Sludge Watch ==> California - 2006 Ecoli outbreak linked to Kern County farm

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

A quick google search will reveal that Wegis Ranch has used sewage sludge 
compost on their fields in the past.
If a sludge is treated to Class A (or rather...if a sludge preparer claims 
that their sludge is Class A) then there may be no federal regulatory 
requirement to say where that sludge went.  In EPA  Region 9 there appears 
to be no enforcement of the certification requirement, the testing 
requirements, or the reporting requirements for sewage sludges.

In light of this, I wonder if sewage sludge biosolids were looked at as part 
of the outbreak investigation.


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CALIFORNIA: 2006 E. coli outbreak linked to local farm
22.feb.08
Bakersfield Californian
Stacey Shepard


http://www.bakersfield.com/hourly_news/story/370731.html

Food safety officials were cited as linking a Kern County farm to tainted
iceberg lettuce that sickened 81 people in Iowa and Minnesota in late 2006.
The 16-month federal and state investigation was cited as finding that
lettuce raised on Wegis Ranch in Buttonwillow and served at Taco John¹s
restaurants was the source of the large E. coli outbreak.
The report does not definitively state how the lettuce was contaminated but
said water contaminated by manure from two nearby dairies could be a
possible source.
The report found that Wegis Ranch uses manure water to irrigate some fields
where animal feed is grown, and that lettuce linked to the E. coli outbreak
was grown directly across from two of those fields. Further, the ranch¹s
irrigation system may have allowed manure water to taint freshwater used to
irrigate fields where lettuce was grown.
E.coli samples from the ranch and dairies genetically matched the strain
found in the tainted lettuce. The dairies were Maya and West Star North.
The investigation was done by the California Department of Public Health¹s
Food and Drug Branch and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
State Sen. Dean Florez was cited as saying Friday the report will be the
subject of an upcoming hearing of the Senate Select Committee on foodborne
illness.
It¹s also likely to reinvigorate Florez¹s efforts to get tougher food 
safety
regulations enacted after he failed to do so last year.
Mike Young, part-owner of the ranch, was cited as saying the E. coli-tainted
lettuce was grown at Wegis Ranch before an industry proposal containing
self-regulated safety measures took effect and there have been no foodborne
outbreaks since then.
Lettuce is no longer grown at the ranch because those measures prohibit
leafy greens from being grown close to confined animal facilities like
dairies, Young said.
The ranch does grow tomatoes and cucumbers but sends them to processing
plants where they¹re cooked at temperatures high enough to kill any
pathogens.
Young was further cited as saying the report shows food safety agencies
don¹t know enough about agriculture or E. coli to police the food industry,
adding, "When it takes them 16 months to come out with a report that's
inconclusive, it's hard to stomach."