Agriculture
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4 hours ago
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked growers to consider what adjacent land is being used for in order to mitigate the risks of foodborne illness, citing that foodborne illness outbreak investigations have consistently suggested that proximity to cattle has caused a recurring E. coli outbreak in leafy greens.
Tuesday’s request was part of a press release to announce that the FDA has published its investigation report into the Fall 2020 multi-state outbreak of Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli (STEC), which began from contaminated leafy greens grown in California. The outbreak was announced on Oct. 28, 2020, and caused 20 hospitalizations and 40 illnesses. Preliminary reports showed that the same strain of E. coli was found in cattle feces near one of the produce farms, suggesting that proximity to cattle was a contributing factor to the outbreak.