Sludge Watch ==> Calif. Veggie Producers Celebrate Killed Food Safety Bill

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

I don't imagine there is much to celebrate in the households of people who 
became ill from the spinach and lettuce outbreaks.  People are not always 
aware of being ill when they have an Ecoli O157 infection.  In the Walkerton 
Outbreak (Ecoli O147H7 and campylobacter jejeuni) follow up for renal 
function in the community found that many people were suffering renal 
failure and didn't even know that they had been infected.  There is an 
'iceberg' effect where many people may be losing renal function and be 
unaware of it.  Normally people do not become aware of renal failure until 
they have lost about 95% of kidney functioning.

For a discussion of Walkerton followup report:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/538684


There is still a staggering lack of understanding about the risks of food 
contamination from the use of sewage sludge, sewage effluent (Title 22 water 
in Calif), and untreated animal manures.  The regulators - the people we 
rely on- are simply not on top of these issues.

(Want illustrations...contact Admin)

..................................................................

Sun, Jul. 01, 2007

Vegetable producers celebrate killed bill
Legislation to prevent more E. coli outbreaks is opposed by industry that 
assures it will police itself
By Bob Cuddy
bcuddy at thetribunenews.com

Growers of lettuce and other leafy green vegetables in the county are 
celebrating the defeat of a state bill that would have imposed severe 
restrictions on the multimillion-dollar industry in the wake of last year’s 
E. coli outbreak.

A package of bills that would have regulated the leafy greens industry died 
in the Senate Agricultural Committee on Wednesday after growers statewide 
insisted that they could regulate themselves.

“It is in the industry’s best interest to have a food supply we can trust,” 
the San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau said in a statement.

The bureau said almost all growers of leafy greens have committed to a 
program to inspect farms and implement other safety controls.

There are strong financial reasons for the industry to avoid another 
outbreak, according to Richard Quandt of the Grower-Shipper Vegetable 
Association in Guadalupe. Spinach sales plummeted af-

ter the E. coli outbreak, he said, and “there’s tremendous liability if 
someone gets sick” because of lax agricultural procedures.

Leafy greens are a major industry in this agricultural county. Production 
includes head lettuce at 6,171 acres; leaf lettuce at 2,079 acres; cabbage 
at 1,278 acres; and spinach at 381 acres.

Leafy greens are “big in this county,” said Quandt, because of the marine 
climate. He said there is “tremendously fertile soil” in the coastal valley.

Since the outbreak last year, there has been strong pressure to protect the 
public against a repeat. The E. coli outbreak killed three people and 
sickened more than 200 people nationwide.

Contamination was traced to a 50-acre field in San Benito County. Another 
outbreak was linked to a lettuce-growing region in the Central Valley.

The industry-led inspection program debuted in April but is still being 
finalized. It is voluntary, but 111 California produce handlers had signed 
up as of last week, representing nearly 100 percent of the leafy greens 
grown in the state, according to the state Department of Food and 
Agriculture.

The defeated bill would have implemented a state-run inspection program and 
given the state authority to recall tainted produce.

Growers, shippers and processors would have faced a lengthy list of rules: 
uncomposted manure could not be used as fertilizer; portable toilets could 
not be put in fields; and irrigation water and soil would be tested.

In addition, companies would have had to create tracking systems that could 
quickly trace contaminated produce from farm to processor, distributor and 
retailer.

State Sen. Dean Florez, DShafter, the bill’s sponsor, said self-regulation 
wouldn’t work.

“There’s no doubt that the time for industry-only solutions are over,”he 
said. “Quite frankly, the voluntary approach has not worked—will not work.”

But the Assembly bowed to industry’s argument that they should be allowed to 
handle things themselves.

“The industry has come together,” said state Sen. Abel Maldonado, who fought 
the bill in the Senate. Legislators finally agreed to “give the industry a 
chance before the government steps in.”

Maldonado said he considers the bills dead, but he noted that they could 
reappear.

“If there’s another outbreak, I guarantee (it will return).”

The Fresno Bee contributed to this report.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/81683.html



''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''


TOP 20 COUNTY AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS

• Wine Grapes all: $151,990,000

• Broccoli: $64,044,000

• Cattle and Calves: $59,869,000

• Strawberries: $40,051,000

• Vegetable Transplants: $32,880,000

• Cut Flowers: $29,607,000

• Head lettuce: $29,253,000

• Indoor Decoratives: $28,063,000

• Avocados hass: $23,445,000

• Celery: $14,802,000

SOURCE: County Dept. of Agriculture

• Oriental Vegetables: $13,205,000

• Leaf Lettuce: $12,605,000

• Cauliflower: $11,819,000

• Rangeland grazed: $10,250,000

• Outdoor Ornamentals: $8,602,000

• Cabbage: $7,824,000

• Bell peppers: $7,437,000

• Lemons: $5,779,000

• Bedding Plants: $5,641,000 • Alfalfa Hay: $3,129,000



..............................



NOTE: To view the article with Web enhancements, go to:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/538684


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Acute bacterial gastroenteritis linked to increased long-term risk of 
hypertension and reduced kidney function


Pam G Harrison, Mhs
Medscape Medical News 2005. © 2005 Medscape




June 1, 2005
London, ON - Residents of Walkerton, ON, who developed acute bacterial 
gastroenteritis from drinking contaminated water five years ago are more 
likely to have newly diagnosed hypertension and reduced renal function now 
than those who were not affected at the time of the outbreak [1].

"We observed a relative increase of 33%, or an absolute increase of 9%, in 
the rate of newly diagnosed hypertension among participants who had 
experienced severe gastroenteritis during the outbreak," Walkerton Health 
Study investigators report. Increased rates of hypertension after bacterial 
gastroenteritis were also accompanied by evidence of reduced kidney 
function.

This is the first time that acute bacterial gastroenteritis from toxogenic 
Escherichia coli has been associated with an increased risk of long-term 
hypertension and renal impairment. "I think we need to see these findings 
replicated first," lead author Dr Amit X Garg (University of Western 
Ontario, London) told renalwire. "But clearly, they do suggest that there 
may be a role here for following people who develop these kinds of 
infections and to screen them for reduced kidney function."

The study was published May 27, 2005 online in the Canadian Medical 
Association Journal.



Previously healthy adults
In May 2000, more than 2300 individuals developed acute gastroenteritis due 
to contamination of the regional drinking water supply in Walkerton with E 
coli 0157:H7 and Campylobacter species. Among these, there were 27 episodes 
of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and six deaths. A review of the 
literature undertaken by these investigators suggested that approximately 
25% of patients who experience HUS go on to develop hypertension, reduced 
kidney function, and proteinuria.

"That's the extreme example," Garg noted, "but that was the rationale for 
wanting to look at people who developed [only] acute gastroenteritis [during 
the outbreak] . . . to see if it, too, might be associated with hypertension 
and reduced kidney function."

The Walkerton Health Study investigators followed the long-term risk of 
developing hypertension and reduced kidney function among 1958 previously 
healthy adults following the outbreak. "Of the participants, 675 had been 
asymptomatic during the outbreak, 909 had had moderate symptoms of acute 
self-limited gastroenteritis, and 374 had had severe symptoms that 
necessitated medical attention," the authors write. Each participant visited 
a clinic two, three, and four years after the initial outbreak, where they 
underwent a physical examination, completed a standardized questionnaire, 
and provided blood and urine specimens. The primary end point of the study 
was newly diagnosed hypertension (140/90 mm Hg), while secondary outcomes 
included the presence of reduced kidney function, microalbuminuria, or 
macroalbuminuria.

At a mean follow-up of 3.7 years, 27% of participants who remained 
asymptomatic during the outbreak had been diagnosed with hypertension. Among 
those who developed moderate gastroenteritis during the outbreak, 32.3% 
developed hypertension, as did 35.9% of those who had severe gastroenteritis 
(trend p=0.009). "Those who had had acute gastroenteritis had systolic and 
diastolic blood pressures that were 2 to 4 mm Hg higher than the 
measurements of participants who had remained asymptomatic during the 
outbreak," investigators add.

Adjusted risk for new hypertension at follow-up in those with and without 
acute gastroenteritis


Group
Hazard ratio
95% CI

Asymptomatic during outbreak
Ref
-

Moderate gastroenteritis
1.15
0.97-1.35

Severe gastroenteritis
1.28
1.04-1.56




To download table as a slide, click on slide logo below

None of the previously healthy participants developed end-stage renal 
failure by study end. However, 6.9% of participants who developed severe 
gastroenteritis during the outbreak had a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) 
below 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2 at follow-up, compared with 3.9% of those with 
moderate gastroenteritis and 2.2% of those who remained asymptomatic.



Potential explanations
There are several potential explanations for how an episode of acute 
bacterial gastroenteritis from toxogenic E coli might precipitate 
hypertension and renal impairment. First, in the setting of acute infection, 
"you can develop enough of a toxin load that you can get some silent kidney 
impairment," Garg told renalwire. With some nephron loss, remaining nephrons 
must work "overtime" to make up for those that were lost. "Over time, this 
can lead to hypertension and reduced kidney function," he added.

Alternatively, bacterial infections can lead to a state of chronic 
inflammation, and this may also reduce kidney function. The situation in 
Walkerton also precipitated considerable psychosocial stress during and even 
after the outbreak. "We know that psychosocial stress is associated with 
hypertension, so those most severely affected may have been under severe 
psychosocial stress as well," Garg said.

Garg did not feel that additional screening for hypertension is called for 
in patients who develop acute bacterial gastroenteritis, "as people should 
have their blood pressure monitored every year anyway." But screening for 
reduced kidney function—not normally recommended—might be considered for 
patients who develop infections similar to those experienced by Walkerton 
residents.

"More important, maintaining safe drinking water remains essential to human 
health, as transient bacterial contaminations may have implications well 
beyond a period of acute self-limited illness," investigators add.







Source


Garg AX, Moist L, Matsell D, et al. Risk of hypertension and reduced kidney 
function after acute gastroenteritis from bacteria-contaminated drinking 
water. CMAJ 2005; DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.050581. Available at: 
http://www.cmaj.ca.