GM WATCH COMMENT: Remember how the lethal E. coli outbreak in the States, involving tainted spinach, was being blamed by the biotech brigade on organic farming - even though it was only conventional spinach that was identified as contaminated in testing?

Turns out that the lethal E. coli strain has now been found in cattle, a creek and a wild pig in the vicinity of the ranch at the centre of the outbreak.

Strangely this news is not being covered by CS Prakash's AgBioView which was previously up to its neck in manure.

See AGBIOVIEW'S WORLD OF GAMMON AND SPINACH
http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=7066

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Wild pigs may have spread lethal E. coli
Holes the size of boars found in fences of ranch
By DANIA AKKAD Herald Staff Writer Monterey Herald, October 27 2006 http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/local/15861992.htm

Wild pigs may have rammed through a farm fence and spread deadly bacteria onto a California spinach field, sparking an outbreak that killed three people and sickened more than 200 others, investigators said Thursday.

Samples from a wild boar, a creek and cattle found on a Central Coast ranch match the E. coli strain that tainted spinach at the center of the outbreak, they said.

The samples were found on a pasture within a mile of the ranch where three samples of cattle manure, also genetically linked to the strain, were collected earlier this month. The site has not been made public by health investigators.

Health officials said they found holes in a fence separating a cattle-grazing pasture on the same ranch as a 50-acre plot where spinach was growing this summer, likely the work of the large wild pig population in the vicinity. Animal tracks spread across the field were seen.

Still six weeks and 750 samples into their investigation, health officials said they don't know exactly how the E. coli made its way from the adjacent pasture onto the spinach.

"We have one clear vehicle right now," said Dr. Kevin Reilly, deputy director of the Prevention Service Division of the California Department of Health Services, referring to the wild pigs. "We're trying to look into those other vehicles to try to best understand what happened... to help inform our recommendations and prevention measures."

Even without a definitive explanation of how the E. coli got onto the spinach, Reilly said, the findings have reinforced investigators' suspicions that wildlife, cattle and water may play a significant role in the bacterial contamination of produce.

"We believe that there is evidence that contamination could have occurred on the farm," Reilly said. "If that occurred on the farm, it's important for us to understand why contamination was not removed at the harvest, pre-processing or processing levels."

Investigators are exploring whether there is a connection between the sample from the creek and the aquifer where the rancher is drawing water for his well, Reilly said.

The possible dangers are being addressed by state and federal agencies through implementation of upgraded agricultural practices, he said.

Also new Thursday was the announcement that environmental samples from two Central Coast ranches under investigation turned up positive for E. coli strains, but don't match the outbreak strain.

The findings of the potentially fatal bacterial strain were "not unusual or unexpected," Reilly said. He explained the bacteria is commonly found in cattle, as well as in other animals including deer, so it isn't extraordinary to have found E. coli in soil, water and animal fecal samples from the ranches.

Federal and state investigators are gathering samples at four ranches in Monterey or San Benito counties where tainted spinach may have been grown. The number has been narrowed down from nine ranches several weeks ago.

The contaminated spinach from one day of production was linked to Natural Selection Foods LLC of San Juan Bautista, which processes bagged salad produces for several labels.

Health officials have refrained from identifying the ranches under investigation. They wouldn't clarify Thursday which county the ranch where nine strain-matching samples were found is located.

"We have not cleared the other three ranches at this point," Reilly said. "We have some results here. We don't have a set of results to say we've narrowed it to a single ranch."

The FDA lifted its advisory on fresh spinach Sept. 29, but produce industry leaders have said the episode that drew international attention has cut into sales of many products.

One leader said Thursday that if investigators identified just the county in which each ranch is located, the industry could more earnestly refine its agricultural practices and the campaign to draw consumers back to fresh spinach.

That is because, without a clear understanding of the problems, it's hard to fix them -- and let consumers know how the problems are being fixed -- said Bob Perkins, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau.

Perkins said the information his organization has received indicates the ranches are near the San Juan Valley and Hollister, not the Salinas Valley.

"That's of interest to us because, of course, the Salinas Valley is the identifiable area that people know that fresh vegetables come from. Essentially, I've had growers that are concerned that the Salinas Valley is suffering guilt by association."

Perkins said members of his group have talked about pressing the Food and Drug Administration to be more specific about the regions where the ranches are located.

"If it's the San Juan Valley only and not the Salinas Valley," he said, "it would be very helpful."

In other developments:

Sam Farr, D-Carmel, will meet today in Salinas with scientists and agricultural industry experts to discuss E. coli safety and research issues.

The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest asked