San Juan Bautista
– The process of uncovering the source of the recent E. Coli
outbreak linked to local company Natural Selection Foods LLC is
slow going, but the organic giant does not expect to drastically
reduce its workforce any time soon.
San Juan Bautista – The process of uncovering the source of the recent E. Coli outbreak linked to local company Natural Selection Foods LLC is slow going, but the organic giant does not expect to drastically reduce its workforce any time soon.
“At this point, I don’t think so,” Senior Marketing Consultant Samantha Cabaluna said when asked if layoffs would occur in the near future.
The FDA issued an advisory against eating fresh or packaged spinach last week, after a hundred cases of E. coli were reported across 19 states. The disease was linked to San Juan-based Natural Selection Foods LLC. Natural Selection works with more than 30 brands throughout the country, including easily recognizable names like Earthbound Farm (a subsidiary of Natural Selection), Sysco, Dole, Trader Joe’s and Ready-Pac.
It has not yet been determined if local spinach is the cause of the outbreak, or if spinach going through Natural Selection’s packing process was already contaminated, but the company has instated a voluntary recall. Consumers should throw out spinach if the “Best If Used By” dates are between Aug. 17 and Oct. 1.
Spinach has been one of the county’s top 10 crops for the past two years, with production shooting up from 6,315 tons in 2004 to 13,330 tons in 2005, valued at more than $14.78 million altogether. While the ban will no doubt affect Earthbound Farm’s bottom line when all is said and done, Cabaluna said the company has not yet put together estimates of what the financial damage to the company could look like.
“We haven’t even thought about that. It’s not important,” she said. “People are sick, and we want to do what we can to fix that and protect the public health.”
Investigators were studying conditions at the plant late last week, Cabaluna said, and have spent much of this week out in the fields running tests.
In Salinas, some spinach growers have begun plowing their crops under, and workers have left spinach fields to find work harvesting broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and lettuce, which are also in season. While Earthbound Farm has yet to destroy its spinach crop, Caluna said it was a very real possibility.
“At some point, it’s going to happen. That’s part of the price of protecting the public health and it’s the right thing to do,” she said.
The outbreak has garnered the usually quiet San Juan Valley a good deal of national attention – Cabaluna estimated she had dealt with around 120 media agencies since news of the ban broke, and news vans have been camped out in front of the main plant in San Juan. While she said Earthbound Farm has not begun strategizing how best to win back public faith in its product when the ban is lifted, she was hopeful that the company’s conduct would win back consumers in the future.
“This is terrible, because spinach is supposed to be a healthy food, and it’s making people sick,” she said. “But hopefully people will see that we’re out there doing the right thing and make their choices based on that.”
In the meantime, Earthbound Farm is trying to go about business as usual as best it can, taking measures such as removing spinach from its spring mix so that the product can continue to ship.
“People are getting their jobs done,” Cabaluna said. “We have a dedicated workforce and they’ll do whatever it takes. Everybody’s working hard to keep things going.”
Associated Press Writer Lisa Leff contributed to this report.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected].
