbreak has been traced to a fast food restaurant in eastern Iowa, according to the Des Moines Register. The outbreak is said to have sickened at least 19 people, hospitalizing 14 of those who became ill as part of the outbreak. The Black Hawk County Health Department is investigating the outbreak, and expects lab test to be completed on Monday.

A number of the E. coli outbreak victims are students at the University of Northern Iowa.  Last month, an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that sickened a number of University of North Carolina students was traced to a Chapel Hill restaurant.

Seattle E. coli lawyers file lawsuit against Taco Bell

An E. coli lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Stephen Minnis, a Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, resident who became ill with an E. coli O157:H7 infection after eating food from the Taco Bell restaurant located on East Philadelphia Avenue in Gilbertsville.

The lawsuit was filed against Yum! Brands, the parent company of Taco Bell, in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Marler Clark, the Seattle law firm with a national reputation for the successful representation of E. coli victims.

Taco Bell has a connection to prior foodborne illness outbreaks. In 1999, At least ten San Francisco Bay-area people became ill with E. coli infections after eating at Taco Bell.  In 2000, dozens of people became ill with Hepatitis A, after eating contaminated green onions at Taco Bell locations in Florida, Kentucky, and Nevada.
 

Prior outbreaks traced to green onions

The Star-Ledger reported on the Taco Bell E. coli outbreak, which is suspected to have been caused by contaminated green onions.

The newspaper interviewed Richard Miller, a former Marler-Clark client who became ill with hepatitis A after eating green onions at a Chi-Chi's restaurant in Western Pennsylvania in 2003. He was among 650 people sickened in the outbreak -- the nation's largest -- that eventually was linked to green onions from Mexico. More than 120 people were hospitalized. Three died.

“I'm torn between anger and a total lack of trust in our food supply,” Miller said. “We need our agriculture departments to hold their feet to the fire.”
 

E. coli numbers up today

The New York Times reported today that 99 people have been confirmed ill with E. coli infections in connection with this outbreak, and stated that additional Taco Bell restaurants and a second food distributor had been implicated in the outbreak.

New York reported 41 E. coli cases on Long Island and an increase in illnesses reported from upstate. New Jersey reported 43 E. coli cases, with additional cases under investigation. Pennsylvania has also reported 7 E. coli cases.

Taco Bell E. coli Outbreak Update

The Food and Drug Administration today annonced that the agency is involved in the investigation related to the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak at Taco Bell restaurants. The FDA is actively working with state and local health officials, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the firm, suppliers and distributors to determine the cause of the sicknesses and prevent additional infections.

The investigation has so far focused on green onions, or scallions, supplied to Taco Bell. According to the LA Times, New Jersey food safety regulators and the FDA are investigating two suppliers: McLane Foodservice and a Florence, N.J., facility operated by Irwindale-based Ready Pac Foods Inc.

Ready Pac today announced that it has ceased distribution of green onions until the investigation into the Taco Bell E. coli outbreak has been completed.
 

New York State Health Department Investigates E. Coli Cases That May Be Linked to Taco Bell

The New York State Health Department has issued a press release regarding its investigation into illnesses traced to Taco Bell restaurants.

State Health Commissioner Antonia C. Novello, M.D., M.P.H., Dr.P.H., today announced that the State Health Department is investigating 15 cases with laboratory evidence of a E. coli O157:H7 infection in New York State tied to a national outbreak associated with Taco Bell restaurants. An additional 15 cases are also being investigated. There have been 13 hospitalizations and 1 report of hemolytic uremic syndrome, a severe complication of E. coli O157:H7 infection that can lead to kidney failure.

The New York State Department of Health is independently testing the green onions to confirm preliminary test results obtained by Taco Bell. Taco Bell has removed green onions at all of its restaurants nationwide.
 

Taco Bell E. coli Outbreak Update: New Jersey Health Department Press Release

The New Jersey Department of Health and Social Services issued a press release on December 6th regarding the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak traced to Taco Bell restaurants.

They are recommending that all Taco Bells in New Jersey receiving food from the McLane Foodservice, Inc. of Burlington discard all current food supplies and clean and sanitize their facilities.

NJDHSS has been working closely with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, neighboring state and local health departments, New Jersey’s local health departments, and Taco Bell Corp. regarding the ongoing investigation of statewide cases of E. coli associated with Taco Bell.

According to the press release, Taco Bell Corp. has announced that three samples of green onions were found to be presumptive positive for E. coli O157:H7 by an independent testing laboratory.  As a strictly precautionary effort, Taco Bell Corp. has removed green onions at all of its approximately 5,800 restaurants nationwide.
 

Taco Bell's E. Coli Outbreak - Newsweek's Interview with a Food Safety Expert

Newsweek's Jessica Bennett recently interviewed Debra Hotzman, a food safety expert, about what people can do to prevent illness when dining out:

    Q: "We often see children as the victims of food illness. Why are they so much more at risk?

    A: Anybody can get a food-borne illness. But the people who are at risk for severe complications are anyone who has a weakened immune system—young children, older people, pregnant people, people who are post-operative. Those are the people who should take real [care].

    Q: This is the second E. coli outbreak in just a few months. What does that say about our food industry?

    A: We need more stringent regulations in place. I think there should be a single agency in charge of all food safety.

    Q: How long did it take for people eat spinach again—and do you think it's safe?

    A: Spinach is one of the most wonderful foods that you can eat. And when you buy it, like with all leafy vegetables, there are things that you can do. You can remove the outer leaves at first and throw them away and then really spend time washing them under clear, clean, running water. Also keep up to date on recalls and safety alerts. The truth is that bacteria are sticky—hard to remove. But if you're really concerned, if you're somebody with a weakened immune system, then cook the spinach."
 

E. coli traced to green onions: Taco Bell pulls onions from restaurants

An E. coli outbreak among patrons of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania-area Taco Bell restaurants has been traced to E. coli-contminated green onions.

Taco Bell has pulled all green onions from restaurants nationwide and closed suburban Philadelphia Taco Bell stores after four E. coli cases were confirmed in Pennsylvania.  The Taco Bell press release regarding its decision to remove green onions from its stores can be found at www.tacobell.com, and stated that an independent lab had been hired to test green onions from Taco Bell.  Three tests came back presumptive positive for E. coli O157:H7.

The New York Times reports that 39 people in New York and New Jersey had become ill as part of the outbreak.  The updated count for illnesses in central New Jersey alone is 40 today, according to the Asbury Park Press.  6abc.com out of Philadelphia has also reported that at least 4 people have become ill in Pennsylvania.
 

E. coli Attorney Calls on Taco Bell to Pay Victims' Medical Bills

William Marler, a nationally-recognized food safety advocate and attorney, today called on Taco Bell and its parent company, Yum! Brands, Inc., "to do the right thing and immediately pay the medical bills for the victims of this most recent E. coli O157:H7 outbreak traced Taco Bell restaurants in New York and New Jersey."

Marler noted that in other outbreak-situations, companies such as Dole, Jack in the Box, Odwalla, Chi-Chi’s and Sheetz advanced medical costs for outbreak victims whose illnesses were traced to their food products.

To date, New York and New Jersey health officials have reported that 39 people have been confirmed as victims of this Taco Bell outbreak. At least 2 victims develop hemolytic uremic syndrome, a potentially lethal complication of E. coli O157:H7 infection, and are still hospitalized. “With such devastating injuries, and so many of them,” Marler continued, “I hope that Taco Bell executives step up and do the right thing for their customers.”
 

Taco Bell E. coli Update

The New York Times reports that 35 people are ill with E. coli in New Jersey and Long Island.

At least five people are in the hospital, including two with hemolytic uremic syndrome, after eating at New Jersey-area Taco Bell restaurants. The E. coli outbreak has so far sickened at least 22 people, and has been traced to multiple Taco Bell locations.

Twenty of those infected, including two restaurant employees who tested positive for E. coli but did not get sick, ate at a Taco Bell in South Plainfield.

Authorities are trying to determine how and where the people with confirmed cases of E. coli became infected.
 

E. coli O157:H7, feedlot management, and profits

Pounds of beef and E. coli O157 are joint products in the feedlot industry, according to the Impact Center E-Newsletter. "The level of E. coli naturally occurring in beef is not necessarily harmful," said Washington State University researcher Tom Marsh. "It is when these levels go up dramatically that an increased likelihood of an outbreak occurs."

“It is ideal to identify those practices in the feedlot that increase cattle performance and decrease E. coli prevalence,” said Marsh. “Controlling insects and rodents, as well as manure management, are strategies that were significantly associated with reduced E. coli and increased profit level.”

While feedlot managers may not have an incentive to keep E. coli out of their herds, spinach farmers have an incentive to keep E. coli out of their fields.
 

E. Coli Still A Big Concern For U.S. Agriculture

WJZ TV reports former USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service director Michael Taylor has concerns with the current U.S. food safety system, saying, "We have a system that's not working as well as we can and we will continue having these problems until we address prevention."

Food safety experts have been advocating for a single food safety agency to regulate the U.S. food supply. Taylor pointed out no one agency regulates the food industry and in particular produce. 'We have a fragmented system with the FDA being responsible for part of the food supply and the USDA being responsible for meat and poultry.'"

E. coli kids home for Thanksgiving

The Lanhontan Valley News reported that two children who suffered E. coli infections and hemolytic uremic syndrome in 2006 were able to celebrate Thanksgiving at home with their families.

Lanie Smith, 5, and John 'Jack' Cessford IV, 2 and a half, both of Fallon, were both hospitalized earlier this year after contracting the bacteria. Smith spent seven weeks in the intensive care unit at the Children's Hospital in Oakland for treatment. Cessford was hospitalized in the Renown Health Medical Center intensive care unit for nine days in May.

California child home after battle with E. coli and HUS

The Californian and North County Times report that Chris Martin of Murrieta, California, was hospitalized with an E. coli infection and hemolytic uremic syndrome after eating spinach and raw milk.

Although Chris' parents aren't sure what the source of his infection was, they believe that antibiotics administered when they took their son to the hospital could have led to his developing HUS. The couple said they believe their son would have recovered fairly easily from the E. coli infection were it not for a dose of antibiotics he should never have been given. This medical error, they said, pushed Chris to develop hemolytic uremic syndrome and ultimately kidney failure.

An E. coli infection can still lead to the syndrome without a dose of antibiotics, but the odds are significantly increased if a patient is given antibiotics. In Chris' case, his father said doctors did not wait for the results of a culture to come back to confirm E. coli, that they thought it was colitis, an inflammation of the colon.
 

Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome

The Lexington Herald-Leader addressed the serious complication of E. coli infection called hemolytic uremic syndrome.

About 5 percent of youngsters who get HUS do not survive. The key to treatment is early diagnosis, says UK's Dr. Philip Bernard. The first sign of trouble is bloody diarrhea, and Bernard said parents should take children with symptoms to the doctor immediately.

Children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems are most susceptible to E. coli O157:H7 and HUS.
 

E. coli victim home from hospital

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that five-year-old Haley Caldwell of Richmond, Kentucky, has returned home from the hospital after a month in Kentucky Children's Hospital due to an E. coli infection.

Haley was admitted to the University of Kentucky Children's Hospital from hemolytic uremic syndrome, a potentially deadly set of medical problems most often caused by exposure to E. coli bacteria. She suffered from pancreatitis and colitis, developed problems with her blood, lost kidney function, went on dialysis, and was placed on a ventilator.

Spinach E. coli outbreak: FDA statement 11/15/06

Robert E. Brackett, Ph.D., recently participated in a panel before the US Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Brackett, who is the director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, pointed out that ready-to-eat fresh vegetables, fruits, and prepared salads have a high potential risk of contamination because they are generally grown in a natural environment and are often consumed without cooking or other treatments that could eliminate pathogens if they are present.

He went on to explain FDA's role in food safety, discuss FDA’s response to the recent E. coli outbreak and the ongoing investigation, describe some of the specific efforts that FDA is taking to enhance the safety of fresh produce to prevent future outbreaks, and reviewed some of the next steps that FDA plans to take to work with food safety partners to improve the safety of ready-to-eat foods.

Among the steps Brackett outlined were:

  • The development of a plan to minimize the risk of another outbreak in all leafy greens, including lettuce.
  • An examination of whether improvements in the following four areas could help prevent or contain future outbreaks: 1) strategies to prevent contamination; 2) ways to minimize the health impact after an occurrence; 3) ways to improve communication; and 4) specific research.
  • Putting on a series of meetings with industry groups to discuss ways to improve the safety of fresh produce.
  • Consideration of whether additional guidance and/or additional regulations for the produce industry are necessary.
  • Increasing research on analytical technologies that enable faster detection of foodborne pathogens and better intervention strategies.
  • Studying possible intervention strategies, such as use of thermal treatment and irradiation, which could be applied to fresh produce products to reduce the level of bacteria and viruses that are in or on the product.
  • Working with universities, industry, and state governments to develop both risk-based microbiological research programs and technology transfer programs to ensure that the latest food technology reaches the appropriate end users along the supply chain.

E. coli and HUS: The aftermath

For many people who suffer E. coli O157:H7 infections and hemolytic uremic syndrome, being released from the hospital does not mean they are cured. Constant medical monitoring and a future full of kidney failure and transplants are the fate of many.

A LiveJournal user recently posted about her ongoing medical treatment that is the result of an E. coli O157:H7 infection and HUS, which she suffered in 1990. Linda wrote extensively about her recent transplant, when she received a kidney from her mother.

Despite the worries that Linda went through, she says that her experience has drawn her closer to her family. The support that she was able to find online also helped with her process.
 

E. coli outbreak: McAlister's tries to bounce back after outbreak linked to restaurant

The Daily Tarheel reports that health officials have not yet been able to pinpoint the source of contamination within the restaurant that led to at least 9 cases of confirmed E. coli O157:H7 among McAlister's patrons.

Neil Newcomb, owner of the Franklin Street McAlister's, said that he noticed a decline in business after last week's revelations, but that customers are returning. "We need to be the perfectly run restaurant. If we were not, we are now," he said. "We anticipate bouncing back."

Keeping produce safe

The Gillette News-Record reported on the safety of fresh vegetables in a recent article. E. coli is a bacteria that grows in the intestinal tracts of most people and animals. The kind of E. coli that can be fatal and concerns medical professionals is Eshericha coli 0157:H7. It is found usually in contaminated water, and since most vegetables are irrigated, E. coli usually can cover the surface of most fresh produce.

The story's author gives tips on keeping produce safe, such as:

  • Washing fresh produce.
  • Preventing cross contamination by using proper handwashing techniques.
  • Scrubbing fruits or vegetables while running them under the water.
  • Using a brush and bleach solution to scrub the rinds of melons with deep grooves or rough surfaces.
  • Washing leafy greens, discarding the top layer, and washing them again.
  • Storing fresh vegetables at temperatures of 40 degrees or below.
     

E. coli case reported in Tennessee

The Gundy County Herald is reporting that the Tennessee Department of Health has confirmed that a Gunty County resident has tested positive for E. coli O157:H7 infection.  Click here for the fully story.

Source of E. coli sought by scientists

The American Veterinary Medical Association announced today that an investigation into the source of E. coli contamination in fresh produce will be launched by scientists at the University of California - Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

The study is being funded by a $1.2 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture. Crews will collect samples of livestock and wildlife droppings; creek, ditch, and irrigation water; farm soil; and lettuce growing on the farms. Scientists will analyze data to identify the vertebrates that are sources of E coli O157:H7; assess climate, landscape, and irrigation; and determine whether certain farming practices or environmental factors have any association with the contamination of lettuce.

Scientists hope the study also will help them understand the puzzling timing of recent E coli contamination. The bacteria appear more often in Salinas Valley waterways during the winter—when rainstorms wash the bacteria from streets, farms, and rangeland into creeks, streams, sloughs, and rivers. The contamination of fresh vegetables tends to occur during the summer and fall, though.
 

Senator Durbin's statement on spinach and E. coli

Senator Durbin submitted a statement for the hearing held yesterday by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The hearing was titled, "Food Safety: Current Challenges and New Ideas to Safeguard Consumers".

In the statement, Senator Durbin addressed that dated methods used to oversee modern food distribution systems. He also suggested changes that should be made to increase food safety protocols, including:

  • Giving federal agencies the ability to issue mandatory recalls
  • Implementation of a regular inspection program for domestic food facilities
  • Requirements for food producers to code products for ease in tracking origins
  • Creation of a single food safety agency
     

Government called on to slow down meatpacking lines

The Lincoln Journal-Star reports that the Nebraska Appleseed Center called for government regulation that would require meatpacking companies to slow down production lines.

NAC is  concerned that food safety is compromised when production lines move too quickly for line workers to properly assess risks. 

Milo Mumgaard, executive director of the public policy center, urged Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns to “require the industry to slow down.”

It is Johanns’ job to “ensure our hamburgers -- and the workers who process them -- are as safe as they can be,” Mumgaard said. “Slowing down the line is a great place to start.”
 

E. coli outbreak: Woman who became ill after eating spinach recovering

Marler Clark client Chenelle Reyes was interviewed by KIRO 7 news in Seattle. Ms. Reyes and Bill Marler both discussed the E. coli outbreak traced to spinach with Graham Johnson:

"I literally felt I was dying," Reyes said. "I was in a lot of pain."

Federal investigators confirm the outbreak killed three people and made 204 sick. Investigators have traced the source of the outbreak to cow manure on a ranch near Natural Selection foods. They think wild pigs might have carried E. coli to the spinach fields.
 

E. coli Research: University of Illinois scientist helping processors keep E. coli out of meat

A University of Illinois food scientist has discovered that certain solutions used by meat processors to extend shelf life actually do double duty as antimicrobial agents, killing such virulent foodborne pathogens as E. coli 0157:H7.

That’s important because E. coli can be spread via recycled solutions used to tenderize and enhance flavor in steaks, chops, and other cuts of meat, said U of I food science professor Susan Brewer.

The problem motivated Brewer and her graduate students to study the process used to inject meat with enhancement solutions before they’re offered to consumers. And the results, published in the Journal of Food Science and Meat Science, have interested industry representatives.

“With needle injection, organisms that exist on the outside of a piece of meat can get poked down into the meat where they’re less likely to be killed if consumers like their meat on the rare side,” said Brewer. Also, as the needles inject one piece of meat after another, they can spread contamination from one piece of meat to another, and recycled enhancement solution can further complicate the spread of pathogens.

The scientists found that some solutions used to extend the shelf-life of meat also were effective at killing bacteria. Brewer says the threat level for such meat cuts as chops, steaks, and roasts is not high, although ground meat not cooked to high temperatures can be dangerous. “You’re always safe cooking red meat to 160 degrees,” she says.
 

Bad Food Safety Leads to Lawsuits

When someone gets sick from E. coli-related illnesses, most people across the country call upon Seattle attorney Bill Marler - sometimes even before they call the health department.

The Food Safety Network recently issued an Infosheet regarding Marler’s work in food poisoning litigation. At a speech at Kansas State University on November 14th, he will be addressing food safety risks, how to avoid lawsuits, and food preparation safety.

"Leave Well Enough Alone" is Not a Path to Safe Food

David Babcock, an attorney with Seattle-based Marler Clark, wrote in response to a personal essay published recently in the Houston Chronicle titled, “Is the fear of food poisoning eating at you?”  in a letter titled, "Leave Well Enough Alone is Not a Path to Safe Food":

By David W. Babcock, Esq.

Ms. Grodinsky’s recent personal essay, “Is the fear of food poisoning eating at you?” offers a deceptive take on food safety. Ms. Grodinsky is right, of course, hysteria over the safety of the U.S. food supply is unproductive and irrational. Just as irrational, however, is her downplay of the pressing importance of improving the safety of our food supply and the seriousness of the consequences for failing to do so.

Ms. Grodinsky’s piece echoes much of what has been said in opposition to increased food safety efforts in the past, advocating the questionable argument that there is a relatively low level of risk associated with the food supply. But her “low risk” argument is not a reason to ignore the risks that are known to exist. A lot of lettuce and spinach has been grown in the Salinas valley in the past 10 years. The overwhelming majority was not contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. Is that a reason not to be concerned with the lettuce and spinach that was contaminated, or the potential for contamination to happen again?  Continue Reading...

E. coli outbreak at UNC: Possible source found

The Daily Tarheel reports that the Orange County Health Department is focusing its E. coli outbreak investigation on McAlister's Deli, a restaurant on Franklin Street in Raleigh.

Officials at the health department stated in a press release that six out of the seven confirmed cases had McAlister's as a common link. Those six individuals ate at McAlister's between October 24th and October 28th.

The OCHD press release stated that the health department has confirmed seven cases of E. coli O157:H7 infection, and is investigating the possibility of additional cases, with three ill individuals' lab results pending. 
 

E. coli outbreak at UNC

The University of North Carolina and North Carolina Department of Health announced that they are investigating an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak among UNC students. Although no common source of exposure to the bacteria has been identified, health officials are working to determine the cause of the outbreak and do not believe that more students are at risk of developing the E. coli infection.

Three University students have, to date, developed confirmed cases of gastroenteritis caused by E. coli O157:H7 bacteria. This illness causes severe diarrhea, abdominal cramps and is occasionally associated with severe complications, especially in young children and the elderly.

The affected students developed symptoms between October 26th and 29th. Health authorities are investigating a small number of additional possible cases among University students.
 

Is composted manure safe from E. coli?

The Daily Evergreen, Washington State University's daily newspaper, interviewed John Reganold, a WSU regents professor of crop and soil sciences, and Richard Finch, the compost manager at the WSU Compost Facility, regarding their opinions on the safety of composted manure:

“If people are using properly composted materials, they should be completely safe in organic farm applications or growing food crops,” said Richard Finch, the compost manager at the WSU Compost Facility.

At the WSU Compost Facility, manure is placed in long, symmetric rows where it begins a 10-week process of transforming into compost. The manure is mixed with straw and wood to increase the amount of oxygen mixing with the manure. In a week, the manure rises to a temperature of 130 degrees. Eventually, the manure will rise to as high as 170 degrees.

Department of Ecology regulations state the manure must remain between 130 and 170 degrees for a minimum of 15 days. The warm temperatures eliminate potential bacteria such as E. coli. To avoid runoff from unfavorable weather conditions, the compost rows are never more than 10 feet tall, Finch said. The rain and excess compost is also funneled into a pond to prevent it from contaminating irrigation water.
 

E. coli investigation: Ranch denies involvement

The owners of the Paicines Ranch, which has reportedly been under investigation as a potential source of the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak traced to contaminated spinach, issued a statement about reports of its involvement.

The owners told KSBW: " The Paicines Ranch is not under investigation by any government agency. We lease row crop land to farmers. Whether or not these farmers are under investigation is unknown to us. If you want to know whether a particular farmer is under investigation, you should ask them. Since we neither farm nor process row crops of any kind, we are unable to comment further.”

Deadly Pathogens and Science vs. PR and Politics: Spinach in Monterey County - California Progress Report

Frank Pecarich, a retired soil scientist, points out that more could have been done before the E. coli outbreak traced to spinach, had scientists been listened to when they pointed out problems with the agricultural systems in the Salinas Valley.

"At first, our analysis clearly spied the flaws in the agriculture infrastructure and system of growing our fresh vegetable food supply,” he posted on the California Progress Report blog. “I have written three articles at this web site on all the gory details of why irrigating fresh leafy green vegetables with treated sewage effluent intended to be consumed raw was a horrible idea. We have also pointed out that the scientific literature is clear on the inability of tertiary treatment of sewage water to completely eradicate E. coli 0157:H7.”

He continues, “As we look deeper to see how this classic example of a bad idea got worse, we find that there are many groups of people who have their ‘finger prints on the bloody knife’, so to speak."
 

The return of spinach

Veggin' Out, an online blog, posted a commentary on the recent spinach-related E. coli outbreak:

"The last time I went grocery shopping, I saw that fresh spinach was back on the store shelves. However, I didn't buy any. Before the E. coli scare, I always had fresh spinach in my refrigerator. However, when given the opportunity to purchase it again, I didn't quite trust it. Even though the FDA says it's safe to eat now, I wasn't quite ready to buy it again."

The bloggers, still leery about buying spinach, pose the question to readers as to whether or not they are still afraid of purchasing spinach, and what it would take to regain trust in produce.

E. coli cases may be linked to State Fair food stand

The Winston-Salem Journal reports that at least three people have become ill from E. coli O157:H7 infections after attending the North Carolina State Fair.

A 2004 outbreak at the fair was traced to a petting zoo; however, the suspected source of this latest outbreak is a food stand.

Two adults and a teenager got sick after eating chicken pita sandwiches from a food vendor, which wasn't identified, near Dorton Arena. Two of them have been hospitalized.
 

Grocers put pressure on produce industry to clean up

The LA Times reports concerns from several grocers who are putting pressure on the produce industry to ensure fresh produce is safe.

An October survey of consumer attitudes by the association found that 22% of the respondents lacked confidence in the safety of all fresh produce products, not just spinach.

As the spinach crisis unfolded in September, the lack of reliable industry standards became apparent. Currently, growers are using a hodgepodge of safety measures and procedures to raise their crops.

The Salinas Californian also reports that the owner of Paicines Ranch, which is under investigation as the potential source of the spinach E. coli outbreak, said that his operation didn’t grow or process the suspect spinach but that he rents fields to two tenants. While one of the tenants has been cleared, he said the other tenant, Otto Kramm, is still being investigated.
 

E. coli spinach case: Lawsuit filed on behalf of family of woman who died

A lawsuit has been filed by Seattle lawfirm Marler Clark on behalf of the family of Ruby Trautz, an elderly woman who died after eating E. coli-contaminated spinach.

The estate is suing Dole Food Co. of Westlake Village, Calif.; Natural Selections Foods of San Juan Bautista, Calif.; No Frills Supermarkets of Omaha; and the undisclosed California farm where the spinach was grown, according to the Bellevue News-Leader.

According to the lawsuit, Trautz ate Dole brand baby spinach, which Nebraska public health officials linked to a national E. coli outbreak that sickened 204 people and caused three deaths. Natural Selections Foods bagged the spinach.

Bill Marler, the attorney representing the Costello family and 93 other people who were sickened as part of the outbreak, posted about today's announcement that one of four farms who supplied Natural Selections Foods and Earthbound Farms with spinach had been identified on his blog.
 

Lettuce and spinach producers work to prevent E. coli contamination after outbreak

Juliana Barbassa of the Associated Press interviewed fresh produce suppliers and the families of victims of the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak traced to contaminated spinach.

Samantha Cabaluna, a spokeswoman from Natural Selection Foods, said "We've completely overhauled the way we test and package greens.  Regardless of the source or method of contamination, we're better prepared to catch it."

Produce industry hears talk about cleaning up

In response to a nationwide E. coli O157:H7 outbreak traced to contaminated spinach, produce industry leaders held a recent meeting to address industry concerns and to discuss what is likely impending legislation if the industry does not find a solution to produce contamination soon.

According to the Capital Press, Dr. Robert Brackett, director of Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said the recent E. coli outbreak linked to fresh spinach from a Salinas Valley processor demonstrates the need for the produce industry to take food safety seriously.

He said the outbreak, which sickened nearly 200 and killed three, has cost $17 million in public health costs. He advised the industry to work together to strengthen food safety standards as a way to rebuild consumer confidence in fresh produce.
 

Blow me down

Kentucky child in critical condition diagnosed with E. coli O157:H7

The Associated Press is reporting that a five-yearold Madison County, Kentucky, child is hospitalized at Kentucky Children's Hospital with complications of an E. coli O157:H7 infection.

Haley Caldwell is on a ventilator. Her 18-month-old sister was also ill with an E. coli infection, and was hospitalized at Lexington Hospital, but has since recovered.

E. coli outbreak traced to wild pigs?

The Associated Press reported today that FDA and California Department of Health investigators believe they have found three potential sources of the spinach E. coli outbreak: Wild pigs, cattle, and contaminated water.

Samples taken from a wild pig, as well as from stream water and cattle on the ranch, have tested positive for the same strain of E. coli implicated in the outbreak. Investigators are looking at three other ranches in the areas in seeking the source of the contaminated fresh spinach.

California State Senator Dean Florez, who held a hearing on the spinach outbreak, said he plans to introduce bills in December to add a half-dozen new state regulations related to growing and packaging food, including how fields can be irrigated safely.

“We're going to focus in on the water,'' said Florez. ``We'll also work on better worker conditions, in terms of the equipment they use in the fields.''

Florez's proposal, among other actions, would allow farmers following organic practices to use more chlorine to disinfect their vegetables than is currently permitted under labeling standards for so-called organic foods.
 

Irradiation can prevent E. coli O157:H7 and other foodborne illnesses

CBS 11 TV in Dallas reported that David Corbin, an executive at Forth Worth-based Sadex Corporation, recently ate a E. coli-contaminated spinach that had been irradiated.

An FDA spokesman said the agency actively works on petitions by the Food Processors Association to use irradiation for ready-to-eat foods and does not discuss open petitions.

Mr. Corbin's stunt was designed to create interest in and promote irradiation technology, which effectively eliminates E. coli and other pathogens from food. But the article says it is important to remember that E. coli comes from fecal contamination and irradiated feces is still feces.
 

TMJ4's test: Is spinach really safe?

Milwaukee NBC affiliate, TMJ4, reported on their investigation into whether spinach now on the shelves in Wisconsin supermarkets is safe and free of pathogenic bacteria.

The investigation did not uncover any E. coli or other bacteria on spinach sampled from Milwaukee stores, but consumers are still skeptical about whether they should eat bagged spinach and lettuce from California's Salinas Valley.

The food industry and Dr. G. Richard Olds from the Medical College of Wisconsin both assert that spinach and other vegetables are safe to eat. However, with the number of E. coli outbreaks traced to produce in recent years, consumers are still concerned.
 

Safe food: Where did the E. coli come from?

Ellen Kanner with the Sun-Herald points out that fresh produce may not always be stored below 41 degrees fahrenheit to prevent spoilage and the growth of pathogenic bacteria, the outbreak problem is not the temperature at which fresh produce is stored. It is that produce is contaminated in the first place.

While the CDC, FDA, and the produce industry are working to curb outbreaks, consumers cannot prevent their fresh produce from being contaminated just by properly refrigerating. Produce destined for consumers' plates needs to reach them without pathogenic bacteria already present.

Investigators have identified a possible source - tainted cow manure from a neighboring pasture. How the manure got to the spinach fields isn't clear. Other possible causes are still being explored, from tainted irrigation water to errors made in processing. Some experts claim bagging produce keeps bacteria at bay, but others assert it creates a greenhouse effect when produce isn't kept at optimum conditions.

Supermarkets try to keep their refrigerator cases at 41, but often the temperature goes higher. It goes far above 41 on kitchen counters, where we trust the fresh produce we've just bought will be safe if we leave it out for a bit. At room temperature, bacteria proliferate.
 

E. coli at Habitat for Humanity dinner?

The Chetek Alert reports that Barron County health officials believe that people who became ill with E. coli infections may have become ill after eating at a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity.

Barron County Health Officer Kaye Thompson and Randy Wilson, Barron County Sanitarian, are asking that any person that participated in the fund-raising dinner and is experiencing symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting or fever to contact the Barron County Department of Health and Human Services and to see a physician.

E. coli O157:H7 infections can lead to complications called hemolytic uremic syndrome and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, which can lead to acute kidney failure, central nervous system damage, and impairment of other major organs.
 

Another confirmed California E. coli case

The Redding, California, newspaper has reported that another California resident has been confirmed to be ill with the same strain of E. coli O157:H7 as that which was recalled by Natural Selections Foods.

Shasta County Public Health officials confirmed the illness as part of the outbreak, but would not disclose the outlet where the victim purchased and consumed the spinach. Dr. Lou Anne Cummings, Shasta County Public Health deputy health officer, said the patient had eaten at two restaurants that may have received shipments of the contaminated spinach.

Both restaurants had been following all proper rules and procedures, and the contaminated spinach has been removed, limiting the spread of the virulent bacteria.
 

Two new E. coli cases confirmed in Maryland

HometownAnnapolis.com reports that Maryland health officials have confirmed two more E. coli O157:H7 cases as having the same genetic fingerprint as the strain of E. coli linked to the spinach outbreak.

Maryland's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's announcement also addressed the death of June Dunning, an elderly woman from Haggerstown. Seattle law firm Marler-Clark has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Dunning family.

Neither child in the most recent cases was hospitalized, said health department spokesman John Hammond.
 

How can I reduce the risk of becoming ill with E. coli O157:H7?

A reader of the Suburban Chicago News Web site asks, "There has been a lot in the news about E. coli in food lately. What is it? How do I know if I have consumed a food product that is infected with E. coli?"

E. coli is a common type of bacteria. It is short for the medical term Escherichia coli, which normally lives inside our intestines, where it helps the body break down and digest the food we eat. Most of the hundreds of types, or strains, of E. coli live harmlessly in the digestive tracts of humans and animals.

There are some strains however that produce a powerful toxin that causes bloody diarrhea and occasionally can cause severe blood problems and kidney failure, called hemolytic uremic syndrome.
 

The raw milk debate

KSDK TV in St. Louis reported today on the raw milk debate.

Purchasers and producers of raw milk believe drinking unpasteurized milk enhances their health.  Public health officials believe the risks of drinking raw milk and contracting potentially fatal illnesses such as E. coli O157:H7 and Campylobacter infections are too high, and that people should not consume raw milk. As reported on the news:

“Raw milk, advocates say, is healthier than pasteurized. Louis Pasteur invented the process to heat milk to 161 degrees for 15 seconds to kill harmful bacteria. But raw milk proponents say the process kills good bacteria.

However, there's another side to this story from health officials, who say they would never drink raw milk.

St. Louis City Health Director Dr. William Kincaid says raw milk is potentially full of bad things, like listeria, E. coli and even tuberculosis. Kincaid says he would absolutely not drink raw milk.”
 

Maryland confirms fifth E. coli case traced to spinach

The Baltimore Channel is reporting that Maryland has confirmed the state's fifth E. coli O157:H7 illness traced to contaminated spinach.

John Hammond, a spokesman for the state health department, said two more suspected Maryland cases are pending, including that of an elderly resident who died.

The state agency hasn't identified that person, but family members sait it was June E. Dunning, 86, of Hagerstown, who died Sept. 13 of an E. coli complication.

Marler Clark has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family of Mrs. Dunning last week. The lawsuit was filed against Dole and Natural Selections.
 

Connecticut Firm Recalls Ground Beef Products For Possible E. coli O157:H7 Contamination

The USDA announced today that Omaha Beef Company, a Danbury, Connecticut, firm, is voluntarily recalling approximately 1,680 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

E. coli O157:H7 is the same bacterium that was found to be the source of an outbreak among people who ate contaminated spinach in August and September and became ill.

The products subject to recall include:
 

  • 10-pound boxes of 'HAMBURGER PATTIES, OMAHA BEEF CO., INC.'
  • Five-pound bags of 'HAMBURGER, OMAHA BEEF CO., INC.'
  • 10-pound bags of 'HAMBURGER, OMAHA BEEF CO., INC.'
     

Is there a better way to track produce?

Recent E. coli outbreaks caused by contaminated produce have caused some tech designers to question how technology might be used to I.D. fruit and vegetables, and provide a clearer trace route for future incidents.

A post at BoingBoing.com highlights the possibility of developing technologies to aid in the trace-back of potentially contamianted fruits and vegetables.

New 'virtual' inspection for meat plants proposed

Former Nebraska Chief Medical Officer and current USDA Undersecretary for Food Safety Dr. Richard Raymond proposed a system of "virtual" meat inspections, with a focus on more frequent inspections at meat plants with poor safety records.

Currently, inspectors are assigned to a specific facility or to regularly patrol several smaller plants, according to the Omaha World-Herald.

Raymond’s method involves an automated system, which generates a schedule of the inspectors' weekly tasks -- ensuring that a plant is clean, checking the temperature of its ovens and refrigerators and reviewing its anti-contamination measures.

If significant problems develop at a particular plant, additional inspections can be done. But on a day-to-day basis, the system aims to create a uniform level of inspection without regard to a facility's history or the safety measures it uses.

Under the proposed risk-based system, plants would receive a risk rating based on the types of products they handle, safety measures they have in place and their track records.

Plants deemed to present a high risk would receive more intensive inspections while those with low risk would receive more cursory examinations.

The new system proposed by Dr. Raymond is controversial, and consumer groups like the Consumer Federation of America are encouraging the USDA to conduct a pilot study of the new inspection system before fully implementing it.
 

Livestock source of E. coli problem

In a recent opinion piece in the Salt Lake Tribune, Hope Ferdowsian of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine writes about the source of E. coli contamination in fresh produce.

She points out that, "While news coverage has focused on the contamination of spinach and lettuce, not enough attention has been paid to one key source of E. coli: animal manure. E. coli 0157:H7 is naturally found in the intestines of cattle and some other animals. When livestock farms or 'concentrated feeding operations' foul groundwater or irrigation water, or a food handler with unwashed hands passes along his or her animal-borne infection, fruits and vegetables can become contaminated."

E. coli found in spinach caused more severe illness

The San Francisco Gate reports that the strain of E. coli O157:H7 isolated from case-patients and bags of spinach during the most recent E. coli outbreak is more virulent than other strains of E. coli O157:H7.

Health officials are working to determine why this particular strain seems to have caused a more severe illness in individuals who consumed contaminated spinach, and whether the molecular make-up of this strain of E. coli differs from other strains of E. coli O157:H7.

Peter Gerner-Schmidt, a scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who is investigating the outbreak, agrees that that this strain is probably a more dangerous strain than others. Research is under way to figure out why.
 

Mexican ban on US lettuce ends

The Mexican government has said it will lift its weeks-old ban on lettuce imports from California.

The decision comes after the US Department of Agriculture reported that its tests on California-grown lettuce and the irrigation water used on the state’s lettuce fields for the E. coli bacteria had come back negative, according to the CalTrade Report.

The ban came as a reaction to a recall of more than 8,500 cartons of lettuce grown on a farm in California's Salinas Valley, after irrigation water tested positive for E. coli.

The US Food and Drug Administration has reported that the five fields involved were no longer in use and their crops had been destroyed.
 

'95 lettuce scare in Missoula remembered

Mea Andrews, a reporter for the Missoulian, recapped an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that occurred in Missoula, Montana, in 1995 in a recent article.

The culprit was never fully pinned down, but it was most likely leaf lettuce. In fact, the Missoula cases were believed to be the first reported community outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 associated with eating lettuce, according to a wrap-up article in The Journal of Infectious Diseases in 1998.

Two possible sources came to the forefront: Several lettuce farms in Washington state that were located near each other, or a local lettuce-growing operation that supplied Missoula-area restaurants and stores.

Most likely, the lettuce from the Montana farm, never identified, was the source of the outbreak. How the lettuce was contaminated also was never established. Four possibilities were discussed:
 

  • Improperly composted manure from a local dairy;
  • Cattle feces from a nearby, uphill farm infecting runoff or irrigation water;
  • Cattle feces infecting stream water;
  • Infection from other animals that were present, including sheep or deer.
     

Two more E. coli cases confirmed in Illinois

The Associated Press reports that there are four confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 traced to contaminated spinach in Illinois.

A spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health says the woman was reported to be mildly ill. Spinach from her household tested positive for the strain of E-coli linked to the national outbreak that began last month.

The child became ill in late September but has since recovered.
 

Are Spinach and Lettuce Safe?

From and earlier AP story:

Washington: Fresh spinach is safe to eat in the United States because all E coli-tainted spinach has been recalled, the US Food and Drug Administration said on Friday.

California's food industry needs to address the issue and tougher regulations may be needed, said the FDA's Dr David Acheson. However, consumers can safely eat fresh spinach again, he said.

"The spinach that is going to come on to the market next week or whenever is going to be as safe as it was before this outbreak," Acheson said adding, "But there are some longer-term issues that need to be addressed."

Acheson said food growers and processors would have to change some of their practices, although it is not yet clear which ones.



Interview with Jim Rushing, a Clemson University professor who works in food safety:

Q. With the recent E. coli outbreaks in fresh vegetables, what kind of questions have consumers and food sellers been asking?

A. I think the biggest question for everyone is how to prevent such an outbreak from happening in the future and what we can do differently in the future to make sure something like this doesn't happen again.

Q. The recent E. coli contaminations of spinach and lettuce have consumers worried. What extra steps can consumers take to disinfect their vegetables?

A. Not very much really. Once contamination has occurred on a leafy product, it's very, very difficult to wash it off, so we really have to rely on the industry to do its part. There's almost nothing you can do at home that will make a significant difference.

Q. Should consumers stop eating fresh vegetables in favor of canned produce?

A. No, there's no reason to do that. The outbreak is over. ... There's no reason to stop eating fresh vegetables. The health benefits far outweigh any risks. There are close to 2 million packages of leafy greens packaged every day. Of course 200 people got sick, and that's too many, but if you calculate the risk, it's really low. Also, you have to consider the FDA responded faster to this outbreak than any other in history.

Q. How can shoppers make sure the produce they're eating is safe?

A. They can't. You can't look at produce, or you can't look at red meat, or fish, or chicken, or anything and know if there's microbiological contamination, so all you can really do in those situations is depend on the food industry to do the right thing.

Q. What effect will the E. coli scares have on the produce market in the long term?

A. Very little. When people again feel safe, they will return to eating those vegetables.



So, is it safe to go back in the water?

Oklahoma Child ill with E. coli: Was it the spinach?

An article in The Oklahoman reports how E. coli O157:H7 infection and its complication, HUS can affect families.

All but one member of the Schulz family became ill with E. coli. Two-year-old Eliza is still hospitalized at Children's Hospital at the Oklahoma University Medical Center, undergoing kidney dialysis. 

Eliza's parents believe their family is part of the E. coli outbreak traced to contaminated spinach, but health officials have been unable to confirm their suspicions.
 

Spinach Producer Lays Off Workers

Natural Selections, the company whose produce was tied to a deadly E. coli outbreak in August and September, has laid off 164 workers, according to a story in the Monterey Herald.

The layoffs included 48 year-round employees, including eight sales people and 40 processing plant workers. The company still will have 1,012 employees and remains the largest employer in San Benito County.

Until the spinach crisis, Natural Selection Foods was increasing its work force in "a pretty aggressive growth mode" and had planned to buy Pride of San Juan's processing facilities.

Other plants have laid off workers or filed for bankruptcy as a result of the drop in spinach sales after the E. coli outbreak was traced to bagged spinach.
 

E. coli in Vegetables: Ohio State Study Looks at 'Under the Surface' Contamination, Role of Plant Diseases

Jeff LeJeune, a microbiologist with Ohio State University's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, is leading a new research project aimed at determining the processes that impact growth and survival of E. coli O157 (the strain involved in the spinach outbreak) on and in vegetables.

LeJeune hope that he will be able to develop practical knowledge that could lead to new ways to reduce bacterial contamination in the produce that people are so encouraged to eat every day. The project includes an outreach component aimed at delivering educational programs that vegetable growers need to improve food safety.

Other collaborators in the project -- funded at more than $600,000 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service -- are the College of Wooster and Michigan State University.

Regardless of the source of contamination in the field, LeJeune explained, E. coli finds a way to survive and reproduce on the surface of vegetables -- and even worse, inside the plant tissue, where it cannot be washed off or killed by disinfectants. LeJeune and colleagues propose that the interaction between E. coli O157 and plant pathogens results in increased E. coli uptake, proliferation, exchange of antibiotic resistance genes, and protection from post-harvest disinfection.

In other words, if vegetables are under siege by plant diseases and become tainted with E. coli, the nasty foodborne bacteria will have a better chance of surviving and multiplying in our next fresh salad -- and it will be harder, if not impossible, to get rid of it.

Specifically, LeJeune and colleagues are trying to prove the following hypotheses:

  • In the presence of plant-pathogenic bacteria that secrete plant tissue-degrading enzymes, E. coli O157 will proliferate to greater numbers and is more likely to be systematically disseminated to edible plant tissues than in the absence of plant pathogens.
  • Pre-harvest contamination of edible plant surfaces with bacterial foodborne pathogens reduces the chance of success of post-harvest disinfection procedures, as E. coli O157 becomes protected in the plant tissue.
  • Plant pathogens serve as a reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes present in human pathogens, and these genes are transferred from plant pathogens to E. coli O157 in plant lesions.
  • Seeds produced by plants contaminated with foodborne pathogens will be contaminated internally with bacterial pathogens and produce contaminated products.

     

Hard times for spinach companies

Fox 28 out of South Bend, Indiana reported today that spinach processor ReadyPac, from nearby Michiana, will likely lay off over 200 workers who bag produce like spinach, lettuce and mixed salads.

More proof that this outbreak didn't just impact spinach growers from the Salinas Valley comes from a report in the Orlando Sentinel, which ran an article on AP Military Group, a company that filed for bankruptcy after its sales to the US military dropped off during the outbreak and its aftermath:

AP Military Group, a Palm Bay broker that helps supply salads for military families across the globe, said in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in Orlando that its sales were dramatically impacted by last month's recall of spinach after an outbreak of E. coli was linked to the vegetable.

Elizabeth Green, an attorney representing AP Military, said the broker sustained up to a 50 percent decline in revenue after the Food and Drug Administration started advising consumers not to consume bagged spinach in mid-September.
 

Nebraska child recovering from E. coli O157:H7 infection

The Lincoln Journal-Star reports that a small child from Lincoln has been ill with an E. coli O157:H7 infection since the 4th of July.

Children can suffer various ailments when they become ill with E. coli. One of the worst conditions, hemolytic uremic syndrome, is a debilitating complication of E. coli O157:H7 infection that can lead to kidney failure, central nervous system impairment, and damage to organs such as the liver, heart, and lungs.

This latest E. coli outbreak linked to E. coli-contaminated spinach will leave many children with life-long complications from HUS.
 

Salinas Valley study to look at E. coli contamination

A team of scientists from UC Davis will begin a four-year study of the sources of E. coli O157:H7 contamination in the Salinas Valley before the end of the yar, according to an univeristy press release. The USDA and UC Davis have been planning the study, which is funded with a $1.2 million grant from the USDA, for four years.

This study was designed before the late summer 2006 outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 associated with spinach. Several previous outbreaks of the virulent bacteria were associated with contaminated Salinas Valley lettuce.

In the first two years of the study, crews will collect thousands of samples of domestic animal and wildlife droppings; creek, ditch and irrigation water; farm soil and lettuce growing on Salinas Valley farms. The data collected in the field will be carefully analyzed to identify the vertebrates that are sources of E. coli O157:H7, assess the climate, landscape attributes and irrigation management practices that are correlated with increased risk of contamination, and determine whether contaminated lettuce is associated with certain farming practices or environmental factors.
 

On Mexico's ban of US Lettuce

The Produce News reports that the health department of the government of Mexico, in an official memorandum dated Oct. 9, announced an immediate halt on the importation of all fresh lettuce from the United States including bulk lettuce and fresh salads containing lettuce, an action that baffled many in the U.S. produce industry.

The memo, which was written in Spanish and which originated from office of the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks, noted that "this Sanitary Authority has knowledge" that "irrigation water used in the lettuce production fields in the Salinas Valley of California is contaminated with the bacteria E. coli." The memo stated that the ban was a precaution intended to minimize the risk to public health while "the source of contamination" was being identified.

Possible Raw Milk Ban in Washington?

Washington State legislators are looking into the possibility of banning raw milk.


However, some worry that banning raw milk altogether and making the sale of raw milk illegal will move sales of unpasteurized milk to an underground sales ring, where there would be no regulation and a greater risk of illness.

NPR Story on Spinach E. coli Litigation

NPR recently interviewed Ken Costello, a Nebraska man who became ill with E. coli after eating contaminated spinach, and whose mother-in-law died after also becoming ill with a spinach-linked E. coli infection.

The hospital had not tested her for E. coli as part of their routine testing. Costello had to seek independent testing on the spinach that had made both him and his mother-in-law ill, and later killed her.

Spinach, tainted by E. coli bacteria, has reportedly made about 200 people in two dozen states sick. At least three people are said to have died from the outbreak.

The radio station also interviewed Seattle attorney William Marler, who is representing Ken and more than 90 other individuals who became ill after eating contaminated spinach, who stressed that addressing irrigation issues may go towards helping to alleviate the problem.

Lawmakers and advocates are demanding federal authorities do more to eliminate the contamination.
 

Is it the cattle ranchers or the spinach farmers?

The Associated Press reports that cattle ranchers have been working to prevent fecal contamination in the Salinas Valley spinach and lettuce fields.

Ranchers were taking steps to keep livestock droppings from infecting produce long before the recent outbreak. These include designating watering holes for cattle so they don't drink from creeks that flow through farms and creating “buffer zones” that keep the animals away from water that could later be used to irrigate crops.

The evidence so far indicates the spinach farmer, who also has not been identified, didn't adhere to voluntary guidelines for vegetables meant to be consumed raw, said Kevin Reilly, deputy director of prevention services for the California Department of Health Services.

The San Jose Mercury News also reported that federal, state, and local investigators spent time Friday looking into one particular ranch near the spinach fields that may have been the source of the E. coli contamination.
 

Who's accountable for E. coli in our produce?

Michael R. Taylor, former administrator of USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service and FDA's deputy commissioner for policy, told the Baltimore Sun his opinion on who is at fault for the recent E. coli outbreak tied to tained spinach.

Despite repeated calls by the Government Accountability Office and the National Academy of Sciences to modernize the food safety laws and unify the food safety agencies, Congress hasn't budged, according to Taylor. He continues:

“The deadly form of E. coli that has sickened so many consumers who merely ate spinach or lettuce lives naturally and harmlessly in the gut of cattle - harmlessly, that is, until it is shed into a cow's manure and enters the food supply. This occurs through contamination of beef during the slaughter process or contamination of fresh fruits and vegetables as a result of manure infecting water supplies, birds picking up the bacteria in one field and depositing it in another, or any one of the many other ways bad bugs spread in the environment. The risk of someone getting sick is determined by such contamination events and by all the things that do or do not happen afterward to increase, reduce or eliminate the bacteria before they reach the dinner plate. For spinach, lettuce and other produce consumed raw, the only sure-fire protection is to prevent the contamination in the first place, and that's where the system breaks down.

No one is in charge of leading the research, regulatory and educational initiatives that would be required to discover and implement effective preventive measures, such as vaccines, competitive exclusion agents in animal feed and other innovative tools to prevent infections in animals.”
 

Consumers going organic

After the most recent E. coli outbreak traced to fresh produce, consumers are going organic - but not necessarily mass-produced organic. They're buying local, often at farmer's markets, according to the Associated Press.

"We've gone from an era when a food-borne outbreak was a potato salad at a church picnic to a multistate, national or even international outbreak affecting thousands," said Edward Belongia, an epidemiologist with the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Even farmers say regulating the massive food distribution network is an evolving process for them and the government agencies overseeing it.

"Generally by the time there's an outbreak, those fields are already plowed under, and when they go back, there's no way to trace the problem," said Tom Nunes, president of Nunes Co.

At the same time consumers are putting more thought into produce safety, the FDA and fresh produce farmers and distributors are working to find the source of E. coli contamination in the Salinas Valley. 
 

Dole and Natural Selections named in another E. coli lawsuit

Marler Clark filed a lawsuit today on behalf of the estate of June Dunning, a Haggerstown, Maryland, resident who was part of a nationawide E. coli outbreak traced to contaminated spinach.  Ms. Dunning suffered an intense E. coli O157:H7 infection and hemolytic uremic syndrome before passing away on September 15, 2006. 

The lawsuit filing coincides with a California Department of Health and Food and Drug Administration announcement that today test results from the E. coli investigation confirmed that the same genetic fingerprint of the E. coli bacteria isolated from bags of spinach was found in samples of cattle feces from a ranch near the spinach fields implicated in the outbreak:
"This is a significant finding because it is the first time we linked a spinach or lettuce E.coli O157:H7 outbreak to test results from a specific ranch in the Salinas Valley," said State Public Health Officer Dr. Mark Horton.  "Our follow-up investigation on this ranch is continuing today with the ongoing assessment of animal management, water systems and agricultural practices to clarify how the bacterial contamination of the spinach occurred."

The trace-back investigation was narrowed from nine implicated ranches to four ranches.  The outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 from cattle feces was identified on one of these four ranches.  At this time, testing of other environmental samples from all four ranches that supplied the implicated lot of contaminated spinach is in progress.  The positive test result is a significant finding, but is just one aspect of this investigation.  The next step in the investigation is determining how the E. coli pathogen contaminated the spinach.  These implicated fields on these four ranches located in Monterey and San Benito counties are not being used to grow any ready-to-eat produce.

If regulators don't know how the E. coli contamination occurred, what can they do to make salad safe?

The authors of an editorial in the Washington Post made some points about how to make our nation's food safety system more efficient and therefore, make our food safer.

In the editorial, they suggest that Congress should provide money to increase inspection staffing and inspection frequency at the FDA. Other suggestions include lawmakers requiring agencies responsible for food safety to institute a tracing system for food produced in the United States, and Congress giving the FDA the power to issue mandatory recalls of any tainted produce.

The article also mentions legislation that was introduced that would require food producers to establish steps so their products could be traced before they reach consumers.  The bill also calls for the creation of a single federal agency with responsibility for monitoring the safety of all foods.
 

FDA Statement on Foodborne E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak in Spinach

The FDA and the State of California announced today that test results from a field investigation of the outbreak of E.coli O157:H7 in spinach was found to be positive for E.coli O157:H7. Samples of cattle feces on one of the implicated ranches tested positive based on matching genetic fingerprints for the same strain of E. coli that sickened 199 people.

An FDA News report says that the trace back investigation has narrowed to four implicated fields on four ranches. The outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 from cattle feces was identified on one of these four ranches. At this time, testing of other environmental samples from all four ranches that supplied the implicated lot of contaminated spinach are in progress. The positive test result is a significant finding, but is just one aspect of this investigation. More information may come forward as the investigation continues.

The four fields, located in Monterey and San Benito counties, are not currently being used to grow any fresh produce. While the focus of this outbreak has narrowed to these four fields, the history of E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks linked to leafy greens indicates an ongoing problem. As the FDA stated in its letter to the lettuce industry in November of 2005, the FDA continues to be concerned due to the history of outbreaks and the on-going risk for product contamination of leafy greens.

This investigation is on-going. FDA, the State of California, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Department of Agriculture are continuing to work closely to determine the cause and scope of the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to fresh spinach.
 

Testing standards needed for fresh produce