E. coli O157:H7 can migrate intolettuce and spinach leaves.
Our Minnesota law firm represents E. coli poisoning victims nationwide. We have successfully represented E. coli victims sickened by lettuce and spinach, including people who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), the primary cause of kidney failure in children. E. coli HUS can also cause multi-organ failure, seizures, coma, brain damage, heart problems and death.
Epidemiological data indicate that E. coli 0157:H7 may be present in up to 8.3 percent of dairy and beef cattle, and that it is shed asymptomatically in the feces.
E. coli 0157:H7 in cattle feces may be introduced to lettuce and spinach in the field by way of any of the following:
- Using manure as fertilizer that has not been composted for an adequate amount of time
- Flood waters contaminated with cattle feces
- Irrigation water contaminated with cattle feces
- Surface runoff contaminated with cattle feces
- Animals roaming in the fields
Once E. coli is present in a field of lettuce or spinach, it can survive in the soil for more than a month.
E. coli 0157:H7 associated with contaminated manure or irrigation water can result in contamination of the lettuce or spinach leaves, both outside and inside the leaves. To get into the inside of the leaves, the E. coli is transported from the root system into the edible portion of the lettuce or spinach via the plant vascular system.
Once the spinach or lettuce leaves are harvested, cells of E. coli 0157:H7 on the outside of the leaves can penetrate into the stomata and junction zones of cut leaves, becoming entrapped below the surface of the cut edge.
When E. coli migrates to the inside of lettuce and spinach leaves, no amount of washing, even with chlorine, will remove or kill the E. coli.
To prevent E. coli outbreaks associated with lettuce and spinach, it is critical to prevent the introduction of E. coli onto the fields. This means requiring lettuce and spinach to be grown far from cattle ranches, prohibiting any animals from being in or around the fields, frequent testing of irrigation water to ensure it is not contaminated with E. coli, having strict guidelines regarding fertilization with composted manure, prohibiting spinach and lettuce meant for market to be planted in flood zones and other measures. Sadly, none of these measures have been realistically addressed by either federal or state regulators.
For a free consultation with an Minnesota E. coli lawyer regarding an E. coli lettuce lawsuit or an E. coli spinach lawsuit, please call 612-338-0202, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free), email Attorney Fred Pritzker or submit our online consultation form.
Reference: Ethan B. Solomon, Sima Yaron, and Karl R. Matthews, Department of Food Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, Transmission of Escherichia coli 0157:H7from Contaminated Manure and Irrigation Water to Lettuce Plant Tissue and Its Subsequent Internalization, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2002, p. 397-400, Vol. 68, No. 108901.
