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On November 4, 2005, federal health officials warned California farmers to improve the safety standards of the produce they grow. This warning came just shy of a year before the most recent E. coli contaminated spinach outbreak, which was officially announced by the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) on September 14. This announcement advised that already 50 people in eight states had already been infected by E. coli as the result of bagged fresh spinach contamination.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has declared that all fresh spinach is again safe for human consumption. However, this outbreak was not the first time we saw this type of E. coli contamination and will not be the last. Dating back to 1995, this most recent E. coli poisoning episode is the 20th occurrence linked to spinach, lettuce and other salad greens.

This type of bacterial contamination has been happening for many years, and the problem does not appear to be going away any. This new outbreak is especially nasty as it involves a particularly dangerous strain of the bacteria – Escherichia coli 0157:H7.

Individuals infected with Escherichia coli 0157:H7 will typically begin experiencing symptoms between two to eight days after exposure to the bacteria. The infected person will experience severe bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Although, occasionally, E. coli 0157:H7 causes non-bloody diarrhea or no noticeable symptoms. Typically, there will be little or no fever present.

The symptoms of E. coli 0157:H7 usually begin to resolve within five to 10 days. For some individuals, particularly children under five years of age and the elderly, E. coli can cause a severe complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). When HUS is present, the red blood cells are destroyed and the kidneys fail. In the United States, HUS is the primary cause of acute kidney failure in children, with most HUS cases being caused by E. coli O157:H7.

We all have a form of E. coli bacteria in our intestinal tracts, which aid our bodies in converting our food into useful vitamins and nutrients. However, E. coli 0157:H7 is a particularly dangerous strain from the Enterobacteriaceae family. In fact, it is the exact same strain found in Washington state’s E. coli outbreak in 1993, which involved beef served at Jack in the Box restaurants. That outbreak alone infected 700 people and killed four.

So far and as October 6th, 199 people have been infected with E. coli O157:H7 in 26 states. Among the ill, 102 have been hospitalized, 31 have developed HUS and at least three people have died as a result of this food contamination.

There are additional deaths, which officials consider “suspect cases.” Suspect cases are not known to have been infected with the outbreak strain, so are not included in the confirmed case count. Stool sampling can be done to determine whether or not the E. coli present in the stool sample has the “DNA fingerprint” of the potentially deadly 0157:H7 strain.

With such a serious epidemic of contaminated produce recurring over the years, there are obvious problems with farming regulations. One problem is that the FDA is unable to regulate farms until people actually start getting sick. The FDA must attempt to manage hazards, such as E. coli contamination, by asking the produce growing industry to make voluntary changes. It is obvious that voluntary compliance is not the answer.

The initial thought is that the agency needs to be equipped with better tools of detection, stronger authority to take preventative actions prior to outbreaks along with more people and resources to enforce rules both on farms and in packing and processing plants.

The FDA may want to learn a vital lesson from the United States Department of Agriculture. The USDA, after severe E. coli outbreaks involving beef during the mid-1990s, took a necessary and powerful action. The department implemented new, more rigorous rules and quality standards.

For the beef industry, the problem of E. coli in ground beef has dramatically declined. To the contrary, the produce producing industry, being regulated by the FDA, has seen a continual rise in the number of E. coli cases over this same time period.

One reason may have to do with cooking. With meat, proper cooking will kill any dangerous bacteria. But, no one wants to cook their salads. While washing our veggies will reduce bacteria, it will not completely eliminate or kill it.

This is the very reason why the produce farms need to be the ones held accountable for the contamination of their produce. There is no household resolution for this problem, which means the solution must come from the farms, before the produce ever finds it way to our supermarkets.

Going back to 1998, the FDA issued “Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fruits and Vegetables.” The Guide contained voluntary guidelines, which were supposed to help farmers and produce packing plants implement safety practices. Even with knowledge of the contamination problem, the FDA only relied on these voluntary measures. As you can guess, the safety practices were not implemented on any notable scale.

CONTAMINATION CULPRIT

The FDA has announced that, so far, all spinach associated with the most recent E. coli outbreak has been traced to Natural Selection Foods, LLC located in sunny San Juan Bautista, California. This discovery was based on laboratory as well as epidemiological evidence obtained by several states and coordinated by the CDC. Natural Selection Foods issued a recall of 34 brands of suspect fresh spinach products on September 15.

These products were distributed throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. According to Natural Selection, all of the contaminated produce was non-organic spinach. The company packages both conventionally grown and organic spinach at the San Juan Bautista, California plant, although they are handled in separate areas. States feeling the effects of this outbreak include California, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.

Four other companies also issued secondary recalls as a result of receiving their fresh spinach directly from Natural Selection. It is noteworthy to mention that spinach processed by other produce plants have not been involved in the outbreak.
As history shows, since 1995, there have been 19 other food poisoning outbreaks connected to fresh spinach and lettuce. Of these 19, at least eight were definitively linked to produce grown in California’s Salinas Valley. In all, these outbreaks involved greater than 400 illnesses and two deaths.

Further investigations are underway by the State of California, the CDC, the FDA and the USDA. These investigations include continued inspections and environmental sample collections in produce facilities, the surrounding environment and water as well as assessments of animal management and water contamination.

The FDA’s investigation has focused on spinach growers in three California counties. Monterey, San Benito and Santa Clara have been under strong scrutiny. Aside from Natural Selection Foods, River Ranch Fresh Foods has been named as a second company implicated in the outbreak.

According to the FDA, River Ranch acquired salad greens, including spinach, from the first company offender; Natural Selection. River Ranch’s spinach was passed on to the public using the brand names Farmers Market, Hy-Vee as well as Fresh and Easy.

Natural Selection initially denied allegations that its packaged spinach, which were sold under such brand names as Dole, Earthbound Farm and Trader Joe’s, was a responsible party in the outbreak. However, many of the consumers stricken by E. coli O157:H7 have said they ate one of these brand named spinach products prior to becoming ill.

The FDA also contends that detecting and pinpointing the exact source of E. coli contamination is often very tricky. In many cases, the cause of the outbreak is never truly known, although likely culprits are suspected.

What typically happens during the investigations following an E. coli outbreak is the process of talking to the victims, if they are physically able to communicate with investigators. This method, called the epidemiological method, is an expected and accepted tool used by public health agencies, especially since no physical evidence remains after contamination and chemical testing is usually futile.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

E. coli, which travels via animal feces, can contaminate produce by getting into water used in farming irrigation. Aside from feces contaminating the water used in farming, animal manure used in organic farming as natural forms of fertilizer is also a good source of E. coli contamination. This could mean a lot to farmers who make their living growing and selling organic foods.

As it turns out, fresh produce is often contaminated with Salmonella, E. coli as well as a variety of other potentially deadly microorganisms. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), produce effluence comes from the use of irrigation water sickened by fecal waste from animal agriculture farms, the use of untreated, natural manure fertilizer and the accidental exposure to dangerous bacteria at the processing plants.

California animal and produce farmers as well as food safety officials have a lot on their plate when it comes to preventing future E. coli contamination. So far, no particular instance of E. coli sickness has been linked to one particular farmland, which was irrigated by any one river.

Additionally, no concise evidence has been presented charging Natural Selection Foods, or any other processing plant investigated, with failing to use proper handling methods.

In fact, this particular E. coli outbreak may have little to do with the farmers who grow the produce and the processing plant workers. A strong link naturally leads right back to what many would consider a dissimilar food industry – cattle farms.

Consider first that E. coli is typically a harmless germ found in vast numbers in the guts of all healthy humans and cows. Usually, if you are exposed to the typical, most common strains of E. coli, the acid in your digestive tract will attack and usually be strong enough to kill it. In other words, you won’t get sick.

The problem with this most recent outbreak, however, is that E. coli O157:H7 can be deadly for humans. The acid in our stomachs is usually not strong enough to eliminate this microbe, which can result in the onset of physical symptoms and, in some cases, death.

One vital fact to remember is that not all cattle farms contribute to the contamination of E. coli 0157:H7. In fact, 0157:H7 is not even found in the gut of cows raised on a natural diet consisting of hay, grass and other fibrous feeds.

O157:H7 does live in the unnaturally acidic digestive tracts of cows fed on grain, which is the classic ration on most industrial cattle farms. As a result of this diet, the contaminated cow manure pollutes the groundwater and transfers the dangerous bacteria to produce, such as spinach, being grown on surrounding farms.

Because bacteria thrive in water and past E. coli outbreaks have been linked to tainted water in the Salinas Valley, produce farmers must ensure that their irrigation water for crops is not derived from sources containing runoff from cattle farms.

The Journal of Dairy Science reported in 2003 that as much as 80 percent of all American dairy cows carry E. coli 0157:H7. The Journal’s report also proposed a means of prevention based on straightforward research. When cows were fed a diet of hay, instead of grain, for just five short days, the presence of E. coli 0157:H7 in the animals’ digestive tracts declined 1,000-fold.

Does this mean that the 1993 outbreak involving the Jack in the Box restaurants could have been prevented? It is suggested that if the diet of beef cattle was changed, from grain to grass and hay seven days before slaughter, there would be a noticeable reduction in E. coli contamination from manure.

It would take much more than just a week to diminish contamination in ground and floodwaters as well as rivers, which are the main irrigation sources for California’s spinach farms. Much needs to be done to prevent future food poisoning caused by E. coli-infected feces originating from industrialized cattle farms.

What this means to taxpayers is that we are currently funding agricultural policies that treat the symptoms of this pollution problem, but does not offer a solid solution. Currently, the USDA recognizes the hazards associated with the vast amount of contaminated animal waste. The Department shells out roughly 75 percent of the confinement cattle farmers’ costs of building watertight manure pits.

The one truly long-term fix for this problem is obvious, although not likely to occur. Farmers need to stop feeding grain to their cows and give them a more natural diet, which will be better for the health of the cattle as well as to the consumers.

CAN’T BLAME IT ON THE COWS ALONE

Because E. coli can be spread numerous ways, the diet of dairy and beef cattle is not the sole contributor to this problem. In addition to manure and contaminated irrigation water, E. coli can be spread by farmhands using the field as a toilet, by insufficient produce washing by processors and by inadequate refrigeration, which promotes bacteria growth in the sealed bags of fresh salad greens.

Although California produce farmers are required by law to provide hand washing and toilet facilities for all of their field workers, the workers are not always willing or able to get to these facilities and still meet their employer’s work requirements. Even though the bathroom facilities are supposed to be within either a five-minute walk or one-quarter mile from the work site, workers, for whatever reason, do not always utilize these facilities.

Once harvested, the spinach is transported to a packing plant to be washed with water containing chlorine and another similar chemical. These chemicals are not supposed to destroy any bacteria already on the produce. They are only intended to prevent already contaminated plants from passing the pollution to other healthy plants. Once washed, the produce is then bagged and sealed.

Next come the refrigerated trucks and warehouses, which are responsible for keeping the harvested produce cold. When not kept cold enough, E. coli will thrive in the neatly sealed plastic bags.

It is clear that there are many players in the potentially deadly, food poisoning threat associated with E. coli 0157:H7. Until all players are working on the same team, these devastating outbreaks will continue.
While it may not be possible to prevent all E. coli 0157:H7 outbreaks, dramatic improvements in prevention and in the current methods of farming plants and animals are an absolute must.