Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
on doing the right thing. In this situation, protecting the public health even before we
had much information was the right thing to do.”
On Sept. 24, 2006, the Utah Department of Health and the Salt Lake Valley Health
Department had positively identifi ed the outbreak strain in a bag of Dole baby spinach
purchased in Utah (U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2006c). By Sept. 26, 2008,
the FDA stated, “FDA has determined that the spinach implicated in the outbreak was
grown in three California counties: Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Clara. Spinach
grown in the rest of the United States has not been implicated in the current
E. coli
O157:H7 outbreak. The public can be confi dent that spinach grown in the non-
implicated areas can be consumed.” (U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2006d).
Additionally, the Pennsylvania Department of Health confi rmed the presence of the
outbreak strain in a bag of Dole baby spinach.
By Sept. 29, 2006, the FDA announced that “all spinach implicated in the current
outbreak has traced back to Natural Selection Foods LLC of San Juan Buatista,
California,” according to epidemiological investigations coordinated by the CDC at
multiple state laboratories (U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2006a). The Grower
Shipper Association of Central California, the Produce Marketing Association, the
United Fresh Produce Association, and the Western Growers Association, said, “We
are committed to working together as one industry to learn everything we can from
this tragedy, and will redouble our efforts to do everything in our power to reduce the
potential risk of foodborne illness. As we have in the past, we will work aggressively
with the Food and Drug Administration and state regulatory authorities to ensure the
industry's growing and processing practices continue to be based on the very best
scientifi c information available, and that we are doing everything possible to provide
the nation with safe and healthy produce.” The FDA commented, “Implementation of
these plans will be voluntary, but FDA and the State of California are not excluding
the possibility of regulatory requirements in the future.”
Also at this time, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the
Ohio Department of Health, and the Nevada Department of Health and Human
Services confi rmed the presence of the outbreak in a sample of Dole spinach, and the
Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services confi rmed its presence in two
bags of Dole baby spinach. The Pennsylvania Department of Health found a second
bag of Dole spinach containing the outbreak strain. On Oct. 4, 2006, the Arizona
Department of Health Services found the outbreak strain in a bag of Dole spinach
(U.S. Food Drug Administration 2006e). U.S. Attorney Kevin V. Ryan simultaneously
issued search warrants on Growers Express and Natural Selection Foods (U.S. Food
and Drug Administration 2006f).
An Oct. 5, 2006, letter from Earthbound Farm cofounders, Drew and Myra
Goodman stated, “While our food safety systems have always been at the top of the
industry, this outbreak has demonstrated the immediate need for improved industry
protocols.” The letter went on to describe the new safety measures now in place at
the company's growing and processing facilities (Goodman 2006).
On October 12, 2006, FDA and the state of California announced that samples
of cattle feces had tested positive for the outbreak strain of
E. coli
. Infected cattle
feces were found on one of four fi elds implicated by a traceback investigation (U.S.
Food and Drug Administration 2006h). “This is a signifi cant fi nding because it is
