Salinas
– Nunes Co. Inc. issued a voluntary recall on Sunday of 8,500
cartons of green leaf lettuce after E. coli bacteria was found in
water used to irrigate the lettuce at one Salinas Valley farm.
Salinas – Nunes Co. Inc. issued a voluntary recall on Sunday of 8,500 cartons of green leaf lettuce after E. coli bacteria was found in water used to irrigate the lettuce at one Salinas Valley farm.
The water is currently being tested to determine whether the E. coli is the same strain as that involved in the recent outbreak caused by tainted spinach. Many common strains of E. coli are harmless.
Company President Tom Nunes said he didn’t want to wait for test results before initiating the recall.
“We knew the bad staff could be in there,” he said. “We had a very good chance of stopping it before it hit the shelves.”
As of yesterday, all but 250 cartons of the lettuce had been located and destroyed. The lettuce was distributed under the Foxy brand between Oct. 3 and Oct. 6 and was sold as “Green Leaf 24 Count, waxed carton,” and “Green Leaf 18 Count, cellophane sleeve, returnable carton.” Nunes said he believes the lettuce is located in supermarkets or restaurants in Arizona, California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon and Montana.
“If we can get it all back, I’ll be a happy camper,” he said.
According to Nunes, his family-owned company grows 20,000 acres of vegetables in Arizona and California.
The E. coli was found in water from a backup reservoir that was used to supplement irrigation water drawn from a regularly tested well. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a press release yesterday commending Nunes Co. Inc. and emphasizing that there has been no known human illness linked to the recall.
San Benito County Agriculture Commissioner Paul Matulich agreed that the company made a tough decision.
“I commend them for doing it,” Matulich said. “They knew they would be lambasted with media coverage, but they still did it, because they were concerned for people’s safety.”
He added, “I’m not really concerned about it as a health issue. … You can find E. coli just about anywhere. It’s a question of how the farm handles it and what strain it is.”
Matulich also confirmed that “quite a bit” of green leaf lettuce is grown in San Benito County.
According to the FDA, the outbreak caused by tainted spinach has sickened nearly 200 people and killed three of them. A federal investigation has not yet determined where the E. coli originated. Federal agents recently searched the offices of San Juan Bautista-based Natural Selection Foods, the company that packaged the spinach, as well as those of Salinas-based Growers Express as part of an investigation into whether safety and environmental laws were broken.
Healthy adults generally recover from an E. coli infection within a few days, but there is risk of long-term kidney problems. Children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are the most at-risk for serious health problems or death.
In other news, bottles of 100 percent carrot juice, produced by Wm. Bolthouse Farms, has been recalled because of four cases of botulism that developed after people drank the juice. The FDA has issued a warning about the company’s carrot juice and said that improper refrigeration can lead to botulism.
The recalled juice was sold in one-liter and 450-milliter sizes and labeled “Bolthouse Farms 100% Carrot Juice,” “Earthbound Farm Organic Carrot Juice” or “President’s Choice Organics 100% Pure Carrot Juice.” The bottles have “use by” dates up to and including Nov. 11.
Associated Press Writer Juliana Barbassa contributed to this report.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566, ext. 330 or
ah*@fr***********.com
.
