Suit Filed In Death

Woman died in E. coli outbreak


Marler Clark has filed a lawsuit in Sarpy County District Court on behalf of a Bellevue woman who died from complications of E. coli.

Attorney Bill Marler says 81-year-old Ruby Trautz died of acute kidney failure in late August. Trautz's death has since been linked to the national E. coli outbreak related to tainted spinach.

Marler's firm has filed seven other lawsuits across the country on behalf of victims of the outbreak. The Sarpy County suit names "John Doe Farms," the Dole Food Company, Natural Selections Foods and No Frills Supermarkets as defendants.

"FDA owes it to the American public, and to the victims of this outbreak in particular, to release information as to the identity of the spinach farm," Marler said in a press release. "This far into the outbreak investigation, FDA should already have named the farm where the spinach came from. We included John Doe Farms as a defendant to try to get more answers for our clients."

The Trautz lawsuit is the first of all Marler's cases to go after both the farm where the spinach was grown and the retail outlet where it was sold.

"It is time that the fresh produce industry, from farm to grocery store, takes responsibility for what happened," he said.

Posted on October 31, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Prior Salmonella Outbreaks Associated with Tomatoes

Salmonella bacteria can grow on tomato skin surfaces and infiltrate core tissues during tomato harvest, packing, and transportation. Dicing and pooling of contaminated tomatoes may play a role in further amplifying the amount of contaminated product. Contamination of internal tissue from the outer skin and stem scar can also occur during cutting and slicing. Finally, many Salmonella strains grow rapidly in cut tomatoes held at room temperature, enhancing the risk if tomatoes are maintained at room temperature for extended periods.

Salmonella outbreaks have previously been associated with raw tomatoes, which accordingly should have been recognized as a potential source of contamination. In 1990, a reported 174 Salmonella javiana illnesses, as part of a four state outbreak, were linked to raw tomatoes. In 1993, 84 reported cases of Salmonella Montevideo were part of a three state outbreak that was linked to raw tomatoes.

 

Continue Reading...
Posted on October 31, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Don't Eat Poop!

In what may become the tag-line for last month's E. coli/spinach outbreak and this month's Salmonella/Tomato outbreak, Dr. Doug Powell of Kansas said it best - DON'T EAT

Dr. Powell was interviewed by Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY for this morning's article:

Food-borne bacteria evolving, becoming more dangerous
The first rule of public health is one most of us learn in kindergarten: Don't eat poop.  But that's what the people were eating who were struck down with E. coli in the late summer outbreak tied to bagged spinach, California health officials now say. 
Frankly, although it seems clear that we as consumers should not eat poop, the industry seems to have little problem serving it to us - well, at least until they get caught - with their pants down - so to speak.

Interesting that produce buyers have finally asked produce manufacturers to finally stop sending them produce-laden poop to serve to customers.  According to the USA TODAY:
A newly assembled group of produce buyers is calling on three of the major produce industry associations to come up with new, enforceable food safety standards.  The buyers represent some of the biggest food retailers, including Safeway, Costco and Denny's restaurants. They sent a letter to the Produce Marketing Association, United Fresh Produce Association and Western Growers Association last Thursday.  "We believe the power to change the industry is in the hands of the buyers," says Tim York, president of Markon Cooperative and leader of the ad hoc group.
When big buyers finally got together and forced the meat industry to clean up poop(E. coli)-laden hamburger, we finally saw the drop in illnesses that consumers deserved - it was the "tipping point."  Now it is good to see that this same pressure is finally forcing the lettuce and spinach industry from ignoring consumer deaths and illnesses as it has for over ten years.  AP writer, Lisa Leff, covered the Western Growers Association press conference yesterday:

Growers respond to E. coli outbreak with mandatory guidelines
Western Growers is proposing mandatory food safety guidelines for California lettuce and spinach producers, in hopes that such a system will help restore public confidence following a deadly E. coli outbreak this summer.  Under the new proposal, the California Department of Food and Agriculture would enforce the guidelines and give compliant growers a clean bill of health. The state also would have the authority to sanction growers who don't follow food safety procedures by enjoining them from shipping or selling their crops, assessing fines or seeking criminal penalties.
Kudos to the big buyers and Western Growers for getting together in an effort to stop serving poop to customers.  Although I hate to say it - but what took you so long?  Why did the industry wait until it put the industry at risk?  Why did it not respond when consumers became sick or died years ago?  The great thing about a lawsuit is I get to ask DOLE, Natural Selection Foods, Western Growers and all the big buyers those questions - I look forward to it.

Posted on October 31, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Salmonella Outbreak Announced

The Atlanta Associated Press reports that the salmonella outbreak potentially linked to produce  has sickened at least 172 people in 18 states, health officials said Monday.  Marler Clark represented over 150 people sickened in a salmonella outbreak linked to tainted tomatoes in 2003.  Perhaps this outbreak will take the heat off of the California Lettuce and Spinach Industry.

In this outbreak Health officials think the bacteria may have spread through some form of produce — the list of suspects includes tomatoes.

But according to the CDC, the illnesses have not been tied to any specific product, chain, restaurants or supermarkets.  No one has died in the outbreak, which stems from a common form of salmonella bacteria. Eleven people have been hospitalized, health officials said.  “We're very early in the investigation,” said Dave Daigle, a spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC first detected the outbreak two weeks ago through a national computer lab system that looks for patterns and matches in reports of food-borne illness. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has joined the investigation and will try to help trace the outbreak to its origin.  Most of the cases are in adults, and more than 60 percent are women, said Dr. Chris Braden, a CDC epidemiologist investigating the outbreak.

The states involved are Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont and Wisconsin.

See my recent post at www.salmonellablog.com too.

Posted on October 30, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Evaluating Food Poisoning Cases - How?

I get asked frequently about how we decide which cases to go forward with.  Frankly, how we evaluate cases is quite similair to how Health Departments decide which cases to investigate or not - please see my publication - Separating the Chaff from the Wheat : How to determine the strength of a foodborne illness claim. (PDF).



If you have any questions, please shoot me an email at bmarler@marlerclark.com
Posted on October 30, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Why no victims at your lunch?

As reported last Friday by Larry Parsons - Monterey Herald Staff Writer - in "Taking on the spinach stigma - Officials gather to discuss how to restore vegetable's image after deadly E. coli outbreak," a  group of 60 people lunched Friday on fresh spinach, Congressman Sam Farr said with pride, which according to the FDA "is as safe as it was before the outbreak."

Then the Salinas assemblage of public officials, scientists and farm industry representatives returned to the table to talk about how to restore spinach's battered image after the September E. colioutbreak that killed three people and sickened 204 across the country. 

You would think that one way the industry could get back on its feet is to reach out to the victims in a meaningful way - but hey, they do not vote in Farr's district do they?

 

Posted on October 29, 2006 by Bill Marler
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So, what the heck is E. coli O157:H7?

Over the last several weeks I have been asked dozens of times about the origin of E. coli O157:H7 and the impacts upon people.  I remembered an article written on January 6, 1998 By Gina Kolata of the New York Times entitled: Detective Work and Science Reveal a New Lethal Bacteria

I have taken the liberty to excerpt some answers to the questions:

So, what the heck is E. coli O157:H7?

Normally, Escherichia coli bacteria live innocuously in the intestines of people and animals. But E. coli O157:H7 can cause diseases from standard diarrhea to kidney failure and death. The bacteria still befuddle medical doctors, who have misdiagnosed their infections as everything from appendicitis to blocked blood vessels of the colon. Once someone is infected, there is no effective medical treatment to combat the disease, and all doctors can do is prevent dehydration, wait for the disease to run its course, and hope for the best.

What illness does it cause?

However the toxin does its work -- and scientists still do not know for sure -- the result is that it can injure cells that line blood vessels, plugging them with blood clots. When this happens, the first symptom is bloody diarrhea. But a small proportion of people, especially young children and the elderly, develop hemolytic uremic syndrome, the actual destruction of the kidneys that occurs when blood vessels in these organs are destroyed. The syndrome can lead to kidney failure or can be fatal. Infections with E. coli O157:H7 are now the leading cause of kidney failure in children, the disease control centers says, with at least 1,000 children a year developing kidney failure from these infections, and 3 percent to 5 percent of them dying.

Older people also tend to develop another complication, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, a sort of leakage of the blood vessels that feed nerve cells. The result is an encephalitis-like disease, with psychosis, comas or seizures.

The bacteria are surprisingly tough and virulent. For example, said Dr. Marguerite Neill, chief of the division of infectious diseases at Brown University School of Medicine, most bacteria do not produce disease unless a person is exposed to millions of them. But as few as 10 or so E. coli O157:H7 can produce illness -- far too few to see or smell.

Where did it come from?

In the 1980’s Dr. Alison O'Brien, a microbiologist at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., examined the rogue E. coli, and sure enough, discovered that it had somehow taken on the Shigella toxin gene. Moreover, in many of the E. coli, that gene was slightly altered in a way that made the bacterium produce toxin even deadlier than the original toxin made by Shigella.

No one knows exactly how the Shigella toxin genes jumped to E. coli, but Dr. O'Brien has an educated guess. Viruses that infect bacteria can sometimes pick up a gene from one bacterium and carry it to another.

But if that was the seminal event, Dr. O'Brien said, it probably did not occur in the United States, where Shigella bacteria do not have the dangerous toxin gene. Shigella in Central America do have that gene, however, and in the 1970's, that area was hit with a pandemic of Shigella dysentery. As the Shigella mixed with harmless E. coli in people's intestines, or as it mixed with harmless E. coli that inhabited animal manure, a virus may have carried Shigella toxin genes to E. coli. The result would have been a strain that had never been seen before: the toxin-armed E. coli O157:H7.

So, why do Cows, Pigs, Sheep and Goats carry this nasty bug?

The NYT article did not answer the question on how Shiga-toxin E. coli jumped from humans to animals, but 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% of beef cattle, 5.9% of dairy cattle, 3.6% of pigs, 5.2% of sheep, and 2.8% of goats.  A single cow produces about 30 kilograms (66 pounds) of manure per day. Each gram of manure can contain ten million (10,000,000) fecal coliform organisms, which could include E. coli O157:H7. A cow can put out about three hundred billion (300,000,000,000) fecal coliforms per day. 

Fecal testing of dairy cattle worldwide showed wide ranges of prevalence rates for E. coli O157:H7 (0.2 to 48.8%) and non-O157 STEC (0.4 to 74.0%). The prevalence of E. coli O157H7 in beef cattle in Canada at the three different sites in the horizontal study varied from 2.5 to 45%. The point prevalence of E. coli O157 among Saskatchewan cattle from 20 different feedlots ranged from 0% to a high of 57%.

And cows are next to spinach fields because?


Posted on October 28, 2006 by Bill Marler
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E. coli bacteria 'tested as biological weapon'

Interesting article that I hope has no applicability of the source of E. coli O157:H7

4NI Northern Ireland News reports that defense scientists secretly tested E. coli bacteria as a possible biological weapon in the 1960s, according to a Ministry of Defense report. According to the 1966 MoD report on the Porton Down laboratory in Wiltshire, the trials were conducted near Swindon and Southampton between 1965 and 1967.

The trials involved the release of "microthreads" covered in the bacteria. The report discusses the "production of micro-organisms for weapons systems", and said that the "excellent quality and reproducibility" of E. coli suggested that "highly satisfactory results" could be achieved.

There did not appear to be any mention of whether anybody was affected by the bacteria during the course of the trials. The report has been released for public viewing for the first time at the National Archives in Kew, south west London.


Posted on October 27, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Today's FDA Spinach Media Advisory

The FDA has found nine positive E. coli O157:H7 samples from one of the four ranches implicated previously - several hundred environmental samples have been taken.  The samples have been found in cattle feces, a water sample and in the intestinal lining of a feral pig (YES, they killed the pig).  The positive samples from this ranch have been linked to the spinach outbreak - both from ill people and samples from left over DOLE spinach bags. 

Although the FDA refuses to name the ranch (Why is that?), it has confirmed that the implicated spinach field (consisting of 50 acres) is within 1/2 mile from the ranch cattle pasture and a water source.  The FDA and CDHS also confirmed that feral pigs do enter the spinach field from the cattle pasture and water source.  Broken fences, as well as feral pig tracks, were found in the spinach field.  The spinach field and the cattle ranch appear to be owned jointly.

So, when will the FDA and CDHS let the public know what cattle/spinach ranch is the likely source of the E. coli contamination?  See this morning's LA TIMES Article by Ron Lin.  And, see "Wild pigs eyed in tainted spinach probe."

Posted on October 26, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Milwaukee Spinach Test

When I was in Milwaukee Monday I had the chance to talk to the Rotary and to WTMJ News - here is part of the report on the station's Spinach test for E. coli O157:H7 in bags of spinach off store shelves:

    E. coli killed three people and made 200 others sick. The culprit: bagged spinach. It's back on Wisconsin grocery store shelves.  Is it safe? We bought bagged spinach at grocery stores all over the Milwaukee area. We took it all to a lab to answer the question on everybody's mind, is it really safe for me to feed this stuff to my family?  We took the spinach to a microbiologist, Gil Kelley at SF Analytical in West Allis. He tested bags from the Jewel, Pick'n Save, Sendik's and Whole Foods.

    We also talked to Bill Marler, a lawyer who's representing 97 people who got sick after eating E. coli-tainted spinach from California.  "Are we now able to trust what's on grocery store shelves?" we asked. His response: "No. I mean the bottom line is no. We know that the Salinas Valley is like big bowl and they grow the spinach and the lettuce at the bottom of the bowl, and there's cows all around the perimeter of the valley and the perimeter of the bowl."  The old "you know what" rolls down hill theory, a problem federal investigators are looking into....  

Any fruit or vegetable grown in contaminated soil. Which takes us back to the lab and our highly scrutinized bags of spinach. Any E. coli? All clean. No E. coli. Our microbiologist says they are absolutely safe to eat. But a few clean bags may not be enough to convince some to start serving up spinach, attorney Bill Marler warns:

"It's good that you got negative test results, but the reality is there's no assurance yet that this product is safe in my view."

    Despite the negative test results in a few bags of spinach, please recall the quote by an FDA official in the recent article by Herb Weisbaum - E. coli aftermath: Where is the accountability?

    Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer in the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, responds by saying scientists must figure out what went wrong before the agency can decide what to do to prevent future outbreaks. In the meantime, he says, "fresh produce in the United States is as safe now as it was before the outbreak.”

Posted on October 26, 2006 by Bill Marler
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California Urged to Monitor Farms for Food Safety

States Can Move Faster Than the Federal Government to Implement Standards, Says CSPI


WASHINGTON—The state of California should move quickly to adopt regulations governing the production of fruit and vegetables in California since no federal agency has yet adopted standards, according to the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). In a legal petition filed with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and California Department of Health Services Director Sandra Shewry, CSPI food safety director Caroline Smith DeWaal said that mandatory regulations governing manure, water and sanitation on farms could help reduce the number of produce-borne food outbreaks, such as the recent outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 traced to California-farmed spinach.

“California should implement standards to protect its consumers and its produce industry, instead of waiting for Congress or one of the federal agencies with food safety responsibilities to step in,” DeWaal said. “This is clearly a case where prompt action at the state level could prevent future outbreaks.”   For full press release see: http://cspinet.org/new/200610251.html

Posted on October 25, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Spinach - Outbreak is not over



Great Job  - Herb Weisbaum, MSNBC contributor, for keeping this issue in the public eye.  Great article entitled:

E. coli aftermath: Where is the accountability?
With 20 E. coli outbreaks in spinach, lettuce and other salad greens since 1995, it’s clear more needs to be done.... The E. coli outbreak is no longer headline news. Spinach is back at the supermarket and in restaurant salads. For most of us, things are back to normal.  However, for some it is still not over.

Full Story - Click on Link

For Podcast - Click here
Posted on October 24, 2006 by Bill Marler
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More tainted-spinach cases confirmed in Maryland

Originally published October 24, 2006 by Nicole Fuller

Maryland health officials confirmed yesterday that two more people in the state were sickened by eating spinach contaminated with E. coli during a recent nationwide outbreak, bringing the number of cases in the state to five.  We expect that one more death will be added to the official column soon.  Again, the connection was DOLE baby spinach.


Posted on October 24, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Off to Milwaukee Rotary


I have been invited to speak at the Rotary lunch on Monday in Milwaukee about the recent E. coli spinach outbreak, past outbreaks and the legal liability faced by DOLE and Natural Selection Foods, also known as Earthbound Farms.  Wisconsin has been by far the hardest hit State - over 25% of the ill people are Wisconsin residents, and one death.  The outbreak has spread to 26 States and counting.  My PowerPoint presentation is linked here:  www.marlerblog.com/2006 Milwaukee Rotary(1).ppt

I hope my friend and fellow lawyer, Mordecai Boone, enjoys this post.

Posted on October 21, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Consumers still leery of spinach

Some interesting quotes and statistics from an article from the The Associated Press. In talking about people's reluctance to return to Salinas bagged spinach:

"As soon as somebody dies, then you've created something in people's minds that's very hard to overcome…."

William E. Rice, a marketing professor at California State University, Fresno.

Ultimately, it is less about the deaths and more about the industry's desire to get money back into the system.

  • That lagging confidence has growers and marketers scared the country's estimated $374 million spinach business will not recover following the recent bacterial outbreak that killed three (actually four) sickened nearly 200 others.
  • Farmers in California, where three-quarters of all domestically grown spinach is produced, could face up to $74 million in losses, according to researchers with Western Growers, a group that represents produce farmers in California and Arizona.
  • The Salinas Valley, nicknamed "America's Salad Bowl," will probably suffer the most, said Dennis Donohue, head of the local chamber of commerce. He estimates the region's $180 million spinach industry will take a hit of about $60 million. "We're worried. We expect the economic consequences to be much more significant than just spinach," he said.

 

Posted on October 21, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Ambulance Chaser or Food Safety Advocate?

Just got back from Toronto, Canada giving a talk on the recent E. coli outbreak tied to spinach.  I'll give the same talk in Milwaukee on Monday to the Rotary.  I'm then off to Chicago to talk about - Food Law and Regulation - Looking ahead to the future of food policy at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on 24 - 25 October 2006. 



My talk is on Examining Best Practices in Cases of Legal Liability - Responding to Cases of Foodborne Illnes:

www.marlerblog.com/2006 Food_Regulation(2).ppt
Posted on October 21, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Spinach Body Count - and Costs

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. coli-contaminated spinach.

According to KSBWChannel.com - E. coli cases may cost Earthbound, Dole many millions:

Earthbound Farm and Dole may have to pay as much as  $110 million to settle cases arising from recent E. coli contamination in spinach, a Seattle attorney representing 97 of the victims said. However, attorney Bill Marler said it will likely be at least a year  before any settlement is reached.  Marler said it will take at least that much time to see the full  effects of the illnesses.

 

Posted on October 19, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Layoffs at Natural Selection

E. coli O157:H7Larry 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 organic Earthbound Farm label, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Posted on October 19, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Off to Toronto, Canada

Toronto Food Safety Presentation 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 outbreak tied to DOLE and Natural Selections spinach which has sickened at least 200 and killed at least 4.

My talk (link to the left) will also explain the liability future faced by DOLE and Natural Selections in the coming months and years.

Canada itself appears to have had it's own lettuce-related E. coli outbreak, but to date, there has been no announcement as to the source of the contaminated product.  So, where does Canada get its lettuce this time of year - California perhaps?

Posted on October 18, 2006 by Bill Marler
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The Ripple Effect of Bad Spinach

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 with about 200 workers is being closed because of what its owner said is a troubled food industry after the nationwide spinach recall stemming from an E. coli outbreak.

Spinach recall tips broker into Chapter 11 (Orlando Sentinel)

A small Brevard County produce broker that is the chief supplier of bagged spinach to the U.S. military has filed for bankruptcy protection, claiming the recent massive recall of the leafy green crippled its business.

Some other interesting facts:

Three-quarters of all domestically grown spinach is harvested in California. Last year's spinach crop in California was valued at $258.3 million. The spinach recall has cost farmers and processors up to $50 million in lost revenue, the Produce Marketing Association estimates. That figure does not include losses to brokers.

Posted on October 18, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Took a short break from Spinach today


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.
Posted on October 16, 2006 by Bill Marler
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E. coli's effects linger

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 lawsuits against Odwalla and Jack in the Box, said he doesn't think San Juan Bautista-based Natural Selection has enough insurance to cover victims' claims, which he estimates at more than $100 million.

The result, Marler said, is that Dole -- for whom Natural Selection processed and packaged spinach and whose bagged spinach has been the only brand to which investigators have traced the E. coli strain -- will eventually have to cover some claims.

"The problem for Natural Selection," he said, "is for every dollar Dole pays, they are going to want it out of Natural Selection's hide."

To protect themselves from paying back Dole, Marler predicts that Natural Selection -- parent company of Earthbound Farm, the largest grower-shipper of organic produce in the country -- will need to file for bankruptcy.

Posted on October 15, 2006 by Bill Marler
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E. coli Cases Prompt Legal Action

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 Chideya talks to William Marler, a Seattle attorney representing more than 90 people affected by the outbreak and Marler's client Ken Costello who recently lost his mother-in-law to E. coli poisoning.

Posted on October 13, 2006 by Bill Marler
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E. coli in Salinas Valley - No Surprise

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 the families of two who died, said processors and packagers of greens are also responsible for ensuring their safety.

"From a victim's perspective, Dole, Natural Selection and this farm are on the hook," Marler said. "It's their collective responsibility to step up and deal with these claims."

This story also has a great video.

Posted on October 13, 2006 by Bill Marler
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USDA withheld information from state in E. coli investigation

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, after eating ground beef.

The state report, dated in July, was sent to The Associated Press this week by the Seattle law firm of Marler Clark, which represents victims of food poisoning. Managing partner Bill Marler said his firm is not representing any victims from the Longville area, but may sue the USDA for not providing the information to state authorities. The state health department gave the report to AP on Thursday.

"I suppose it's par for the course for USDA, but I'm shocked that the USDA refused to disclose the name of the plant that had the positive sample, which clearly is the source of the E. coli that poisoned people," Marler said. "The USDA is more concerned with protecting industry than protecting the public health."

 

Posted on October 12, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Smoking Cow Pie

Cow PieFDA 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 based on matching genetic fingerprints for the same strain of E. coli that sickened 199 people.   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.

Hopefully, no one will be surprised by this finding - testing of cattle finds E. coli O157:H7 in as much as 28% of ALL cattle depending on the time of year the test is run.  In my trip to Salinas last week, I was a bit shocked at how close (and how many) cows were to a "ready-to-eat" product like spinach and lettuce.

Posted on October 12, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Tougher Regulation of State's Produce Industry?

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 of the committee, DOLE, Natural Selection (under FBI investigation), the FDA and the CDC.  Frankly, I don't think those that chose to ignore in the need for intervention have a plan to save customers or themselves.  See the story in the LA Times by Rong-Gong Lin II, Times Staff Writer

A couple of telling quotes:

  • Of the 20 lettuce or spinach outbreaks linked to a virulent and potentially deadly strain of E. coli since 1995, nine have been traced to the Salinas Valley area, one of the nation's largest producers of the leafy greens.
  • He (Senator Florez) also criticized health officials for not completing an investigation of an E. coli outbreak linked to Salinas Valley lettuce in 2005 that sickened at least 34 people in Minnesota.
  • "With 45 inspectors, 5,500 processing plants and 100,000 farms, that seems to be putting us well behind where we should be," said Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter) at a legislative oversight meeting. "I don't think government is doing its job in this case."
  • "I think the time for industry-sponsored approaches are over," said Florez, chairman of the Senate's Committee on Governmental Organization. "I think consumers are looking for stronger measures than the voluntary measures that have produced 20 of these outbreaks. And we don't want to see the 21st."

The hearing was attended by only two senators of the nine-member committee — Florez and Sen. Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata).  One of the seven "fiddlers" on the committee seemed to make it clear that he rather simply wait for more bodies to be counted:

  • The committee's vice chairman, Sen. Jeff Denham (R-Salinas), declared the hearing a "witch-hunt" and premature.
  • "For any legislator to start proposing legislation without having an investigation concluded, I just think it's premature and it's unproductive," Denham said.

Why do these guys get paid?

Posted on October 12, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Food Agencies Slammed For E. coli Outbreak

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, killed three and shut down California's spinach and lettuce production. Senator Dean Florez Wednesday convened a hearing to address the issue.

For me, my message was as blunt:

A lawyer representing 93 spinach victims told lawmakers more needs to be done.  William Marler victims' attorney: "I don't want to come back here a year from now and tell you there are more dead kids, more dead grandmas and more kids that are going to have more kidney failure."

Four are dead and almost 200 sick as a result of the E. coli spinach outbreak - Government and Industry - It is your move.

Posted on October 11, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Company blaming victims for Botulism poisoning

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 and the resulting paralysis of four American citizens and two Canadians, blamed consumers for their "failure to properly refrigerate" Bolthouse Farms carrot juice today. 

On the Bolthouse Farms Web site, the company stated in a press release that, "the company felt it most appropriate to pull our 100 percent carrot juice products off the market in the interest of consumer safety. If you have the product in your possession, please destroy it or return it to the store at which you purchased it for a refund."

But in the Toronto Star, Bolton is quoted as saying:

"It appears that it was consumers that did not take the good counsel to keep the product refrigerated," Bolthouse spokesman Tim Warner said yesterday, pointing to three Georgia residents and a Florida woman who are paralyzed and on ventilators.

Warner wouldn't comment on the paralyzed man and woman in Toronto but said: "We have validated that our process of keeping our juice refrigerated through the distribution channel is a good one and of high quality."

Bolthouse Farms voluntarily recalled all Bolthouse Farms 100 percent Carrot Juice, Earthbound Farm Organic Carrot Juice and President's Choice Organics 100 percent Pure Carrot Juice shipped in North America and Hong Kong after botulism was confirmed to be found in the products.

Posted on October 11, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Mexico Bans US Lettuce - Who is next?

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 shelves, and urged Mexicans not to consume the imported product, which is often sold here in bag, box and mixed presentations.

Posted on October 10, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Unraveling the E. coli Outbreak

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. in room 3191 of the California State Capitol.

Click on the picture below to view my PowerPoint presentation.

California Senate E. coli Presentation
Posted on October 10, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Salinas Valley Farmers Work On New Food Safety Protocols

From KCBS Television:
“The industry is in high gear to do this, and we know that the future of the spinach and vegetable industry generally depends on regaining consumer confidence,” said Bob Perkins, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau.

The produce inspection system also needs a kill switch, said Andrew Starbird, a food safety expert at Santa Clara University, a way for shipments to stop immediately once contamination is detected.

These below seem like a reasonable start - why not before 20 outbreaks, thousands of illness and at least six deaths?

  • Food safety protocols to determine when manure can safely be used on a crop
  • More rigorous testing of water and soil for harmful bacteria
  • Comprehensive testing system that starts from before the seed goes in the ground and all the way until the product reaches the grocery store
Posted on October 10, 2006 by Bill Marler
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No Lettuce, Spinach or Carrots?

Update from CBC News: Toxic carrot juice paralyzes 2 in Toronto. My guess is that soon Mexico and Canada will ban the sale of everything from the United States.

From the article:

  • Two Toronto residents are paralyzed after drinking carrot juice that tested positive for a botulism toxin, according to the city's public health department.
  • The juice, produced by Bolthouse Farms in Bakersfield, Calif., was ordered off North American store shelves late last month after four cases of botulism in the United States were linked to toxic carrot juice.
  • A Florida woman has been in hospital, unresponsive, since mid-September.
  • Three people in Georgia suffered respiratory failure and are on ventilators since drinking carrot juice a month ago.

FDA Warns Consumers Not To Drink Bolthouse Farms Carrot Juice Due to Botulism Concerns

In response to a fourth case of botulism being linked to Bolthouse Farms, Bakersfield, California brand carrot juice, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to drink Bolthouse Farms Carrot Juice, 450 ml and 1 liter plastic bottles, with "BEST IF USED BY" dates of NOV 11 2006 or earlier. Consumers should discard this product. FDA is also reiterating its advice to consumers to keep carrot juice — including pasteurized carrot juice — refrigerated.

The fourth case of botulism poisoning involves an adult female in Florida who is currently suffering from paralysis. To date, one link between the illness and the consumers appears to be that the juice they drank was not properly refrigerated once it was in the home, which allowed the Clostridium botulinum spores to grow and produce toxin. FDA is investigating other possible links.

Clostridium botulinum is a bacterium commonly found in soil. Under certain conditions these bacteria can produce a toxin that if ingested can result in botulism, a disease that may cause paralysis or death. Cases of botulism from processed food are extremely rare in the U.S.

Symptoms of botulism can include: double-vision, droopy eyelids, altered voice, trouble with speaking or swallowing, and paralysis on both sides of the body that progresses from the neck down, possibly followed by difficulty in breathing. Anyone experiencing these symptoms should seek immediate medical attention.

Posted on October 9, 2006 by Bill Marler
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I wonder where Canada gets its lettuce?

According to Canadian News reports over the last 24 hours:

"While officials believe the bacteria likely came from fresh produce - most likely lettuce - the food inspection agency said there's little hope it will be able to determine the source of the outbreak.... Two separate E. coli outbreaks in Ontario, with a total of 34 confirmed and suspected cases, may have been the result of tainted lettuce."

Remember, most E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks in the last few years have been linked to LETTUCE consumption.  In fact, in a letter written to the spinach and lettuce industry last year, Robert E. Brackett, Ph.D.. Director Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition warned that the "FDA is aware of 18 outbreaks of foodborne illness since 1995 caused by Escherichia coli O157:H7 for which fresh or fresh-cut lettuce was implicated as the outbreak vehicle. In one additional case, fresh-cut spinach was implicated. These 19 outbreaks account for approximately 409 reported cases of illness and two deaths. Although tracebacks to growers were not completed in all 19 outbreak investigations, completed traceback investigations of eight of the outbreaks associated with lettuce and spinach, including the most recent lettuce outbreak in Minnesota, were traced back to Salinas, California.  See full letter at:http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/prodltr2.html

 

Posted on October 8, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Nebraska Woman's Death Brings to 3 Those Attributed to Spinach

From the New York Times October 7, 2006 by Libby Sander:

"There were probably people like this around the country getting sick, but their sicknesses antedated the realization that we had a problem," Dr.
Safranek said. "In late August this really hadn't come to light as a nationwide outbreak."

Public health officials believe that for every E. coli case reported, 20 go unreported, said Dr. Patricia Griffin, a microbiologist and a top epidemiologist of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
which on Friday confirmed that the death was linked to the same E. coli
strain.

"In this outbreak, as in most outbreaks," Dr. Griffin said, "there were many more people ill who, for one reason or another, were not confirmed as having the illness."

She said that there could be other deaths linked to the outbreak, but that it was impossible to determine how many.

Interesting quote - If correct, the true numbers in this outbreak might be 20 times the nearly 200 reported - a stagering 4,000 people - Jack in the Box's final numbers were just over 650 and 4 deaths

Posted on October 7, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Sadly, there will be more bodies to count

The tragedy of Ruby Trautz's death is only compounded by the death of June Edith Dunning of 1303 The Terrace, Hagerstown, MD.  She died on 13 September 2006 from complications associated with E. coli 0157:H7.   June's death has yet to be counted, but will and the death toll will them be four.  This is from an email from Ms, Dunning's family:
 
I would like to share some facts with you that caused me to write this e-mail:

  • We were advised on or about 7 September 2006 by the attending physician and the Infectious disease doctor at the hospital that June in fact had 0157:H7.
  • We have a copy of the laboratory report that was transmitted to the local DHMH office on 7 September that shows 0157:H7 was isolated from a 2 September stool sample.
  • We were advised prior to being removed from life support that her kidneys were failing from the 0157:H7.
  • June died on 13 September, approximately 50 hours after being removed from life support.
  • June’s death certificate indicated 0157:H, but failed to include the “7”.
  • I informed the local DHMH office on 15 September (via e-mail) of the nation-wide outbreak they had not been alerted of by higher authorities.
  • We were informed by the local DHMH that the original culture that isolated the 0157:H7 was never delivered to DHMH for further testing
  • We were also informed by the local DHMH that the original culture could not be located.
  • After contacting the attending physician and the local DHMH to inquire if we should delay her cremation, we were advised to continue because the piece of removed colon was available for further testing if needed.
  • We were later informed (after the cremation) the colon had been preserved in formaldehyde and further tissue testing would be very difficult.
  • The State of Maryland made no mention of 3 confirmed and numerous pending cases even after 25 other States had come forward, until we mentioned June’s death from 0157:H7 to a local paper on 21 September 2006.
  • We were told by DHMH that the spinach test results would be released last Friday (30 September).
  • The Dole spinach we provided to DHMH is of the same Lot Number and Use-by-Date as those referenced by FDA as being identified in Illinois and Colorado of containing 0157:H7.
  • The CDC recognizes three confirmed deaths from 0157:H7, however June remains a “Suspect” case.

See also: Bellevue woman died of E. coli, Midlands News, 10/07/2006


 

Posted on October 7, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Third E. coli death confirmed in elderly Nebraska woman who ate contaminated spinach

Coming a day after the FBI raided the Natural Selection plant, Ruby's death should be a stark reminder of why Corporate America needs to spend a bit more time looking at doing the right thing for its customers and less looking a the bottom line.  Dole, the name on the bag that Ruby consumed before her death, needs to step out of the shadows and take full responsibility for the product that it marketed and sold as Dole.

 

Posted on October 6, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Federal agents looking for signs of negligence at spinach plants

As the San Francisco Associated Press reported today, federal investigators trying to build a criminal case against two produce companies in the contaminated spinach outbreak are following a script first used a decade ago to prosecute a company whose E. coli-tainted apple juice killed a baby and sickened dozens of other people.

From the article:

"My hope is that this is the tipping point for the spinach and lettuce industry in California," Marler said. "It's time for them to come to terms with what issues they need to deal with."

Federal officials do not think anyone deliberately contaminated the spinach with E. coli, which has killed two and sickened at least 193 others. Instead, the probe is focused on whether the companies took appropriate steps to make sure their products were OK to eat.

Posted on October 5, 2006 by Bill Marler
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10.11.2006

California State Senate Committee on Governmental Organization

I have been invited to participate in an informational hearing organized by the California State Senate Governmental organization Committee to address the emergency response needs of the food production and distribution chain in California. The hearing, "Unraveling the E. coli Outbreak: Are State Emergency Response Systems Prepared for Outbreaks of Foodborne Illness?" will occur at 9:30 am on October 11, 2006.
Posted on October 5, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Spinach Plants Probed; E. Coli Kills Boy

As federal agents launched a criminal investigation into two produce companies involved in the contaminated spinach outbreak, Idaho health officials confirmed the death of a 2-year-old boy Sept. 20 was caused by tainted spinach, the Associated Press reported today.

Kyle Allgood was the second confirmed death in the E. coli outbreak, which also killed a Wisconsin woman.

"This confirms what we suspected for quite some time," said Ross Mason, a spokesman for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. "Confirming that, though, was important information and will help us in the future if we have similar situations."

Posted on October 5, 2006 by Bill Marler
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E. coli probe brings federal criminal searches

Stacy Finz and Marisa Lagos of the San Francisco Chronicle are following the quest to locate the source of an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 191 people and killed one woman escalated Wednesday into a criminal investigation as federal agents raided the offices of two northern California produce processors for evidence that someone may have intentionally disregarded safety policies.

From the article:

William Marler, a Seattle-based attorney, who specializes in food-borne illness cases and is representing nearly 100 people in the spinach E. coli outbreak, said he can count on one hand the times when the police have gotten involved.

One of those cases was the high profile Odwalla E. coli contamination in 1996 which killed a 16-month old girl and sickened 66 people. The case ended with the Half Moon Bay company pleading guilty to federal criminal charges of selling adulterated food products and agreeing to pay a $1.5 million fine.

Posted on October 5, 2006 by Bill Marler
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FBI executes search warrants on California spinach companies

As Ken McLaughlin and Brandon Bailey of the San Jose Mercury News have reported, agents for the FBI and FDA on Wednesday executed two search warrants on two Salinas area companies, saying they were looking for evidence of a crime.

From the article: 

The two companies were Growers Express of Salinas, Calif., and Natural Selection Foods of San Juan Bautista, Calif. - the company whose bagged spinach is at the center of the outbreak. It was unclear how Growers Express - which grows and packs produce in the western United States and Latin America - fits into the probe.

The latest E. coli outbreak has so far killed one person and sickened at least 192 others in 26 states and Canada.

FBI and Food and Drug Administration officials were mum on what they might have found on Wednesday. But Charles Sweat, Natural Selection's chief operating officer, said agents had requested paperwork, including documents already provided to the FDA and the California Department of Health Services.

Bill Marler, a Seattle attorney whose firm is representing 93 victims in the E. coli outbreak, said the federal agents could have been looking for "missing quality assurance documents."

"It would be a problem for the company if they are lost or, worse, destroyed," he said.

Posted on October 4, 2006 by Bill Marler
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More on the FBI Spinach Probe

The US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced that agents of the FBI and FDA Office of Criminal Investigations executed two search warrants today on Growers Express in Salinas, CA, and Natural Selection Foods in San Juan Batista, CA, in connection with the September 2006 outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 that the FDA has traced to spinach grown in the Salinas area.

"FDA continues to work with the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI to determine the facts behind this outbreak," said Dr. Robert Brackett, Director of the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

United States Attorney Kevin V. Ryan stated that "I want to reassure the public that there is no indication in this investigation that leaf spinach was deliberately or intentionally contaminated. We are investigating allegations that certain spinach growers and distributors may not have taken all necessary or appropriate steps to ensure that their spinach was safe before it was placed into interstate commerce. Moreover, the investigation has not revealed any evidence of a new or continuing threat to public health in connection with the matters under investigation."

Posted on October 4, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Search warrants executed in spinach probe

As San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writers Stacy Finz and Marisa Lagos report, the investigation into the source of a deadly E. coli outbreak that has sickened nearly 200 people moved into the criminal realm for the first time today, as federal search warrants were executed at two Salinas Valley produce companies.

Investigators for the FBI and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration went into Natural Selection Foods LLC in San Juan Bautista and into the Green Giant Fresh by Growers Express plant in Salinas.

The agents are looking into possible violations of federal environmental laws, authorities said.

At Natural Selection Foods, investigators were hunting for quality assurance documents and other paperwork, sources said. The company has already been tied by the FDC to the E. coli outbreak in bagged Spinach that has killed one person and sickened 191 others in North America.

Posted on October 4, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Lawmaker can't find spinach in stores

The story Lawmaker can't find spinach in stores is from the same politician who believes "Wild Pigs" caused this outbreak.  If Congressman Farr really wanted to find spinach, he could have just left his office and driven to the Salinas and San Juan Valleys (see map below), but likely there were no cameras there to film this charade.  Where is one mention of the folks who died or will have life-long kidney complications?  Where is one mention of a real safety reform after dozens of past outbreaks? 

This is just a shallow attempt to curry favor of agri-business.  Instead of a staged event (that he couldn't even pull off) why don't business leaders, consumers and politicians work together to find a solution that works?  Doing a PR event like this is shameful.

I really should not beat up on politicians - they are held in even less esteem by the public than Trial Lawyers.
Posted on October 4, 2006 by Bill Marler
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E. coli found in cattle feces in spinach probe

Reuters published an article this morning titled E. coli found in cattle feces in spinach probe. This headline should not surprise anyone who has actually visited the Salinas Valley.  I spent all day today driving around Salinas and other Valley's and Counties implicated in this outbreak.  Anyone with a shred of common sense would have concluded that cow %^#& would run down hill.  Everywhere I went I saw beautiful fields of lettuce and spinach (some plowed under, some just sprouting), and nearby, generally uphill (upstream), I saw cows, all shapes and sizes.
Posted on October 3, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Salinas Valley Road Trip

I am touring the Salinas Valley for the next few days with several experts to get an idea about how this little valley could have been the source of so many outbreaks of E. coli.

Posted on October 3, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Talking with William Marler, Seattle attorney

The WSJ last week, the PSBJ this week - the business press seems more interested in this spinach outbreak than main-stream media. The below is from the Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle), written by Clay Holtzman:

For 13 years, Seattle attorney William Marler has made a name for himself as the E. coli lawyer. Food service companies, vendors and manufacturers fear him like bacteria fear penicillin. "I hope so," he said, "We're really good at what we do."

The six-lawyer practice of Marler and Clark LLP specializes in suing producers and manufacturers accused of selling tainted food products. Its clients have received combined settlements and verdicts of more than $250 million. That includes the famous 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli case in Washington state.

Today Marler is tracking the nationwide outbreak of E. coli illnesses tied to bagged spinach. The outbreak has been linked to 183 illnesses in 26 states, according to The Wall Street Journal, including at least one death. Marler is representing 81 of those, including, he says, two deaths that have yet to be announced.

The Bremerton native, who graduated from Washington State University and earned his law degree from Seattle University, talked with the Puget Sound Business Journal at his office.

On how he got started specializing in food-borne illness litigation: It started in 1993 when the Jack in the Box case hit here in Seattle. It was a war zone and I wound up representing a lot of sick kids in that case. After the Jack in the Box case happened I really thought I would just become a trial lawyer again doing what I do. Then the Odwalla case happened which also was sort of focused here. Once that case ended I made a business decision to sort of focus on this type of litigation. I hired Bruce Clark from Karr Tuttle Campbell and Denis Stearns and we started Marler Clark (in 1998). Since then, our focus has been exclusively food-borne illness litigation. Continue Reading...
Posted on October 2, 2006 by Bill Marler
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Seattle Attorney Dominates Food-Borne Illness Litigation

The below is an interview I gave last Thursday with KUOW reporter Austin Jenkins:

If your kid gets E. coli poisoning – who are you going to call? These days people from across the country dial up Seattle attorney Bill Marler - sometimes before they talk to the health department. He's made his name - and his fortune - suing the food industry to the tune of a quarter-billion dollars. Now as Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports, he's going to bat for victims of the recent spinach E. coli outbreak.

Bill Marler's office is on the 66th floor of the Columbia Center in downtown Seattle. It has a spectacular view of Elliot Bay and the Olympic Mountains. But what caught my eye were the framed million dollar plus insurance company checks hanging on the walls.

Marler: "These are checks for Brianne Kiner and her 15.6 million dollar settlement with Jack-in-the-Box.

Remember the Jack-in-the-box E-coli outbreak in 1993? In that case, Bill Marler broke the Washington State record for largest personal injury settlement. It sealed his national reputation as the lawyer who takes on food companies when people get sick. He also handled the Odwalla juice e-coli case in 1996.

Marler: "It's my life. It's 13 years of representing primarily little kids who get poisoned by big corporations." Continue Reading...
Posted on October 2, 2006 by Bill Marler
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September - National Food Safety Month?

September was National Food Safety Month.  Aren't you glad it is over? 

Remember, despite the downward trends in food poisonings,  76 million people experience a food-borne disease in the United States each year. In fact, according to the Partnership for Food Safety Education and the United States Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control, 325,000 people are hospitalized annually because of food poisoning, and 5,000 die each year from it.

All of us have more to do.
Posted on October 1, 2006 by Bill Marler
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IS SPINACH REALLY SAFE?

FDA says spinach is safe!

I have thought about that statement over and over again during the last twenty-four hours – “spinach is safe.”  And, I guess lettuce is too? 

I know, I am being an alarmist, I am a trial lawyer trying to drum up more business, but am I? 

Let’s face facts - both lettuce and spinach has been implicated in hundreds of past illnesses and several deaths over the last ten years.  I have been in the middle of the last four. 

So, why is it safe to eat now?  What has the industry and the government done to assure moms and dads across this country that getting their kids to east spinach is good for them as opposed to a possible death sentence?  The answer is not a damn thing.

Look at the double-speak from the FDA at yesterday’s press conference when it was proclaimed that Popeye is really on the mend.  This is lifted from the Reuter’s coverage:
  • California's food industry needs to address the issue and tougher regulations may be needed, but consumers can safely eat fresh spinach again, he IAcheson) told reporters in a telephone briefing.
  • FDA said serious concerns remained because so many outbreaks of food poisoning in fresh greens such as spinach and lettuce have been traced to California farms.
  • He (Acheson) said this was the 20th outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 in leafy greens in 10 years, and half had been traced to central California (Salinas).
  • "The FDA and the state of California have previously expressed serious concerns with continuing outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with the consumption of fresh and fresh-cut lettuce and other leafy greens," Acheson 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. "But ... there are some longer-term issues that need to be addressed."
  • "What it does is it raises concerns about what is going on in that environment," Acheson said.  ?For instance, cattle may need to be kept away from fields where food is grown, and physical barriers may have to be used, he said.  "Having cattle that may or may not be carrying 0157 that are uphill and upstream of a field that is growing a fresh product that is going to be consumed without cooking obviously raises concerns and questions," Acheson said.
Common sense seems to tell me that the government is simply wrong here.  I made a post early last week suggesting several methods to get customers back.

If spinach is “as safe as it was before the outbreak” and “food growers and processors will have to change some of their practices, although it is not yet clear which ones,” that tells me that nothing has changed, and if nothing has changed, why is spinach now safe?
Posted on October 1, 2006 by Bill Marler
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