The CDC reports: Shigellosis is a nationally notifiable diarrheal illness caused by gram-negative bacteria. Shigella infection is spread through fecal-oral transmission and sexual contact. Although most infections are self-limited, antibiotics are indicated for severe illness or to reduce transmission in settings with high risk for spread. Since 2015, a growing proportion of cases has been caused by […]
Friday the FDA and CDC outbreak numbers will come out – it should be: 204 confirmed illnesses, 31 HUS, 3 deaths. I do expect the FDA and CDC to count the Maryland death case shortly as well. The vast majority of our nearly 100 clients have identified DOLE as the primary source of the E. […]
Larry Parsons from the Monterey County Herald (CA) reported that Natural Selection Foods, the San Juan Bautista produce firm at the center of the national spinach scare, is trimming its work force because of wilting sales today. Sales are down 70 percent for conventional salad and food-service products, and down 10 percent for the company’s […]
I have been asked to speak in Canada about Spinach and Lettuce E. coli outbreaks that have been a plague on both the produce industry and the hundreds of consumers who have become sick or died as a result of eating “ready-to-eat” produce contaminated with cattle feces. Specifically, there is great interest in the recent […]
Over 200 sickened and at least 4 deaths are attributed to eating E. coli contaminated spinach. Now we are seeing the results as consumers turn away from a product that the Spinach/Lettuce industry could have made safer. Salad plant will close after spinach scare; 200 out of job (Associated Press) A northern Indiana salad-processing plant […]
I flew from Seattle to Yakima in the storm and fog to give a presentation to the Washington State Department of Health on how to manage the risk of E. coli O157:H7 infections in petting zoos. I have posted the PowerPoint at www.fair-safety.com.
This article at the Monterey Herald gives a comprehensive assessment on the problems faced by the lettuce and spinach industry of Salinas over the next year – a solution needs to be found. From the article: Bill Marler, a partner in the Seattle law firm Marler Clark, who has represented victims in high-profile foodborne illness […]
Listen to this story… NPR – News & Notes, October 13, 2006 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. Lawmakers and advocates are demanding federal authorities do more to eliminate the contamination. Farai […]
I am not surprised that they found cows and cow poop near spinach fields – I found the same a week ago traveling through Salinas: From AP story of this morning: E. coli Find Shows Difficult Mix Of Cattle, Spinach Bill Marler, a Seattle lawyer representing 93 people who got sick eating spinach and […]
According to FREDERIC J. FROMMER of the Associated Press, Federal officials refused to tell Minnesota authorities which of two beef plants were linked to a fatal E. coli outbreak last summer, according to a state report. One woman died and at least 17 people were sickened from the E. coli outbreak in the Longville area, […]
FDA Statement on Foodborne E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak in Spinach Positive Test Results FDA and the State of California announced today that test results from the field investigation of the outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in spinach are positive for E. coli O157:H7. Samples of cattle feces on one of the implicated ranches tested positive […]
More thoughts on yesterday’s hearing: I have concerns despite the 4 deaths and over 200 illnesses that some politicians may simply fiddle while more spinach and lettuce is grown and more customers are sickened and more businesses go bankrupt (watch for that next). Yesterday’s hearing was more telling by who did not attend – most […]
Kudos to Senator Dean Florez – If we ever needed a smart politician, here he is. As reported today by ABC TV: A Central Valley lawmaker says state and federal food and health agencies had ample warning but didn’t do enough to prevent E. coli outbreaks like the ones that have sickened nearly 200 consumers, […]
This company should not be pointing fingers at anyone but itself. After all, who is more to blame? The person who sold the juice or the person who drank the juice? I know where I stand. Tim Warner, spokesman for Bolthouse Farms, the company whose carrot juice has been traced as the source of botulism […]
The Associated Press reported today that the Mexican government banned imports of U.S. lettuce on Monday after a California company recalled some of its lettuce when irrigation water tested positive for the E. coli bacteria. In a press statement, the Health Department also said the government had ordered stores to remove U.S. lettuce from their […]
Tomorrow I’ll be in Sacramento for a hearing on this latest spinach E. coli outbreak. The hearing is being held by the California Senate Committee on Governmental Organization and is titled, "Unraveling the E. coli Outbreak: Are State Emergency Response Systems Prepared for Outbreaks of Foodborne Illnesses?" The hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. […]