The CDC reports: Shigellosis is a nationally notifiable diarrheal illness caused by gram-negative bacteria. Shigella infection is spread through fecal-oral transmission and sexual contact. Although most infections are self-limited, antibiotics are indicated for severe illness or to reduce transmission in settings with high risk for spread. Since 2015, a growing proportion of cases has been caused by […]
From KCBS Television: “The industry is in high gear to do this, and we know that the future of the spinach and vegetable industry generally depends on regaining consumer confidence,” said Bob Perkins, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau. The produce inspection system also needs a kill switch, said Andrew Starbird, a food […]
Update from CBC News: Toxic carrot juice paralyzes 2 in Toronto. My guess is that soon Mexico and Canada will ban the sale of everything from the United States. From the article: Two Toronto residents are paralyzed after drinking carrot juice that tested positive for a botulism toxin, according to the city’s public health department. […]
According to Canadian News reports over the last 24 hours: “While officials believe the bacteria likely came from fresh produce – most likely lettuce – the food inspection agency said there’s little hope it will be able to determine the source of the outbreak…. Two separate E. coli outbreaks in Ontario, with a total of […]
From the New York Times October 7, 2006 by Libby Sander: “There were probably people like this around the country getting sick, but their sicknesses antedated the realization that we had a problem,” Dr. Safranek said. “In late August this really hadn’t come to light as a nationwide outbreak.” Public health officials believe that for […]
The tragedy of Ruby Trautz’s death is only compounded by the death of June Edith Dunning of 1303 The Terrace, Hagerstown, MD. She died on 13 September 2006 from complications associated with E. coli 0157:H7. June’s death has yet to be counted, but will and the death toll will them be four. This is from […]
Coming a day after the FBI raided the Natural Selection plant, Ruby’s death should be a stark reminder of why Corporate America needs to spend a bit more time looking at doing the right thing for its customers and less looking a the bottom line. Dole, the name on the bag that Ruby consumed before […]
As the San Francisco Associated Press reported today, federal investigators trying to build a criminal case against two produce companies in the contaminated spinach outbreak are following a script first used a decade ago to prosecute a company whose E. coli-tainted apple juice killed a baby and sickened dozens of other people. From the article: […]
California State Senate Committee on Governmental Organization I have been invited to participate in an informational hearing organized by the California State Senate Governmental organization Committee to address the emergency response needs of the food production and distribution chain in California. The hearing, "Unraveling the E. coli Outbreak: Are State Emergency Response Systems Prepared for […]
As federal agents launched a criminal investigation into two produce companies involved in the contaminated spinach outbreak, Idaho health officials confirmed the death of a 2-year-old boy Sept. 20 was caused by tainted spinach, the Associated Press reported today. Kyle Allgood was the second confirmed death in the E. coli outbreak, which also killed a […]
Stacy Finz and Marisa Lagos of the San Francisco Chronicle are following the quest to locate the source of an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 191 people and killed one woman escalated Wednesday into a criminal investigation as federal agents raided the offices of two northern California produce processors for evidence that someone may […]
As Ken McLaughlin and Brandon Bailey of the San Jose Mercury News have reported, agents for the FBI and FDA on Wednesday executed two search warrants on two Salinas area companies, saying they were looking for evidence of a crime. From the article: The two companies were Growers Express of Salinas, Calif., and Natural Selection […]
The US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California announced that agents of the FBI and FDA Office of Criminal Investigations executed two search warrants today on Growers Express in Salinas, CA, and Natural Selection Foods in San Juan Batista, CA, in connection with the September 2006 outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 that the FDA has […]
As San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writers Stacy Finz and Marisa Lagos report, the investigation into the source of a deadly E. coli outbreak that has sickened nearly 200 people moved into the criminal realm for the first time today, as federal search warrants were executed at two Salinas Valley produce companies. Investigators for the FBI […]
The story Lawmaker can’t find spinach in stores is from the same politician who believes "Wild Pigs" caused this outbreak. If Congressman Farr really wanted to find spinach, he could have just left his office and driven to the Salinas and San Juan Valleys (see map below), but likely there were no cameras there to […]
Reuters published an article this morning titled E. coli found in cattle feces in spinach probe. This headline should not surprise anyone who has actually visited the Salinas Valley. I spent all day today driving around Salinas and other Valley’s and Counties implicated in this outbreak. Anyone with a shred of common sense would have […]