This is simply unacceptable. This botulism outbreak, frankly any outbreak that sickens babies, should never have happened. We can do more to protect the most vulnerable. The stork in “operation stork speed” clearly flew into a brick wall and crash landed. This child’s parents bought ByHeart Infant Formula at a Walmart. ByHeart utilized powdered organic […]
More thoughts on yesterday’s hearing: I have concerns despite the 4 deaths and over 200 illnesses that some politicians may simply fiddle while more spinach and lettuce is grown and more customers are sickened and more businesses go bankrupt (watch for that next). Yesterday’s hearing was more telling by who did not attend – most […]
Kudos to Senator Dean Florez – If we ever needed a smart politician, here he is. As reported today by ABC TV: A Central Valley lawmaker says state and federal food and health agencies had ample warning but didn’t do enough to prevent E. coli outbreaks like the ones that have sickened nearly 200 consumers, […]
This company should not be pointing fingers at anyone but itself. After all, who is more to blame? The person who sold the juice or the person who drank the juice? I know where I stand. Tim Warner, spokesman for Bolthouse Farms, the company whose carrot juice has been traced as the source of botulism […]
The Associated Press reported today that the Mexican government banned imports of U.S. lettuce on Monday after a California company recalled some of its lettuce when irrigation water tested positive for the E. coli bacteria. In a press statement, the Health Department also said the government had ordered stores to remove U.S. lettuce from their […]
Tomorrow I’ll be in Sacramento for a hearing on this latest spinach E. coli outbreak. The hearing is being held by the California Senate Committee on Governmental Organization and is titled, "Unraveling the E. coli Outbreak: Are State Emergency Response Systems Prepared for Outbreaks of Foodborne Illnesses?" The hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. […]
From KCBS Television: “The industry is in high gear to do this, and we know that the future of the spinach and vegetable industry generally depends on regaining consumer confidence,” said Bob Perkins, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau. The produce inspection system also needs a kill switch, said Andrew Starbird, a food […]
Update from CBC News: Toxic carrot juice paralyzes 2 in Toronto. My guess is that soon Mexico and Canada will ban the sale of everything from the United States. From the article: Two Toronto residents are paralyzed after drinking carrot juice that tested positive for a botulism toxin, according to the city’s public health department. […]
According to Canadian News reports over the last 24 hours: “While officials believe the bacteria likely came from fresh produce – most likely lettuce – the food inspection agency said there’s little hope it will be able to determine the source of the outbreak…. Two separate E. coli outbreaks in Ontario, with a total of […]
From the New York Times October 7, 2006 by Libby Sander: “There were probably people like this around the country getting sick, but their sicknesses antedated the realization that we had a problem,” Dr. Safranek said. “In late August this really hadn’t come to light as a nationwide outbreak.” Public health officials believe that for […]
The tragedy of Ruby Trautz’s death is only compounded by the death of June Edith Dunning of 1303 The Terrace, Hagerstown, MD. She died on 13 September 2006 from complications associated with E. coli 0157:H7. June’s death has yet to be counted, but will and the death toll will them be four. This is from […]
Coming a day after the FBI raided the Natural Selection plant, Ruby’s death should be a stark reminder of why Corporate America needs to spend a bit more time looking at doing the right thing for its customers and less looking a the bottom line. Dole, the name on the bag that Ruby consumed before […]
As the San Francisco Associated Press reported today, federal investigators trying to build a criminal case against two produce companies in the contaminated spinach outbreak are following a script first used a decade ago to prosecute a company whose E. coli-tainted apple juice killed a baby and sickened dozens of other people. From the article: […]
California State Senate Committee on Governmental Organization I have been invited to participate in an informational hearing organized by the California State Senate Governmental organization Committee to address the emergency response needs of the food production and distribution chain in California. The hearing, "Unraveling the E. coli Outbreak: Are State Emergency Response Systems Prepared for […]
As federal agents launched a criminal investigation into two produce companies involved in the contaminated spinach outbreak, Idaho health officials confirmed the death of a 2-year-old boy Sept. 20 was caused by tainted spinach, the Associated Press reported today. Kyle Allgood was the second confirmed death in the E. coli outbreak, which also killed a […]
Stacy Finz and Marisa Lagos of the San Francisco Chronicle are following the quest to locate the source of an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 191 people and killed one woman escalated Wednesday into a criminal investigation as federal agents raided the offices of two northern California produce processors for evidence that someone may […]