Marler Blog - Providing commentary on food poisoning outbreaks & litigation

The Vancouver B.C. Province reports - Spaghetti Factory food scare

Patrons of Langley's Old Spaghetti Factory at 20077 91 A Avenue are being warned about a case of Hepatitis A in a food handler.  The risk is low, but health officials are warning some patrons to get a vaccine to be safe.  Anyone who was at the restaurant after 3 p.m. on April, 14, 17, 18, 19 or after 12:45 p.m. on April 20 or 21 is asked to get a Hepatitis A vaccination.

Given that I am sitting in the Seattle airport about to head to Canada, I must comment on how friendly and nice a Canadian food service establishment is to be so accommodating.

In the same week that reports of the settlements of spinach-releated death cases were announced, millions of dollars for California citrus growers were OK'd by congressional negotiators on Monday as part of a massive spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill contains:  $20 million for citrus farmers in California to rehabilitate orchards damaged in the five-night freeze in January; $3.5 billion for agriculture disaster relief nationwide, including $1.85 billion for crop loss compensation, $1.7 billion for livestock loss compensation and $21 million for farm worker assistance grants.

Dropped was $25 million for spinach growers who suffered losses from last fall's E. coli scare in the state. That money had been in the House version of the bill and, along with some other items, had been widely ridiculed (by me) as an example of pork-barrel spending which the White House and some lawmakers opposed.

Oink!

Answer - Congressional Hearings

Full Hearing Written Testimony and Podcast Here

Andrew Bridge of the Associated Press wrote today of Congressman Stupak's led panel shines spotlight on food safety.  Part of the story is below, the rest of the story (whether Congress actually does something) has still not been written.

Families victimized by tainted spinach and peanut butter put a human face Tuesday on a recent string of high-profile outbreaks of foodborne illness, urging lawmakers to strengthen federal oversight of the nation's food supply. "I can't protect them from spinach — only you guys can. I can't," said Michael Armstrong, as he and wife, Elizabeth, cradled daughters Ashley, 2, and Isabella, 5. The two girls fell ill — Ashley gravely — in September after eating a salad made with a triple-washed bag of the leafy greens contaminated by E. coli.

Also testifying was Gary Pruden, whose 11-year-old son Sean 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.

The popular Peter Pan brand of peanut butter was the subject of a nationwide recall in February after a salmonella outbreak. Terri Marshall said her mother-in-law, 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. "The very food she thought would improve her health had begun to ravage her body," Terri Marshall said.

Natural Selection Foods which packaged the tainted spinach says it's now testing all greens that arrive at its facility, and Con-Agra says it's spending up to $20 million to modify the plant where the bad peanut butter was produced

"Again we are truly sorry for any harm our peanut butter products caused," Con-Agra spokesman David Colo said.

The San Francisco Chronicle also covered the story - see HERE

PBS News Hour coverage - see HERE

“A Diminished Capacity: Can the FDA Assure the Safety and Security of the Nation’s Food Supply?”

My name is William Marler. My law firm Marler Clark, located in Seattle, Washington, specializes in foodborne diseases, especially E. coli, Salmonella, Hepatitis A, Campylobacter, Shigella, Norovirus, and Listeria. Unfortunately, we at Marler Clark have been “in business” since The Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak of 1993. I was here in 1994 during the last set of serious hearings about the safety of our food supply. Demand for our litigation services on behalf of witnesses such as Ashley and Isabella Armstrong, Sean Pruden and Terri Marshal’s mother-in-law has continued to grow at an alarming rate.
Today, the U.S. Center for Disease Control estimates that there are 76 million cases of foodborne illness annually. That means one in four Americans will contact a foodborne disease every year. Hundreds of thousands will be hospitalized and thousands will die.

My clients who will testify before this committee are but a small slice of your constituents who will suffer and die needlessly each year and every year unless action is taken. That’s the human suffering part. There is also the business part. Billions of dollars will be spent on medical treatment and many more billions will be lost in wages and in sales of food. When American business poisons its customers and when our regulatory agencies do not have the manpower or the ability to help business perform, people die and market share is lost, nationally and internationally.

My goal in testifying here today is that you put Marler Clark “out of business.” It is time that you help government, help business, help consumers and make me unnecessary. I will do that by presenting best practices and other recommendations that can make that possible. Therefore, I thank this committee for inviting me to help with a dialogue about making the food chain safer for consumers.

The issue of food safety is not new, of course. A century ago Upton Sinclair’s book “The Jungle” exposed both contamination of meat processing and the corruption that lead inspectors to look the other way.

Three-quarters of the nation’s lettuce and spinach come from California. When consumer confidence in the safety of the produce food chain declines, so does the profitability of a key industry. There is also damage to the brandnames of a state’s specific products.  These business implications extend beyond California. More companies, ranging from food processors to retailers, are asking for help to regain their “reputational capital” after foodborne disease problems. Will the brandnames of the fast-food chains involved in the recent E. coli outbreaks fully recover? The jury is out on that one.

What has changed since Upton Sinclair’s “Jungle” are two things.

One, the source of disease has shifted from the meat that Sinclair described to produce. As usually happens, it took a crisis for incidences of E. coli in meat to decline. That crisis occurred in the early 1990s. Undercooked hamburgers containing E. coli from Jack in the Box sickened 650 people, four of them children who died.  Shortly, I will discuss how that problem was fixed, perhaps not completely, and the important lessons we as a nation should learn from that. Incidentally, that has been one of the major food safety success stories of our time. According to the CDC, E. coli outbreaks linked to tainted meat have declined by 42 percent. The American Meat Institute puts that figure at 80 percent.  Currently, the single largest source of food-borne disease is produce such as lettuce, spouts, tomatoes, spinach, green onions and parsley. Here are some figures. In the past 10 years, the Food and Drug Administration – the FDA – reported 21 outbreaks related to fresh leafy products. In 2006, 205 people became sick and five died from eating E. coli contaminated spinach. Late last year and throughout this year, the CDC reported that over 425 people in 44 states have become infected with Salmonella Tennessee found in peanut butter. More than 70 have been hospitalized. From experience, we know cases of Salmonella Tennessee go under-reported. It is likely that the sick may well be over 15,000. In the Northeast there was an outbreak of sickness from milk from a dairy processor that has had recurrent food safety issues.

The second development that’s new in food safety has been the result of changing times. Here are just a handful of new variables we’re dealing with:

1.The threat of terrorist attacks via the food system. Just as too many couldn’t imagine the horror of 9/11, too many cannot envision this kind of disaster.

2.Growth of food imports. The latest problem came from contaminated wheat gluten from China. That affected animals not humans. That might do the trick in getting us to be duly concerned about imports of everything from pesticide-sprayed pea pods to salmonella infection in pigs from the European Union.

3.The well-intentioned but scientifically questionable use of “environmental-friendly practices” such as recycled water and planting native grasses. 

So, how can we ensure that the gains in food safety that have already been made are preserved and the new problems addressed?  From research and experience, here are eight recommendations.

First of all, there exist two “best practices” in meat that should be extended to produce. Following the Jack in the Box crisis, the head of the U.S.D.A.’s Food and Safety Inspection service took a regulatory and systems approach to food safety. That “hero” was Michael Taylor. Taylor declared that raw ground beef that is contaminated with E. coli would be classified and treated as “adulterated” within the meaning of the Federal Meat Inspection Act. Taylor also introduced a mandatory Risk Management System. The required meat processors to adopt comprehensive precautions. Those included carcass washes, citric acid sprays, steam pasteurization and air-exchange systems.  Following Taylor’s example, we must serve notice to produce and other food processors that E. coli, salmonella, etc. will be classified and treated as adulterants. In addition, the same kind of comprehensive Risk Management System must be established and implemented. Penalties must be criminal and civil.  When these best practices are adopted, firms will have to certify that not only they, but that every aspect of their supply chain, also are in compliance. Branding can and should reflect this certification of both the firms and their suppliers. This would be a new kind of “Seal of Approval.” This “Seal of Approval” can also apply to such issues as the location of produce fields near animal farms, what kinds of procedures are used, and the method of irrigation as well as the type of water used.

Two, we need the same kind of food safety champion that Taylor was. This person would be a highly visible symbol of our commitment. Along these lines, it is useful to consider consolidating responsibility in one federal-level agency. That would be the central point for communication about best practices and the point of contact for state and local regulators and health departments.

Three, the track record of business for issuing warnings and recalls rapidly isn’t good.  The federal and state governments should have authority to do this. That means increased funding, particularly at the state level. Most outbreaks are regional, not national.

Four, produce an E. coli vaccine for cows. I would say that the lion’s share of produce problems result from this contaminant passed on through cow feces.

Five, the nation requires education about the benefits of irradiation of all mass-produced food including produce. Resistance to this practice seems to be rooted in public perception, not science.

Six, attention has to be paid to the vulnerability of our food supply system to acts of terrorism. Denial and lack of common sense seem to dominate thinking at all levels – business and federal and state government.

Seven, why haven’t we applied our economic and political muscle to imposing more stringent regulations on food imports? This is a central trade issue that has been neglected.

And, eight, there’s an urgent need to improve the resources available to foodborne disease victims. At the top of the list are the out-of-pocket medical costs. Those are usually not immediately or even eventually reimbursed by medical insurance if victims have coverage. By time compensation comes from litigation, the person could be heavily in debt. Next on the list is the expense of missing work. Marler Clark has been encouraging food processors and retailers to provide this help as a gesture of goodwill.

Let me wrap this up with one thought. Just as the boldness, courage and relentlessness of Michael Taylor made meat safer, these eight recommendations can ensure the integrity of the rest of the food chain. And better care for victims. Let me say again: “I ask this committee to put us at Marler Clark out of business.” Thank you.

E. coli and little league baseball should not mix.  I can not imagine why a system seems to use kids as guniea pigs to figure out when an E. coli outbreak is happening.  It will be interesting to see if Richwood Meat tested for E. coli prior to it being shipped to customers in at least five States.

Little Leaguers sickened; Richwood Meat recalls 100,000 pounds of beef

More than 100,000 pounds of frozen ground beef patties processed by a Merced company were recalled after three Little League teammates fell ill with E. coli from tainted hamburgers, officials said Friday. Richwood Meat Co. issued a voluntary recall of the year-old frozen beef, which was produced in late April and early May 2006. The Merced plant distributes meat in California, Arizona, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

I got the following email from John Munsell, USDA critic and very smart guy:

Overnight, I see that FSIS has issued yet another recall notice # 20-2007, covering the recall of over 107,000 lbs of ground beef for potential E.coli contamination (see Attachment).   I hope this doesn't presage a banner year for E.coli recalls.  It's not even May yet, and we've just had two sizeable recalls announced in one day.
 
You may know that Richwood Meat Co also conducted a voluntary recall of 90,000 lbs of ground beef for E.coli contamination on February 24, 2004 (Recall # 7-2004).  FYI, I contacted Richwood Meat Co on February 26, 2004 and had a long visit with them.  The most interesting portion of my notes of that conversation is the statement "They said that USDA has so far shown no desire whatsoever to trace back the contaminant to the source of contamination". 
 
It will be interesting to watch FSIS' actions during this current recall to see if the agency's attitude has changed in the last three years.
 
Perhaps 2007 will be the year during which these large, victimized further processing plants will stand up for their rights, and demand that public health imperatives are best served by the agency going upstream to the true origin of contamination.  The ability of Richwood and other large non-slaughter grinding establishments to fully remove (or even detect) pathogens from previously contaminated meat is limited.  If FSIS continues to focus 100 % of its enforcement actions against these hapless downline plants, we simply must concede the fact that multiple recurrences of production of E.coli-contaminated meat will occur because the sloppy kill floor dressing procedures are not being corrected, with tacit agency approval under HACCP's deregulated unmbrella.
 
The agency currently has two golden opportunities to identify the true source of contamination, rather than to be content with hagriding the destination of contamination.  If FSIS breaks from past tradition, and successfully forces the source to implement corrective action, it will gain countless admirers.
 
John Munsell

See also, Year-old meat recalled after E. coli cases

E. coli?

Interesting stories from different coasts:

Ground beef hamburger patties recalled in California

A voluntary recall is underway for dozens of brands of frozen ground beef patties. State health officials said meat produced by Richwood Meat Company of Merced may be contaminated with E. coli. The meat is sold at Winco Foods, Vons, and other grocery stores in several states, including California.

Small E. Coli Outbreak Reported In Napa County

Is the ground beef a possible link?  Napa County officials said they are investigating a small outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 diarrheal illness among children that involves three confirmed cases and two probable cases The Napa County Public Health and Environmental Health Division said the California Department of Health Services also is investigating the source and possible connection of the five cases. State officials were to have more information Friday afternoon, said Theresa Richmond, the county's Health and Human Services Agency spokeswoman. The first E. coli case was detected April 3 by a Kaiser physician in the stool culture of a 9-year-old boy, Richmond said. That began the county's Public Health Division's investigation and the discovery of the two other confirmed cases and two probable cases, Richmond said.

E. Coli Fond in Hoss's Meat - Pennsylvania firm recalls beef due to E. coli

A Pennsylvania beef company is recalling about 259,230 lbs of beef products due to possible contamination with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Friday. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Pennsylvania Department of Health have found several illnesses tied to steak products produced by HFX Inc. for Hoss's Family Steak and Sea Restaurants, a chain based in Pennsylvania.  The Pennsylvania Department of Health said in a statement the illnesses are believed to be the result of eating rare or medium-rare steak at the restaurants March 24-March 29. Four of five people have been hospitalized, but none has developed kidney failure.  Interestingly, Hoss's was linked to a food poisoning outbreak in 2006.

More on E. coli can be found at www.about-ecoli.com

Montco man, 19 others drop suits to negotiate over E. coli illnesses

Patrick Lester of The Morning Call wrote this morning:

A Montgomery County man and others sickened by an E. coli outbreak at Taco Bell last year could receive out-of-court settlements ranging from $25,000 to $500,000 from the fast-food restaurant chain, an attorney said.  In the more severe cases, E. coli victims could receive millions of dollars.

Stephen Minnis of Limerick Township and several others who became ill after eating food from the Mexican-food chain have agreed to drop lawsuits while Seattle-based attorney Bill Marler tries to reach financial settlements with the chain's lawyers.

''We've got a promise from Taco Bell that it will immediately mediate these cases,'' said Marler, who represents Minnis and 19 others who say Taco Bell's food made them ill. ''I'm going to sit down with them in the next 30 days and try to resolve them. If we can't come to an agreement, we can refile the cases.''  ''Every indication I've had from Taco Bell lawyers is that they want to seriously sit down and get these cases resolved .''

Marler said that, based on past food poisoning cases he's successfully argued, he believes each victim could receive at least tens of thousands of dollars for medical bills and other damages. He said he has resolved close to $300 million worth of food poisoning cases in 15 years .

Minnis and others ''who may have been hospitalized for a short period and did not develop complications can [receive] from $25,000 or $30,000 to half a million dollars depending on the severity of the case,'' Marler said. ''Any case where someone develops [severe health problems] could be worth multiple millions of dollars.''  Marler pointed to one ''severe'' case in which he claims a Pennsylvania woman was in a coma for at least three days and suffered kidney damage caused by E. coli. That woman is still being cared for by multiple doctors.  Marler said the woman suffers from a form of kidney failure known as hemolytic urenic syndrome, which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a life-threatening condition that is often treated with blood transfusions and kidney dialysis.

''Anyone who develops HUS has a case value in excess of $500,000 and up,'' Marler said. ''I've settled multiple cases involving kids and adults with HUS. These are very complex cases and have risks of future complications.''

Produce firm names winners of E coli research grants

A scientific advisory panel assembled by Fresh Express, a California produce company, has selected nine research teams to receive awards up to $250,000 each to study how to keep Escherichia coli O157:H7 from contaminating fresh produce.

In January 2007, Fresh Express, which produces bagged salads and other produce products, announced it would provide up to $2 million for E coli research and asked its volunteer scientific advisory panel to evaluate research proposals based on five priorities. The company's initiative came in the wake of several nationwide E coli outbreaks that were linked to fresh produce, though the firm said its products have never been associated with any foodborne illness outbreaks.

In an Apr 11 news release, Fresh Express said the nine research teams that were awarded the 1-year research grants were chosen from 65 research proposals.

Advisory panel chair Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, said in the news release that the panel was pleased with the quality of the proposals. "We were all extremely impressed by the innovative approaches and new directions being applied to E coli O157:H7 research to better understand and ultimately minimize the threat of this pathogen in fresh produce," said Osterholm, who is director of the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, publisher of the CIDRAP Web site.

The nine research teams, with their principal investigators and research topic, are as follows:

* University of Georgia Center for Food Safety, Michael P. Doyle, PhD: Subsurface contamination and internalization of E coli O157:H7 in preharvest lettuce
* Oklahoma State University Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Jacqueline Fletcher, PhD: Movement of E coli O157:H7 in spinach and dissemination to leafy greens by insects
* University of Arizona Department of Immunobiology, Jorge A. Girón, PhD: Interaction of E coli O157:H7 with fresh leafy green produce
* Western Institute for Food Safety and Security, University of California–Davis, Linda J. Harris, PhD: Factors that influence the ability of E coli O157:H7 to multiply on lettuce and leafy greens
* University of Georgia Department of Food Science and Technology, Mark A. Harrison, PhD: Fate of E coli O157:H7 on fresh and fresh-cut iceberg lettuce and spinach in the presence of normal background microflora
* Clemson University Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Xiuping Jiang, PhD: Determining the environmental factors contributing to the extended survival or regrowth of foodborne pathogens in composting systems
* National Food Safety and Toxicology Center, Michigan State University, Elliot T. Ryser, PhD: Quantifying the risk of transfer and internalization of E coli O157:H7 during processing of leafy greens
* Food Technology and Safety Laboratory, Animal and Natural Resources Institute, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Manan Sharma, PhD: A novel approach to investigate internalization of E coli O157:H7 in lettuce and spinach
* Ohio State University Department of Microbiology, Ahmed Yousef, PhD: Sanitization of leafy vegetables by integrating gaseous ozone treatment into produce process

From Times Staff Reports
April 13, 2007

A 15th person has tested positive for E. coli linked to the outbreak originating at a Foothill Ranch restaurant, authorities said Thursday. The latest victim, a young adult who ate at the restaurant March 23, was not hospitalized, an Orange County Health Care Agency spokesman said.  Fourteen of the infected people were customers at the restaurant, and one is an employee. Investigators do not know if the worker was infected by eating at the restaurant or through an outside source.  The E. coli has been found in people who dined March 23, 24 and 25.

Tom Ragan, Sentinel staff writer, wrote today - Leafy green growers, shippers face three strikes rule

It's three strikes or they're out for growers, shippers or handlers who violate food safety standards designed to prevent future E. coli outbreaks.  The new policy is expected to be passed later this month in Sacramento by the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement Advisory Board, set up by the industry earlier this year.  The stringent policy was outlined Tuesday before hundreds of growers and handlers who gathered at the Salinas Community Center.  The three-strikes policy is the backbone to the 150-page agreement, intended to safeguard against another E. coli outbreak like the one that killed three people late last summer and sickened more than 200 others across the country.  So far, hundreds of handlers, growers and shippers, an estimated 99 percent of the industry, have signed on to the agreement, and ultimately they will be awarded a "seal of approval" if they follow its chief guidelines.

Does this mean that Dole has two strikes already from 2005 and 2006 E. coli outbreaks?

The Associated Press out of Atlanta broke our visit to the ConAgra Peanut Butter plant in Sylvester, Georgia

        ConAgra's Leaking Roof

Lawyers and investigators visit south Ga. peanut butter plant

An army of plaintiffs' lawyers and investigators is inspecting the south Georgia peanut butter plant linked to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 400 people nationwide.  A team of attorneys, engineers, photographers, mapping specialists and videographers on Monday scouted the ConAgra Foods Inc. plant in Sylvester, Ga., that produced the Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter recalled in February after the outbreak.

The inspectors are also taking a look at the machinery throughout the plant, said Bill Marler, an attorney with Seattle's Marler Clark and one of several trial lawyers who organized the trip.  "When you do have a factory that's manufacturing this much product, there's some small glitch in the system and it gets amplified," said Marler, whose firm is representing more than 5,000 clients. "Hopefully what we look at here gives us a feel for how the contamination likely appeared."  The team of inspectors was organized by a handful of law firms that represent the bulk of the cases against ConAgra, but Marler estimates more than 250 law firms may eventually file a claim.  Marler, who marveled at the plant's size, said he was determined to figure out whether the outbreak spread beyond the problems ConAgra has already revealed.

"It's a big CSI puzzle," he said. "That's really what it all comes down to."

According to a breaking AP story:

Young E. coli victim improves, could leave intensive care

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 restaurant in the city of Lake Forest on March 23 or 24, health officials said. 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, said Denise Almazan, hospital spokeswoman.

See post at www.salmonellablog.com

According to Associated Press reports:

ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs said the company traced the Salmonella outbreak to three incidents in its Sylvester, Ga., plant last August. The plant's roof leaked during a rainstorm and the sprinkler system went off twice because of a faulty sprinkler, which was repaired. The moisture from those three incidents mixed with dormant Salmonella bacteria in the plant that Childs said likely came from raw peanuts and peanut dust. She said the plant was cleaned thoroughly after the roof leak and sprinkler incidents, but somehow the Salmonella remained and came in contact with peanut butter before it was packaged. The company isn't sure exactly how the salmonella got into the peanut butter, but Childs said it was linked to the moisture. "At some point, the Salmonella that was activated came in contact with finished peanut butter," Childs said.

Salmonella is one of the most common enteric (intestinal) infections in the United States. Salmonellosis (the disease caused by Salmonella) is the second most common foodborne illness after Campylobacter infection. It is estimated that 1.4 million cases of salmonellosis occur each year in the U.S.; 95% of those cases are foodborne-related. Approximately 220 of each 1000 cases result in hospitalization and eight of every 1000 cases result in death. About 500 to 1,000 or 31% of all food-related deaths are caused by Salmonella infections each year. Salmonellosis is more common in the warmer months of the year.

Since the news first broke of E. coli illnesses tied to an Orange County buffet-type restaurant, we have received several calls from folks who believe that they have been sickened.  We are investigating those claims.

When I first heard about an E. coli outbreak tied to a buffet-restaurant, I must admit I was not too surprised - foodborne illness outbreaks certainly have been tied to buffets and salad bars over the years.  A few cases we have done:

E. coli

China Buffet
Finley School District
Gold Coast Produce
King Garden
Olive Garden
Sizzler

Salmonella

Brook-Lea Country Club
Chili's
Golden Corral
Linh's Bakery
Old South Restaurant
Western Sizzlin'
Wyndham Anatole Hotel

Nancy Luna and Blythe Bernard of the Orange County Register are continuing to follow the E. coli outbreak tied to the restaurant.

No new cases yet reported in E Coli outbreak - But local health officials aren't ruling out possibility of finding more victims.

Orange County health authorities confirmed that the diners tested positive for E. coli O157:H7, the same deadly strain that recently sickened hundreds of consumers in a string of outbreaks around the country. Orange County Health Care Agency officials said Tuesday that all seven customers so far identified as having E Coli ate at the Towne Center Drive restaurant on March 23 or March 24. Though the investigation is ongoing, the outbreak is expected to be one of the largest ever in Orange County. The seven people who contracted food poisoning are recovering, local health authorities said today. The group includes six children and a person in his or her 70s. Three of the ill people had to be hospitalized.

Susan Salisbury staff writer of the Palm Beach Post wrote an article published on Monday, April 02, 2007 – excerpts below

The crusading journalist Upton Sinclair stunned the nation in 1906 with his book The Jungle, which exposed deplorable, dangerous conditions in the slaughterhouses of Chicago. Later that year, Congress acted, and the rules it set in place forever changed the way Americans thought about meat, and the safety of their food supply.  But fruits and vegetables never got their Sinclair moment.

Today in the United States, although many groceries insist that farmers hire inspectors to certify that their produce is free of disease and Florida tomato growers are asking the state legislature to require inspections, there are no mandatory federal safety rules in place for fields or packinghouses. Several outbreaks of illness in the past year associated with spinach, lettuce and tomatoes have raised awareness about the threats produce can pose to human health:

• In September, Dole brand baby spinach grown on a California farm was infected with a deadly strain of E. coli that led to three deaths and 205 cases of confirmed sickness. The FDA said last week that possible sources of contamination at or near the field where the spinach was grown included wild pigs, irrigation wells and surface waterways exposed to feces from cattle and wildlife.

• In June and November, there were two national outbreaks of salmonella from tomatoes served in restaurants. The June outbreak sickened 106 people in 19 states, and the November outbreak caused 183 illnesses in 21 states, the FDA said.

• In November and December, 71 people in four states were sickened after eating E. coli-contaminated shredded lettuce at Taco Bell restaurants. Another 81 became ill after consuming lettuce at Taco John's restaurants in three states.

But Bill Marler, a Seattle-based attorney who has prosecuted many food safety cases, says the produce industry has done "a horrible job" of keeping food safe by using voluntary standards. He even thinks there has been an actual increase in the number of cases, not just an increase in the cases reported.

"Something is really wrong. It is more than just that health departments are better at tracking these things," said Marler, who is representing 87 clients in 10 spinach-related food-injury cases. "Over the years, I have seen more and more bacterial and viral cases tied to fresh fruits and vegetables, and products we have not seen before, like peanut butter."

Click here for full article