The Bakersfield Californian reported on Friday that a 16-month federal and state investigation found that lettuce raised on Wegis Ranch in Buttonwillow Calif., and served at Taco John’s restaurants was the source of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that sickened 81 people in Iowa and Minnesota in late 2006.
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The report does not definitively state how the lettuce was contaminated but said water contaminated by manure from two nearby dairies could be a possible source.
Wegis Ranch uses manure water to irrigate some fields where animal feed is grown, according to the report. It said lettuce linked to the E. coli outbreak was grown directly across from two of those fields.
In addition, the ranch’s irrigation system may have allowed manure water to taint freshwater used to irrigate fields where lettuce was grown, the report concluded.
E.coli samples from the ranch and dairies genetically matched the strain found in the tainted lettuce. The dairies were Maya and West Star North.
The next day, Bloomberg News reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had published guidelines that suggested employees of fresh-cut fruit and vegetable processors wash their hands to help stop the spread of contamination.
Yes., handwashing is important. So is not growing fresh product in cow shit.