--- title: Mystery grips Salinas date: 2006-09-22T16:39:38-07:00 author: Bill Marler canonical_url: "https://marlerclark.com/news_events/mystery-grips-salinas" section: News --- [All News](/news_events) / [Outbreaks](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/outbreaks) / # Mystery grips Salinas ![](http://www.ecoliblog.com/Mystery%20Grips%20Salinas.jpg) The San Jose Mercury News reports that investigations into the latest in a 10-yr string of [E. coli](http://www.about-ecoli.com/) outbreaks is forcing food producers to re-examine their entire process, tracing a path from the seed in the ground to the salad on the table. This time the tainted produce is spinach, with one death and 146 people sickened in 23 states after eating contaminated spinach traced back to the Salinas Valley. This valley has been implicated in eight of 19 previous outbreaks of potentially deadly E. coli O157:H7 since 1995, most involving lettuce. This past week, investigators fanned out across the Salinas fields, suspecting the most likely source of contamination initially is on the farm somewhere. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has credited the boom in spinach and lettuce sales to the advent in the early 1990s of pre-washed greens in sealed bags. California farmers sold $258 million of spinach last year alone, a huge jump from the $56 million sold in 1995. Growers say they’re constantly fine-tuning the way they prepare the soil, irrigate, fertilize and harvest. The industry also follows its own guidelines. Despite such voluntary guidelines, contamination of a crop from a neighboring cow pasture seems a reasonable possibility when one takes a drive along Metz Road between Soledad and King City. Along this winding two-lane road, cattle graze just uphill from farms, and ditches take potentially manure-tainted rainwater through culverts directly into fields full of lettuce. Scientists are also looking at the next stage: harvesting. They are looking into whether or not workers are failing to follow proper hygiene practices, or if occasional government inspections actually guarantee that iceberg lettuce isn’t tainted by a dirty knife the moment it’s removed from the ground. ### Other E. coli Lawsuits [Raw Farms linked to another Raw Milk Cheese E.coli Outbreak - 9 People sickened - Company refuses to recall product](https://marlerclark.com/raw-farms-linked-to-another-raw-milk-cheese-e-coli-outbreak-7-people-sickened) [10 with E. coli linked to Cheese](https://marlerclark.com/3-with-e-coli-linked-to-cheese) [Sycamore Pool in Chico California Contaminated with E.coli - Two teens in ICU](https://marlerclark.com/sycamore-pool-in-chico-california-contaminated-with-e-coli-two-teens-in-icu) [Deadly Nationwide E.coli Outbreak Linked to Grimmway Farms Organic Baby and Whole Carrots sickens 48](https://marlerclark.com/nationwide-e-coli-outbreak-linked-to-grimmway-farms-organic-baby-and-whole-carrots) [E. coli Outbreak tied 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The team at Marler Clark is here to answer all your questions. Find out if you’re eligible for a lawsuit, what questions to ask your doctor, and more. [ Get a free consultation ](https://marlerclark.com/contact) ##### Related Resources ###### [E. coli Food Poisoning](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/e-coli/e-coli-food-poisoning) What is E. coli and how does it cause food poisoning? Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a highly studied, common species of bacteria that belongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae, so... ###### [E. coli O157:H7](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/e-coli/e-coli-o157h7) E. coli O157:H7 is a foodborne pathogen that causes food poisoning. E. coli O157:H7 is the most commonly identified and the most notorious Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) serotype in... ###### [Non-O157 STEC](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/e-coli/non-o157-stec) Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli can also cause food poisoning. 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