March 2007

From The Salinas Californian:

Companies implicated in the September E. coli outbreak linked to fresh spinach would not benefit from a proposed $25 million in federal aid to help innocent growers hurt by the scare, U.S. Rep. Sam Farr’s office said Thursday.  Farr came under national criticism this week for the relief funding, winning the

Elizabeth Weise and Julie Schmit of USA TODAY wrote today that “the company that recalled 60 million containers of dog and cat food said Wednesday that its testing is continuing, but the source of the contamination that has killed at least 16 animals and sickened possibly hundreds more is still a mystery.  The nationwide recall

A few weeks ago I was in Monterrey California where I was interviewed by a local TV station.  They were kind enough to give me a copy:

Click on bug above

Ken Dilanian of the Washington DC USA TODAY office wrote in part:

Spinach growers get aid provision as food-safety-standards bill stalls

Darryl Howard’s mom, Betty, was among those who died after eating contaminated spinach last fall at her home in Washington state, he says.  He was stunned to learn last week that the emergency bill

Guess what?  It is business as usual for the U.S. Congress.  Hidden in the $124,000,000,000 Iraq War Spending Bill is Sec. 3103, submitted by Congressman Sam Farr (D-CA), entitled – Spinach – is a $25,000,000 earmark to the same people who poisoned over 200 and killed 4 people in last year’s Spinach E. coli outbreak

Tainted food leads to an estimated 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. Only a tiny fraction of all food-related illnesses are reported to the government.

$6.9 billion: Annual tax expenditures related to medical costs, hospitalizations and lost work time stemming from foodborne illnesses

$10.8 million: Amount of

Nancy Luna of The Orange County Register wrote a detailed and comprehensive report on last years multiple E. coli outbreaks stemming from Lettuce and Spinach.  We were happy to provide Marler Clark clients for her to talk to.  I think it helps put a human face on the outbreaks.  We also had a long discussion about out involvement in the various outbreaks, specifically the Dole Spinach Outbreak.  The full article can be found on the link – FDA, produce industry see need for new procedures to stem bacterial outbreaks.

No one knows shortcomings of food safety more than Bill Marler, a Seattle attorney involved in some of the food industry’s most high profile food-poisoning cases, including suits against San Diego-based Jack in the Box in the 1990s.

Every week, Marler’s firm logs dozens of calls from individuals who claim to be food-poisoning victims. But, in late August 2006, the nature of the complaints took on an eerie, similar pattern. Each caller described sickness that came after eating bagged spinach from the same brand. Marler said he called state and federal health authorities, but no one could confirm any illnesses tied to one specific source.

Yet Marler said he knew a major spinach outbreak was under way. He filed a lawsuit against Dole Food Co. on the afternoon of Sept. 14 on behalf of Oregon spinach eater Wellborn, who was hospitalized for six days.

Later that same night – more than four hours after Marler fingered Dole in his lawsuit – the CDC declared a multi-state outbreak tied to pre-packaged spinach, but did not name any brands. The next day, San Juan Bautista-based Natural Selection Foods told consumers to toss its spinach products, including Dole.

"Do you really want a lawyer from Seattle to be the bellwether for an E. coli outbreak?" Marler said.
Continue Reading A food fix for sick produce industry