<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/us/21spinach.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin > http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/21/us/21spinach.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin "a preliminary test of facilities by a private laboratory had found that the contamination probably occurred in the fields." "But the news from New Mexico did little to address the source of the E. coli, which is found in mammals' intestines and can be spread via polluted irrigation water, raw animal droppings or unsanitary work conditions. " ....or crop dusters? Officials Narrow Investigation After Finding Bad Spinach By JESSE McKINLEY Published: September 21, 2006 SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, Calif., Sept. 20 - The investigation into an outbreak of E. coli that killed one person and sickened more than 140 others both broadened and shrank on Wednesday, as more victims were reported and scientists zeroed in on the contaminated spinach that caused the illness. In Washington, federal officials said that they had narrowed the focus of their investigation after health officials in New Mexico announced that they found the strain of E. coli responsible for the outbreak in an open bag of baby spinach in the refrigerator of a sickened woman. That batch, under the Dole brand, was hailed as a " <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics /smoking/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier> smoking gun" by California officials who have been frantically trying to identify the source of the infection, which has halted the state's spinach harvest and raised the specter of millions of dollars of agricultural losses. "We are working with industry in the State of California to come up with a way to get spinach back on the shelves that have not been implicated," said Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer for the Center for Food Safety and Applied <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics /diet/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier> Nutrition at the <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/f/food_an d_drug_administration/index.html?inline=nyt-org> Food and Drug Administration. By Wednesday, the bad batch had been traced to Natural Selection Foods, which recalled 34 brands soon after health officials announced the outbreak last Friday. In a news conference here at Earthbound Farm, one of Natural Selection's best known brands, company officials confirmed that it had packaged the Dole brand found in New Mexico. But they said a preliminary test of facilities by a private laboratory had found that the contamination probably occurred in the fields. Tests cleared the plant, a company spokeswoman, Samantha Cabaluna, said. But Ms. Cabaluna cautioned that tests from the F.D.A. and the California Department of Health Services were not complete. But the news from New Mexico did little to address the source of the E. coli, which is found in mammals' intestines and can be spread via polluted irrigation water, raw animal droppings or unsanitary work conditions. Ms. Cabaluna noted the challenge of pinpointing the source, saying, "there's a lot more space in the fields than in the processing plant." The authorities traced the spinach to one of three counties - Monterey, San Benito and Santa Clara, all south of San Francisco - and investigators continued to prowl plants and farms looking for evidence of the bacteria, which can cause diarrhea, kidney failure and even death. As of Wednesday, 146 people in 23 states had been sickened by E. coli from fresh spinach, with 76 requiring hospitalization, including 23 who have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious kidney problem. While federal and California officials seemed somewhat relieved by the day's developments, concerns continued to percolate in agricultural counties. In San Juan Bautista, about 90 miles south of San Francisco, where street signs are hand-painted and farms back into modern housing developments, residents said a serious farm disruption could shatter the economy. Few agricultural leaders were discussing economic damage, as spinach sat unpicked on thousands of acres, saying the health issues far outweighed their money woes. But Bob Perkins, the executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau, said, "We have to be able to assure the public that our product is safe in order to sell it." "If I can't do that," Mr. Perkins said, "then I've got a tremendous problem." Carolyn Marshall contributed reporting from San Francisco.
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