Spinach-E. coli Outbreak and Produce Safety
The recent spinach-E. coli outbreak is the 20th E. coli outbreak linked to lettuce and spinach in the last few years. Health officials have suspected contamination on the fields but have never been able to prove it. The enormity of the recent outbreak--nearly 200 people sickened and 3 killed--led to an exhaustive investigation. As we reported last week, investigators have genetically matched an E coli O157:H7 strain found in manure from a California cattle ranch near spinach fields with the strain isolated from sick patients and their leftover spinach.
The cattle ranch where the E. coli strain was found was part of a larger operation that leased out land to spinach farmers. The problem with growing spinach, lettuce or other leafy greens near cattle operations is that water used for irrigating the fields can become contaminated with cattle manure, some of which may contain E. coli O157:H7.
The food safety community is hoping this outbreak will be a defining event for produce growers:
Foodborne disease expert Craig Hedberg, PhD, told CIDRAP News that the spinach outbreak highlights a lack of attention to sanitation on farms and how that translates into disease risk. "This is going to make it impossible for the industry not to deal with these issues in the future," said Hedberg, an associate professor of environmental and occupational health at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
The spinach outbreak is the produce industry's "Jack in the Box" moment, Hedberg said, referring to a nationwide, hamburger-linked E coli O157:H7 outbreak that killed four and sickened hundreds in 1993. "The Jack in the Box episode changed perceptions of eating hamburger and led to changes in how we slaughter cattle and prepare meat," he said. "The spinach outbreak will usher in a series of changes in how we manage farms and the environment and handle fresh produce."
Hedberg said he's not surprised that the investigators were able to locate a possible source. "With the scope of the outbreak and the attention it got, much more effort was put into the investigation," he said, noting that federal and state authorities had a lot of data to work with, such as product case numbers and spinach samples. (CIDRAP News)
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Source: Lisa Schnirring, Manure implicated in E coli outbreak, CIDRAP News, Oct. 13, 2006.