Fwd: CORNUCOPIA: Organic Spinach/Salad Mix Recall: (Earthbound/Dole/Trader Jo...

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" Mark A. Kastel - The Cornucopia Institute "

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" Food and Farming " <kastel

CORNUCOPIA: Organic Spinach/Salad Mix Recall:

(Earthbound/Dole/Trader Joe's) grave implications?

Sat, 16 Sep 2006 11:13:52 -0500

Organization: The Cornucopia Institute

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Hello all,

 

This could has grave implications (please see story below) for everyone

in the industry who has a stake in the " organic brand.” You

can be sure that those who have been working for years to discredit

organics (the Hudson Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the

Hoover Institution and other agribusiness-backed think tanks) will be all

over this like stink on…. Their contention will be that the mandate for

using manure as fertilizer is dangerous.

 

We will try to come up with some talking points but one that can

certainly be used uniquely by many cooperative is the stores promotion of

" local " organic food where buyers have a direct relationship

with the folks who grow and process the food they are selling. And

that it is produced in a handcrafted and humane scale which promotes

quality. This is true for some other retailers in the natural foods

industry and exquisite timing for Whole Foods who just announced an

initiative to increase their relationship with local farmers. This

might create some extra pressure in local and regional supply

channels.

 

When it comes to manure; consumers should understand that the majority of

all livestock manure in this country is spread on conventional farm

fields, without health/food safety regulation. The use of

raw manure is strictly controlled in organic production where

composting is the standard. There is no such regulatory oversight

in conventional agriculture. It should also be noted that there has

been no confirmation whatsoever that the source of contamination

stems from organic agricultural practices (it could very well come from

contaminated water used in the washing process, etc.). Large

industrial-scale operations increased the magnitude of such risks.

 

This crisis could have wide reverberations in the media and all members

of the industry should be prepared to be called upon by the press for

comment.

 

If you have ideas for other talking points please forward them to me

directly and we will try to compile them into one document to

distribute.

 

Best regards,

 

Mark

 

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

 

 

 

 

SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, Calif., Sept. 15 ­ As the number of cases

of a virulent strain of E.. coli linked to fresh prepackaged spinach grew

to at least 94 in 20 states on Friday, federal health authorities

identified an organic produce company here in California as a possible

source of some of the tainted spinach.

 

By late Friday, 14 of the sickened people had grown gravely

ill, the federal authorities said, and one had died, a 77-year-old woman

in Wisconsin. Health officials said they were unable to determine if the

outbreak was likely to spread further.

 

The company, Natural Selection Foods of San Juan Bautista,

announced a voluntary nationwide recall of its Earthbound brands of

prepackaged spinach and salad mixes as well as prepackaged spinach it

processes for numerous other companies, including Dole. Prepackaged

spinach has been processed, washed and sanitized and placed in airtight

bags or plastic trays.

 

In a statement, the company said it had stopped shipping

spinach products, had removed spinach from all of its salads and was

cooperating with state and federal authorities by allowing them access to

company facilities and products.

 

Speaking to reporters at the company’s operation here, a

spokeswoman said there was no conclusive evidence that its spinach was

contaminated.

 

“We’re obviously very, very upset,” said the spokeswoman,

Samantha Cabaluna. “This is a tragedy for us.”

 

Dr. David Acheson of the Center for Food Safety and Applied

Nutrition

at the

Food

and Drug Administration said at a news conference

that the F.D.A. did not have definitive evidence that Natural Selection

Foods was to blame for the outbreak of illness. But people who have been

sickened apparently ate its spinach, Dr. Acheson said.

 

“I want to emphasize that the investigation is ongoing,” he

said. “It is possible that the recall and information will extend beyond

Natural Selection Foods and involve other brands and other companies at a

later date.”

 

At the company’s headquarters here, set beside rows of

vegetables, Ms. Cabaluna told reporters late Friday that company

officials were distressed by the situation, and said that investigators

had not reached conclusions about a possible tie to the outbreak.

 

Ms. Cabaluna said the company thought the recall was “the

right thing to do.” She added, “We are doing this voluntarily because we

just want to be safe.”

 

As grocers nationwide removed bags of fresh spinach from

their shelves and restaurants took it off menus, health authorities said

they were working to determine how the spinach might have come to carry

the deadly bacteria. E. coli, which can live in cows’ intestines without

making the animals sick, is more commonly considered a risk for people

who eat undercooked hamburger.

 

Health and agriculture investigators say the bacteria may

have emerged at any number of points in the production process, from the

field to the supermarket, making it more difficult to pinpoint the

source.

 

In Wisconsin, which has reported the largest number of

cases, Gov. James E. Doyle issued a plea on Friday for residents to call

their doctors if they experience bloody diarrhea or other symptoms that

might indicate E. coli and to throw out spinach still in their

refrigerators.

 

“Simply washing it is not enough to protect you,” Mr. Doyle

said in a news conference in Milwaukee.

 

In addition to the woman who died, whom local health

authorities described as a resident of Manitowoc County, 29 people in

nine counties across Wisconsin have been sickened by E. coli, Mr. Doyle

said.

 

Federal authorities reported one fewer case in Wisconsin,

and state authorities here could not explain the discrepancy late

Friday.

 

Ten of the cases in Wisconsin were confirmed since Thursday

night, when the F.D.A. first announced the outbreak, and state health

officials said they were still investigating at least four more suspected

cases late Friday.

 

At least two federal lawsuits ­ one in Wisconsin and one in

Oregon ­ have already been filed in connection with the outbreak. Both

suits named the Dole Food Company as defendants. Officials at Dole did

not respond to a reporter’s telephone message.

 

12NEXT

PAGE »

Julia Preston reported from San Juan Bautista, Calif.,

and Monica Davey from Milwaukee. Gardiner Harris contributed reporting

from Washington, and Carolyn Marshall from San Francisco.

 

 

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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