E. Coli Found on Calif. Dairy Farm

Investigators have found the same strain of E. coli that recently sickened more than 80 patrons of Taco John's restaurants in the Midwest on a dairy farm near lettuce fields in California's Central Valley.

While investigators have not ruled out other sources, yesterday's finding suggests that shredded lettuce implicated in the outbreak was contaminated at a farm, just as investigators suspect happened with spinach in the largest of last fall's E. coli outbreaks. That outbreak was traced to a farm near a cattle pasture in the Salinas Valley, west of the Central Valley.

The finding "adds strength to the need to focus on the farm as a source of contamination," said David Acheson, the Food and Drug Administration's food-safety director.

Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said the finding "supports federal and state officials in implementing much stricter standards for farms."

"Whether it is transferred by manure, water or wild animals, the proximity of the dairy to the lettuce fields is an invitation to disaster," DeWaal said.

Pathogens like E. coli can end up on produce through dirty irrigation water, during packing or processing, from an infected worker, or from animals, domestic and wild.

Investigators in the Taco John's case found the outbreak strain, E. coli O157:H7, in two samples taken from a dairy farm, but not in the lettuce field, Acheson said. They are collecting samples from several other growing areas as well.

In the spinach investigation, the outbreak strain was found in the feces of cattle grazing near spinach fields and in wild pigs that passed through them. About 200 people became ill from eating E. coli-tainted spinach and at least three people died.

Since the spinach outbreak ended in October, produce industry leaders, lawmakers and regulators have considered proposals to toughen standards for growers. Industry representatives were scheduled to testify yesterday at a public hearing in California on their proposal to improve food safety on farms. Growers want to create an inspection and certification program, funded by the industry and implemented by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. They plan to make a similar proposal to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Taco John's outbreak is at least the 10th linked to California-grown leafy greens since 1995. Shredded lettuce is considered the likely vehicle for November's outbreak of E. coli linked to Taco Bell restaurants in the Northeast. Investigators are still tracing the source of that lettuce.