[Vision2020] Now Its Lettuce

[J Ford]

By RACHEL KONRAD, Associated Press Writer
33 minutes ago



SAN FRANCISCO - Less than a week after the Food and Drug Administration 
lifted its warning on fresh spinach grown in California's Salinas Valley, a 
popular brand of lettuce grown there was recalled Sunday over concerns about 
E. Coli.

The lettuce does not appear to have caused any illnesses, the president of 
Salinas-based Nunes Co. Inc. said.

The lettuce scare comes amid other federal warnings that some brands of 
spinach, bottled carrot juice and recent shipments of beef could cause grave 
health risks — including paralysis, respiratory failure and death.

Executives ordered the recall after learning that irrigation water may have 
been contaminated with E. coli, said Tom Nunes Jr., president of the 
company.

So far, company investigators have not found E. coli bacteria in the lettuce 
itself, Nunes stressed.

"We're just reacting to a water test only. We know there's generic E. coli 
on it, but we're not sure what that means," he said. "We're being extra 
careful. This is precautionary."

The recall covers green leaf lettuce purchased in grocery stores Oct. 3-6 in 
Arizona, California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. It was 
also sold to distributors in those states who may have sold it to 
restaurants or institutions.

The recalled lettuce was packaged as "Green Leaf 24 Count, waxed carton," 
and "Green Leaf 18 Count, cellophane sleeve, returnable carton." Packaging 
is stamped with lot code 6SL0024.

FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza said the agency is aware of the voluntary 
recall but had no details.

"As a standard course of action, we would expect the firm to identify the 
source of the contamination and take steps to ... ensure that it doesn't 
happen again," Zawisza wrote in an e-mail.

It's unlikely that the bacteria in the lettuce fields share the source of 
the E. coli found in spinach that has sickened nearly 200 people and has 
been linked to three deaths nationwide, Nunes said.

Pathogenic Escherichia coli bacteria, or E. coli, can proliferate in 
uncooked produce, raw milk, unpasteurized juice, contaminated water and 
meat. When consumed, it may cause diarrhea and bloody stools.

Although most healthy adults recover within a week without long-term side 
effects, some people may develop a form of kidney failure.

That illness is most likely to occur in young children, senior citizens and 
people with compromised immune systems. In extreme cases, it can lead to 
kidney damage or death.

The recall at Nunes Co., a family-owned business with more than 20,000 acres 
of cropland in Arizona and California, comes days after federal agents 
searched two Salinas Valley produce companies connected to the nationwide 
spinach scare.

Epidemiologists also warned consumers last week to stay away from some 
bottled carrot juice after a Florida woman was paralyzed and three people in 
Georgia experienced respiratory failure, apparently due to botulism 
poisoning.

Also on Friday, an Iowa company announced that it was recalling 5,200 pounds 
of ground beef suspected of having E. coli. The government said no illnesses 
have been reported from consumption of the beef.

The outbreaks have sparked demands to create a new federal agency in charge 
of food safety. Sens. Charles Schumer and        Hillary Rodham Clinton, 
both New York Democrats, are sponsoring legislation authored by Sen. Richard 
Durbin (news, bio, voting record), D-Ill., to create the unified Food Safety 
Agency.

"This recent outbreak must be a wake-up call to get our food safety house in 
order, because right now it's in pure disarray," Schumer said at his 
Manhattan office. "We need to have one agency take charge to ensure the next 
outbreak isn't far worse."

The outbreaks have also devastated the economy of Salinas Valley, the 
self-proclaimed "Salad Bowl to the World."

Farmers in the area, about 100 miles south of San Francisco, began plowing 
spinach crops under and laying off workers last month, as government 
inspectors examined fields and packing houses for the source of the deadly 
outbreak.

Nunes said he upgraded safety inspection protocols in wake of the spinach 
scare.

"There's a high level of urgency in our industry, and we're being very 
proactive," Nunes said. "It's obviously based upon recent events in the 
produce industry and concern for customers. We just don't want anything to 
happen."





J  :]

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