Spinach outbreak culprit

This is an eye opening article about runoff water in the agricultural area that is being looked at -

E. Coli Pervades Harvest Area
Salinas Valley waterways are known to carry the bacteria that poisoned at least 145 people and killed one who ate tainted spinach.
By Marla Cone, Times Staff Writer
September 21, 2006

LINK

What became of all the frozen spinach?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,214865,00.html

The store in my town is having a sale on spinach. I didn't see any bags of it, however, when I was in the store this afternoon.

Is this a good sign, or a bad sign?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,215802,00.html

All this e.coli contamination has now had a rpounced effect on the banana market.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,216758,00.html

the e-coli outbreak claimed its latest (and perhaps greatest) victim today

Poor guy! He had so much to offer.

This makes sense to me, especially after reading an article I linked earlier on this thread -



news on the spinach front

and now we have botulism through contaminated carrot juice !
things are going from bad to worse .
hbg

"TORONTO (Reuters) - Two people are paralyzed after drinking botulism-contaminated carrot juice, some of which was still found on store shelves 10 days after a Canada-wide recall, Toronto health officials said on Tuesday.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned consumers on September 30 not to drink Bolthouse Farms 100% Carrot Juice, Earthbound Farm Organic Carrot Juice and President's Choice Organics 100% Pure Carrot Juice, all of U.S. origin, "due to botulism concerns."

Canadian distributors had immediately recalled the contaminated products. But as of Monday night, Toronto officials found the juice in 11 of 788 stores checked during a four-day blitz, said Rishma Govani, spokeswoman for Toronto Public Health."

...LINK : SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN...

Does Pasteurization of the carrot juice kill the bacterial spores?

from the CDC article linked below :
"The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in a Sep 17 news release, said the carrot juice was pasteurized and that the cases "may have been due to the product not being properly refrigerated." Botulism spores can survive pasteurization, according to the CDC.

...BOTULISM MAY SURVIVE PASTEURIZATION...

That seems very likely... thanks

So much for organic...

Probably the wind carrying the bacteria to the spinach...

Some bacteria can withstand exceedingly high temperatures... bacteria that can eat rock.

Rexred - or the wild pigs, or, as per the earlier article, through drainage runoff.

For those who missed them, a repeat of the two links, the latest one first, re pathogenic e.coli coming from nearby cattle raising land..

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061012/ap_on_he_me/tainted_spinach

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-water21sep21,0,2311007.story?coll=la-headlines-california

Looks like it came from cow manure.

...smells like it too - if you get my drift :wink:
hbg

The question, I think, is how the cow manure travelled.