California farm linked to romaine lettuce E.coli outbreak

flowerbug

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it happened again this year and at least they had the package codes in place that they could narrow it down better this year more quickly, but alas, they still have not figured out the exact causes yet (but it is being worked on).

considering how much money and grief this kind of problem causes i'd say it was many years later than it should have been, but late is better than never...
 

Britesea

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probably feral pigs roaming in the fields. When will people learn to wash their produce? It was probably a bad idea that grocery stores started presenting their produce all rinsed and pretty looking, because people assume it's been washed.
 

wyoDreamer

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The last I saw they had narrowed it down to the AREA the lettuce came from - Salinas, California - but not the exact farm.
Over 100 people reportedly sickened - over 50 admitted to the hospital.
 

Britesea

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read the article again and it said it was caused by sediment from a nearby reservoir... ok, not pigs in the fields, but definitely animals defecating in or near the water.
 

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the most recent information says it can be about anything, but may be related to the conditions during this particular part of the season when they are doing things in nearby fields, but also the kind of plant that they are along with air temperature and moisture levels. so they've not figured it out exactly yet, but for the money involved they've got a lot of incentives to do so. think about how much $ it costs them to have shipped that produce all over the place and then have to pull it and dispose of it (some piggies and cows are probably pretty happy with it).

we eat a lot of romaine lettuces, always have, they've not made us sick, but i do appreciate that they are trying to improve this at last. it has been many years coming and i think long overdue...
 

Britesea

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Well, unless you're willing to give up salads and raw produce entirely, there is apparently only two ways to kill e coli on produce: irradiation and cooking.

So here's a recipe for a braised romaine dish. They didn't mention it, but I can see a sprinkle of bacon pieces on top.
 

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