While this particular pathogen has not been associated with any foodborne illnesses by health officials, E coli 0143:H34 can still cause serious food poisoning symptoms and sicken people. According to a report in The Columbus Dispatch:

“For some food-safety advocates, the finding highlights the ubiquitous nature of contamination and builds the case to expedite reforms to improve the cleanliness of the nation’s food supply.”

E. coli lawyer and food safety attorney Fred Pritzker has long been advocating similar reforms. E. coli O157 is the only form of this dangerous pathogen that is regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, as these findings show, other harmful strains of E coli can and do contaminate American consumers’ food supplies, yet they go undetected by the government agencies charged with keeping our food safe. Other forms of E coli that can cause serious illness include:

• E. coli O111
• E. coli O145
• E. coli O143:H34
• E. coli O26
• E. coli O121
• E. coli  O103
• E. coli O45

E. coli infections can lead to severe health complications including hemolytic uremic syndrome (E. coli HUS), kidney failure, and long-term health issues such as hypertension. These pathogens cause serious problems and should be treated seriously by the government agencies responsible for keeping our food supply safe.

Source: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/05/20/ohio-tests-detect-different-strain-of-e–coli-in-lettuce.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101

The client became sick in early April with the classic symptoms of an E coli infection: bloody diarrhea and severe abdominal pain. She was hospitalized three times as her condition developed into hemolytic uremic syndrome (E. coli HUS), which is a life-threatening illness that can cause central nervous system damage, kidney failure, pancreatitis, heart problems, and other serious medical problems. Although her condition is improving, the illness has posed a serious setback to her studies and was completely preventable. E. coli O157 is the typical strain of this pathogen that the general public hears about in news reports. It is the most common strain linked to human illnesses, but as this case illustrates,  it is certainly not the only one that can severely harm consumers.

“Any E. coli strain capable of producing the toxin that causes injury or death in humans, including O145, should be declared an adulterant and regulated by federal and state agencies charged with protecting our nation’s food supply,” said food safety attorney Fred Pritzker. “Our client’s HUS is no less devastating because it came from O145 rather than O157.”

Currently, the USDA does not test for E. coli O145 in food products. Food safety advocates, including Pritzker, have advocated for this to change. This particular O145 outbreak has so far sickened 23 people in 4 states: Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan and New York, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Seven  probable cases are also being investigated.

In the wake of this outbreak and recall, another distributor, Vaughn Foods of Oklahoma, has also recalled lettuce that was grown at the same Yuma, Arizona farm being investigated in connection with the Freshway Foods recall.

The E. coli 0145 outbreak has so far sickened approximately 50 people near Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Daemen College in Amherst, New York.

Pritzker Olsen food safety attorneys have represented victims of E coli 0157 and other strains of this dangerous pathogen. Although E coli O157 is the strain most commonly associated with illness, other strains, such as the E coli 0145 associated with this outbreak, can be just as dangerous. An E coli infection can lead to serious health problems, including:

• Severe gastrointestinal problems such as bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain
• Hemolytic uremic syndrome ( E. coli HUS )
• Thrombotic Thromboctopenic Purpura  (TTP)

An E. coli infection can even be fatal in some cases. Pritzker Olsen food safety lawyers continuously monitor E. coli outbreaks nationwide to provide up-to-date information on E. coli prevention.

The third of seven programs sponsored by the Western Growers produce association and the Traceability Institute was held yesterday at the Courtyard  Airport Hotel in Fresno.

According to a promotional brochure, the “boot camps” are aimed at fresh fruit and vegetable produce growers, packers, shippers, distributors, CFOs, CEOs, managers, supervisors and food safety staff. The intent is to apply technology — mostly bar-coding for now — in order for any box of produce coming from the Central Valley to be quickly identified by the location of harvest and for records to show how it was handled and where it went.

The concept is to develop a reliable system of tracing the origin of produce from an end-user’s fork to the patch of ground where it was grown. Speedy tracebacks will help smother outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and other pathogens by quickly identifying which food is making people sick and immediately recalling the lots suspected of contamination.

Hank Giclas, Vice-President of Strategic Planning for Western Growers, told KFSN-TV in Fresno that technology and acceptance is advancing to the point where bar-coding could extend to each individual head of lettuce, rather than by the case.

The station reported that growers see improved traceability as an effective marketing tool because of growing concern over food safety.

Said Giclas: “”It allows for swift identification of where your product is in the marketplace or supply chain and if needed, capture those products and remove from the marketplace.”

The rule-making process has been launched with four public meetings to elicit feedback and comments from growers and other produce safety stakeholders. About 100 people attended the first session in Rochester, New York, in February and three more meetings are scheduled for March and April in Columbus, Ohio; Tifton, Georgia and Hyattsville, Maryland.

Currently there are no mandatory national produce safety standards in place, but the FDA did issue voluntary guidelines in 1998. Jim O’Hara,  director of the Produce Safety Project at Georgetown University, has said that many retailers and supermarkets have their own safety guidelines, but there is no set standard across the board.

There is also a voluntary leafy green growers safety pact started by the industry, but problems have continued.

Attention to food safety in fresh produce has followed such high-profile foodborne illness outbreaks as the 2006 spinach E. coli outbreak that killed three people and sickened more than 200. One of the victims was a 2-year-old child who contracted HUS E. coli, or hemolytic uremic syndrome, the leading cause of kidney failure in children

Lettuce and leafy greens are on the top of the list of the 10 riskiest foods regulated by the FDA.

Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition watchdog group for consumers, said the food group has been linked to the most food poisoning outbreaks — 363 outbreaks from 1990 to 2006 — of any of the foods that it surveyed.

The outbreaks of  lettuce E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Norovirus and other pathogens have caused more than 13,500 illnesses, the report said. Manure, contaminated irrigation water, or poor handling practices are all possible culprits in those outbreaks.

The next three FDA “stakeholders’ meetings” for produce safety rule making will be March 11 at the Blackwell Inn in Columbus, Ohio; March 25 at the University of Georgia’s College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences in Tifton and April 7 at the Marriott Inn and Conference Center in Hyattsville, Md.

Since 1993, at least 20 Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreaks have been traced to California-grown leafy greens – primarily lettuce and spinach. Most of these outbreaks involved packaged product that, despite several chlorinated washes, contained sufficient numbers of E. coli O157:H7 to cause infection at the time of consumption.

Although the exact E. coli contamination routes for these products remain unknown,  a federal study published in September 2008  indicates that plant tissue damage from processing and also in the field can promote significant multiplication of E. coli O157:H7 over a short time.

 The research findings by the Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in California suggest that harvesting and processing are critical control points in the prevention or reduction of E. coli O157:H7 contamination of lettuce.

The research assessed the role of plant tissue damage (mechanical or diseased-induced lesions)  in the contamination of leafy greens with E. coli O157:H7 and the growth of the pathogen.

Within only 4 hours after inoculation, the population sizes of E. coli O157:H7 increased 4.0-, 4.5-, and 11-fold on lettuce leaves that were mechanically bruised, cut into large pieces, and shredded into multiple pieces, respectively.

During the same time, E. coli O157:H7 population sizes increased only two-fold on leaves that were left intact after harvest.

Also, the population size of E. coli O157:H7 was 27 times greater on young leaves affected by soft rot due to infection by Erwinia chrysanthemi than on healthy middle-aged leaves. Confocal microscopy revealed that leaf tip burn lesions harbored dense populations of E. coli cells both internally and externally. Investigation of the cut lettuce stems showed that the pathogen grew 11-fold over 4 hours of incubation after its inoculation.

The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) has associated a Michigan E. coli outbreak with bagged, industrial-sized packages of iceberg lettuce sold through wholesale venues to restaurants and institutions. Some of the 26 Michigan cases consumed shredded or chopped iceberg lettuce in restaurants or institutions purchased from Aunt Mid’s Produce Company, a Detroit-based wholesale distributor; and other distributing outlets could be identified.

Product trace back and additional tests results are still in progress.  The results could point to other responsible parties and microbiological evidence that Aunt Mid’s iceberg lettuce was the source of the Michigan E. coli outbreak that has spread to include that states of Illinois, New York, Ohio and Oregon.  Read about E. coli outbreaks and produce.

The 26 genetically linked cases are present in eight Michigan counties including seven at Michigan State University (Ingham County), five inmates at the Lenawee County Jail, three students at the University of Michigan (Washtenaw County), four in Macomb County, three each in Wayne, two in Kent counties, and one each in St. Clair and Oakland counties. Of the E. coli O157:H7 cases that are genetically linked, 10 have been hospitalized. These linked cases range in age from 11 to 81 years old. Symptoms of these confirmed, genetically-linked E. coli patients began on Sept. 8. More confirmed cases could surface as the investigation continues.