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E. Coli Probe Focuses on 9 Calif. Farms
Luke Girling, produce manager of a market in Oceanside, Calif., examines the store's spinach supply. The E. coli outbreak has sickened 131 people.
(By Michael J. Kacmarcik -- Associated Press)
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"I think if we knew how these organisms got onto the produce, we would be out there with an intervention," said Cornell University food science expert Robert Gravani.
The spinach outbreak comes only weeks after the FDA began sending agency officials to farms to assess farming, harvesting and processing of leafy greens.
"Clearly we're not where we need to be or else this outbreak would not have happened," Acheson said.
During what would otherwise be the tail end of the growing season, many of the spinach fields in Salinas Valley were deserted yesterday.
"Right now, the spinach business is closed. It's stopped," said Joe Pezzini, chairman of the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California.
Because the FDA has told consumers not to eat any fresh spinach until the warning is lifted, everyone's business is at a standstill.
Typically, spinach is in the ground in Monterey County until October, Pezzini said. After that, fields in the deserts of southern Arizona and California's Imperial Valley take over.
Spinach plants take 35 days to grow from seed to harvest. Once the plants are mature, they will rot if left more than a few days.
"The decision we have to face is, 'Do we keep planting or not?' " Pezzini said. "We're hoping the FDA comes out with findings expeditiously and that they're conclusive in some way. Until then, it's wait and see."
