Consumers advised to dispose of any strawberries they purchased prior to July 29 at any farmers market or road-side stand.

 According to the Daily Astorian, two additional cases of E. coli infection possibly linked to tainted strawberries have been discovered in Clatsop County. The Oregon Department of Health issued a warning Monday after 16 people in northwest Oregon, including four in Clatsop County, were sickened with the E. coli O157:H7 bacteria strain believed to have come from strawberries from a Newberg-area farm. One of the people infected, a woman in Washington County, died.

The two new suspected cases were reported to the Clatsop County Public Health Department on Wednesday. At least one of the people is known to have eaten strawberries traced to Jaquith Strawberry Farms, the source of the tainted berries. Specimens from the two people have been sent to a laboratory for confirmation. Both people have been treated at a local clinic and did not require hospitalization. The four other local cases were also relatively mild.

The suspect berries were sold at a variety of farmers markets and road-side stands throughout northwest Oregon and southwest Washington prior to Jul 29, when Jaquith farm ended its strawberry harvest.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture Food Safety Division has posted a listing of all the known outlets where berries from Jaquith farm were sold. To see the list go to www.oregon.gov/ODA/FSD/strawberries.shtml