Search Narrowed in E. coli Contamination Investigation

FDA has narrowed the source of the recent E. coli outbreak to four fields in two California counties.

The outbreak investigation traced back the contaminated spinach to four fields in San Benito and Monterey counties, according to an FDA statement Oct. 12. One field has tested positive for the strain of E. coli that sickened 199 people and killed three. Adjacent to the field is a field used for cattle, and three tests on cattle feces have been positive for the same strain of E. coli, although the samples were taken between a half mile and a mile from the spinach field.

“It certainly reinforces what we thought from the beginning, that it was environmental in nature,” said Samantha Cabaluna, spokesperson for Natural Selection Foods, San Juan Bautista, Calif.

Natural Selection has implemented more stringent procedures to prevent future outbreaks. The company has increased its field protocols to include testing of all feed lots, weekly water and irrigation tests, requiring certificates of analysis for all farming inputs and increasing sanitation requirements to include all equipment, even trailers that deliver produce to the processing facility.

Natural Selection also is conducting a test and hold program, which is often used in the beef industry. Each load is broken into lots, and each lot is tested for both E. coli and Salmonella, Cabaluna said. The testing is done in Modesto, Calif., so the testing protocols will add about one day to the production schedule.