Fwd: CORNUCOPIA: Optimistic news concerning organic spinach this morning...

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<kastel

" Mark A. Kastel - The Cornucopia Institute "

<kastel

" The Organic Integrity Project "

<organic

CORNUCOPIA: Optimistic news concerning organic spinach this

morning...

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 07:58:21 -0500

Organization: The Cornucopia Institute

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Company: organic spinach not to blame

By JUSTIN M. NORTON, Associated

Press WriterMon Sep 18,

3:32 AM ET

 

The company whose fresh spinach was linked to

an E. coli outbreak that's sickened at least 109 people said its organic

products had been cleared of contamination, while health officials

continued working to pinpoint the bacteria source.

 

Natural Selection Foods LLC, the country's

largest grower of organic produce, said late Sunday that manufacturing

codes from packages of spinach that infected patients turned over to

health officials all were from non-organic spinach. Natural Selection

packages both organic and conventionally grown spinach in separate areas

at its San Juan Bautista plant.

 

The company, however, did not immediately lift

any recalls of 34 brands. Those brands include the company's own labels

and those of other companies that had contracts with Natural Selection to

produce or package its spinach.

 

Meanwhile, Salinas-based River Ranch Fresh

Foods added to its recall spring mixes containing spinach sold under the

labels Hy-Vee, Fresh N' Easy and Farmers Market, FDA officials said. All

contain spinach purchased from Natural Selection, they said.

 

The Food and Drug Administration and California

Department of Health Services planned Monday to work toward tracing the

infected greens to individual farms. The inquiry will review irrigation

methods, harvest conditions and other practices at farms possibly

involved.

 

The spinach could have been contaminated in the

field or during processing. About 74 percent of the fresh-market spinach

grown in the U.S. comes from California, according to the California Farm

Bureau Federation.

 

There is no indication that the outbreak was

deliberate, said Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer with the FDA's

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

 

The FDA continued to warn consumers not to eat

fresh spinach or products containing fresh spinach until further

notice.

 

" This is unquestionably a significant

outbreak in terms of E. coli, " Acheson said.

 

E. coli cases linked to tainted spinach have

been reported in 19 states, with Wisconsin reporting the most cases,

including the death of a 77-year-old woman.

 

Other states reporting cases were California,

Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New

Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia,

Washington and Wyoming, according to the CDC.

 

Seven new cases reported Sunday were in states

with previous illnesses, Acheson said.

 

In Ohio, state health officials said they were

investigating the death of a 23-month-old girl who was sickened by E.

coli to determine whether the case was related to the outbreak. The

girl's mother said she often buys bagged spinach.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

said Sunday they've started an Atlanta-based emergency operations center

to help state health agencies with E. coli testing. Epidemiologists are

helping test spinach samples and stool samples of infected people, center

spokeswoman Lola Russell said.

 

The center is helping when state health

agencies can't perform the tests or when a second opinion is needed,

Russell said.

 

Natural Selection recalled its packaged spinach

throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico as a precaution after

federal health officials said some of those hospitalized reported eating

brands of prepackaged spinach distributed by the company.

 

However, some restaurants and retailers may be

taking spinach out of bags before selling it, so consumers shouldn't buy

it at all, the FDA said.

 

Boiling contaminated spinach can kill the

bacteria, but washing won't eliminate it, the CDC warned.

 

Federal officials stressed that the bacteria

had not been isolated in products sold by Natural Selection. As the

investigation continues, other brands may be implicated, officials said.

 

 

Natural Selection was founded in 1984 by Drew

and Myra Goodman. Within two years, its best-known brand, Earthbound

Farm, began shipping pre-washed, packaged salad fixings, and the

company's " spring mix " became a mainstay of restaurants and

supermarkets.

 

___

 

On the Net:

 

Center for Disease Control:

http://www.cdc.gov

 

 

Natural Selection Farms: http://www.ebfarm.com

 

 

Mark A. Kastel

The Cornucopia Institute

kastel

608-625-2042 Voice

866-861-2214 Fax

 

 

 

 

P.O. Box 126

Cornucopia, Wisconsin 54827

www.cornucopia.org

 

 

 

 

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