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The same strain of deadly bacteria that sickened dozens of people nationwide has been found at a cattle ranch in California's Salinas Valley within a mile of spinach fields, investigators said today. Investigators still can't be sure if the E. coli found in cow manure contaminated the fields, but said the find warrants further investigation. "We do not have a smoking cow at this point," said Dr. Kevin Reilly, deputy director of the Prevention Services Division of the California Department of Health Services. Nevertheless, Reilly called the match an important finding.

Popeye the Sailor Man would have approved of the green, leafy spinach gobbled up by Sadex Corp. officials early Wednesday morning. Popeye definitely would not have approved of the spinach if he could have seen it under a microscope before it underwent irradiation -- the spinach contained 5 million colonies of E.coli bacteria per gram. "You would have been better off to have a cow come and dump on it," said David Corbin, chairman and chief executive officer of the Sadex Corp. Officials at the Sadex Corp. irradiated the highly contaminated spinach at the Sioux City plant, 2650 Murray St....

BOISE, Idaho - A 2-year-old boy who died from kidney failure last month had been infected with the same strain of E. coli bacteria that prompted a nationwide consumer warning on fresh spinach, health officials said Thursday. Kyle Allgood was the second confirmed death in the outbreak, which also killed an elderly Wisconsin woman and sickened at least 190 other people. "This confirms what we suspected for quite some time," said Ross Mason, a spokesman for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. The boy died Sept. 20 in Salt Lake City after developing a type of kidney failure caused...

A congressman who tried to stage a public spinach-eating news conference to demonstrate that the leafy greens are safe following a nationwide E. coli outbreak scrapped his plan after he couldn't find any in local grocery stores. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, used the experience to try to persuade consumers it is safe again to eat spinach from the Salinas Valley, which federal officials targeted in their search for the contaminated spinach that sickened 192 people in 26 states. "The good news is that spinach is able to be sold in the markets," Farr said. "The bad news is the markets...

Federal food safety officials said fresh spinach is "as safe as it was before the outbreak," even though investigators have not determined the cause of a deadly E. coli outbreak. FDA officials said yesterday that consumers should continue to avoid spinach recalled Sept. 14 by Natural Selection Foods LLC, a fresh produce processor based in San Juan Bautista, Calif. Four other companies have recalled spinach they got from Natural Selection. But officials cleared spinach grown in the Salinas Valley, after warning consumers for the past week not to eat spinach from that area.

Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lifted its two-week-old consumer warning on most fresh spinach Friday, revising the alert to say it now covers only specific brands packaged on certain dates. The warning now applies only to spinach recalled earlier this month by Natural Selection Foods of San Juan Bautista and four companies that it supplied, said Kevin Reilly, deputy director of prevention services for the California health department. A week ago, the FDA had said it was safe to eat spinach grown anywhere outside of three Salinas Valley counties, and some stores began restocking....

Raw Milk and Spinach: The Double Standard California agriculture and public health officials took completely different approaches to concerns about health problems at a California raw milk dairy and farms producing contaminated spinach.

CBS 5 - San Francisco Bay Area's source for news, weather, traffic and sports: 2 Bags Of Tainted Spinach Traced To Calif. PlantSearch Sep 25, 2006 8:47 pm US/Pacific 2 Bags Of Tainted Spinach Traced To Calif. Plant (AP) SAN JUAN BAUTISTA Two bags of Dole baby spinach that tested positive for the E. coli strain that's sickened 175 people nationwide were packaged at the same plant on the same day, California health officials said Monday. That information has helped investigators tracing the source of the tainted greens narrow their search at nine farms in three California counties, said Dr....

Put me out of business, please. Opinion-Editorial By William Marler March 1, 2006 On March 1, 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued additional Guidelines “for the Safe Production of Fresh-Cut Fruits and Vegetables.” This seems to have been prompted by the August 2005 outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections of some thirty people, including children, who ate DOLE bagged, pre-washed lettuce. At least 245,000 bags of lettuce were recalled across the country. In that outbreak alone, eight were hospitalized, and one child developed acute kidney failure, all from eating bagged, "pre-washed" lettuce. However, this is not the first...

The bacterium that has sickened people across the nation and forced growers to destroy spinach crops is so pervasive in the Salinas Valley that virtually every waterway there violates national standards. "There are many sources of water coming into the watershed, and I guarantee you that they all have generic E. coli," and many carry the deadly E. coli strain linked to food poisonings, said Christopher Rose, an environmental scientist at the state's Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, which tests the region's waterways. Many creeks and streams near the region's spinach fields, including the Salinas River, Gabilan Creek,...

Spinach found in the refrigerator of a person sickened by E. coli was contaminated with the bacteria, providing a break Wednesday for investigators seeking the origin of the outbreak. Federal and state investigators narrowed their hunt to three California counties in the greater Salinas Valley - Monterey, San Benito and Santa Clara, said Dr. David Acheson of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "Yesterday we had it down to California. Today we've got it down to three counties," Acheson said. "We want it down to a salad bowl and eventually a spinach leaf." The...

Writing the history of our time in song MIDI - POPEYE THE SAILOR MAN I'm Hillary's biggest fan...and I think I have a plan She needs strength to finish...I'll send her some spinach I try to help where I can It's so tough campaigning but she's not complaining She's hardworking, we can see When nourishment's needed, the call will be heeded She always can count on me She's fighting the right wingers every day She's trying to make history When nourishment's needed, the call will be heeded She always can count on me I'm Hillary's biggest fan...and I think I...

Wednesday, September 20, 2006 Tainted spinach may harbor very virulent E. coli strain By ANDREW BRIDGES THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON -- Federal health officials are investigating whether a more potent strain of E. coli is behind an outbreak linked to fresh spinach that has sickened at least 131 people, half of whom have been hospitalized. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that fully 50 percent of those reported sick in the outbreak were hospitalized. That's more than the 25 percent to 30 percent seen in other E. coli outbreaks, said Dr. David Acheson of the Food and...

As spinach consumers continued reporting more E. coli sickness on Monday, government investigators expanded their hunt for the cause beyond processors to Salinas Valley farms where E. coli has been found previously. Government and other experts said water on the farms could be a likely culprit, though that has not been proved. Several investigators late Monday were to begin fanning out to farms in the Salinas Valley, which is believed to be the source of at least eight E. coli outbreaks since 1995. ``There are many possibilities. The most likely source of contamination initially is on the farm somewhere,'' said...

Restaurant Sues Spinach Grower For $40 (CBS) GLENVIEW A Chicago attorney filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of restaurants damaged by contaminated spinach. CBS 2 North Suburban Bureau Chief Katie McCall reports a Glenview restaurant wants cash for the spinach that went in the trash. Hamilton's Restaurant says the grower, Natural Selection Foods should have to pay every restaurant back for the spinach they purchased but could not serve. Customers have been coming to Hamilton's Restaurant in Glenview for over three decades, and while the name of this laid-back neighborhood eatery has changed, they say the food has...

WASHINGTON — Tampering is not suspected in an outbreak of E. coli linked to fresh spinach, federal health officials said Monday as they continue to probe the source of the contamination and warned consumers to continue to avoid fresh spinach products.

When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning to consumers on Thursday about E. coli contamination in bagged spinach, it didn't come as a surprise to Michael Doyle. So far, about 100 people have fallen ill and one death has been connected to the dangerous E. coli 0157:H7 bacterial infection, and the director of food safety at the University of Georgia says that outbreaks like this one will only continue if produce manufacturers don't change their practices.

See for example this thread first. At the ca-fe-ter-i-a There's panic, hysteria "I'm dead at the finish 'cause I ate the spinach!" E. Coli bacteria! "The recalled brands are: Bellissima, Cheney Brothers, Coastline, Compliments, Cross Valley, D'Arrigo Brothers, Dole, Earthbound Farm, Emeril, Fresh Point, Green Harvest, Jansal Valley, Mann, Mills Family Farm, Natural Selection Foods, Nature's Basket, O Organic, Premium Fresh, President's Choice, Pride of San Juan, Pro*Act, Pro-Mark, Rave Spinach, Ready Pac, River Ranch, Riverside Farms, Snoboy, Superior, Sysco, Tanimura & Antle, The Farmer's Market and Trader Joe's."

U.S. expands warning to cover all fresh spinach Sep 16, 2006 — By Joel Rothstein WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumers should avoid all fresh spinach, regardless of whether it is pre-packaged, a chief U.S. food safety official warned on Saturday, saying the number of E. coli illnesses had passed 100. "We need to get a clear message to consumers," said Dr. David Acheson, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's director of food safety and security. "Some consumers may not be aware that spinach that may be available to them may have been pre-packaged," he said referring to loose spinach sold in...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spinach company faces unwelcome scrutiny By JORDAN ROBERTSON, Associated Press Writer SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, Calif. - Earthbound Farm, the country's largest grower of organic produce, is facing unwelcome scrutiny after federal officials linked a nationwide E. coli outbreak to its bagged spinach. The company, also known by its legal name Natural Selection Foods LLC, recalled and stopped shipping all its spinach products after E. coli outbreaks killed one person and sickened more than 100 others in 19 states. Earthbound officials were working with state and federal health inspectors to pinpoint the source of the contamination, spokeswoman Samantha Cabaluna said...