Hollister
– Local spinach growers have delayed planting and are anxiously
awaiting the state’s final report on the September E. coli
outbreak, expected to be released soon.
Hollister – Local spinach growers have delayed planting and are anxiously awaiting the state’s final report on the September E. coli outbreak, expected to be released soon.
Patti Roberts, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Health Services, told the Free Lance Thursday that the report officially naming the farm on which the outbreak occurred will be released “soon.” Roberts indicated that the report could be released as early as today.
State health officials confirmed the outbreak’s link to San Benito County in early March, but were not willing to name the farm. However, a lawyer in an E. coli related suit said the contamination occurred on land farmed by Mission Organics and leased from Paicines Ranch.
Richard Silva, of Top Flavor Farms and the Vice President of the San Benito County Farm Bureau, said growers are hoping the report will help determine safety guidelines.
Silva has been delayed in his spinach planting while trying to determine demand.
“I was supposed to have already started planting,” Silva said.
In addition to having questions about how much spinach to plant, growers could also face other problems.
San Benito County Agricultural Commissioner Paul Matulich said restrictions on leafy green growers have yet to be determined.
“I’ve been seeing guys hanging back, seeing what kind of restrictions are going to come up,” he said.
Matulich has heard proposals of wildlife fences and buffer zones anywhere from 50 to 800 feet bordering fields to protect leafy greens from possible E. coli sources. The precautions may prove too expensive for growers to implement effectively, Matulich said.
Silva said he is worried that the buffer zones will limit crop potential.
“I’m not going to be able to farm the maximum amount of acres available to me,” he said.
More than likely, farms will be evaluated for safety precautions on a case by case basis, Silva said.
Samantha Cabaluna, a spokeswoman for San Juan Bautista-based Natural Selection Foods, said the processing company has already implemented rigorous testing procedures. Cabaluna said the company evaluates each field individually. Spinach packaged at Natural Selection Foods was linked to the E.coli outbreak that sickened about 200 people nationwide and killed three last fall.
“We don’t think there’s one blanket answer to every field,” Cabaluna said.
Both Matulich and Silva said growers are working to come up with practices that keep not only consumers safe, but leafy greens affordable to produce.
“Growers want stuff to be clean as much or more than anybody,” Matulich said. “It’s their livelihood.”
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or mv*********@fr***********.com.
