Outbreaks
Dole and Natural Selections Spinach E. coli Outbreak
On September 14, 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that a nationwide E. coli O157:H7outbreak had been associated with the consumption of baby spinach. Multiple spinach recalls ensued, and on September 19, 2006, FDA announced that all spinach implicated in the outbreak had been traced back to Natural Selection Foods LLC of San Juan Bautista, California, a company located in the Salinas Valley.As of October 12, 2006, FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had confirmed 205 E. coli illnesses associated with the outbreak, including thirty-one cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome, 104 hospitalizations, and four deaths. Victims of the E. coli outbreak were identified in 26 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Wisconsin was the state hardest-hit in the outbreak, with 49 confirmed cases of E. coli. Canada reported one confirmed case.
A joint traceback by FDA and the State of California revealed that four spinach fields were the possible source of the E. coli contamination. The outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 was isolated from cattle fields nearby the implicated spinach fields, as well as from a wild boar that was killed in one of the fields. The investigation into how the outbreak originated lasted for several years.
Marler Clark represented 93 victims of the E. coli outbreak, and filed lawsuits on behalf of individuals from Maryland, Michigan, Oregon, Nebraska, New York, Utah, and Wisconsin. In the spring of 2007 Marler Clark resolved cases on behalf of three families whose elderly family members died after eating Dole spinach. Most cases settled in October, 2008. A final lawsuit was filed on September 3, 2009.
Visit the Marler Clark News Archives for more information about legal claims brought on behalf of victims of the spinach E. coli outbreak.
Outbreak Updates
- Woman Sues Over Deadly 06 Spinach Outbreak
- Most claims over E. coli outbreak settled
- Family Settles Tainted-Spinach Lawsuit
- Toxic salad: What are fecal bacteria doing on our leafy greens?
- Safe Produce Means Government Oversight
- Wash. woman sickened by E. coli dies
- New standards, seals guaranteeing food safety could be on the way
- Tracing the route of tainted spinach
- Lawsuit filed in spinach death
- E. coli found in water, wild pig near California spinach farm
- E. coli's effects linger
- State Health Department announces test results match genetic fingerprints to E. coli outbreak
- A Mom Suspected Spinach
- 3rd E. coli death confirmed in Neb. lady
- U.S. opens criminal inquiry on health measures taken by spinach growers
- Farr: Wild pigs to be tested For E. coli
- Tests Show Idaho Toddler Died of E. coli
- Holes in produce safety could kill you
- FDA Statement on Foodborne E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak in Spinach
- Family shares memories of local E. coli victim
- E. coli Effects Can Last a Lifetime
- As Children Suffer, Parents Agonize Over Spinach
- Officials investigate 2 more deaths possibly linked to bad spinach
- E. Coli outbreak reveals lapses in food inspection
- Probe finds E. coli in spinach package
- E. coli Probe Focuses on 9 Calif. Farms
- E. coli scare may have wider impact
- Officials comb Salinas farms
- Wis. children suffer spinach illnesses
- E. coli Outbreak Came After Warning
- E. coli cases prompt calls to regulate farm practices
- FDA expands warning to cover all fresh spinach
- Bagged salads a gamble not worth taking, expert says
- Utah sees increase in E. coli Outbreaks blamed on 'pre-washed' spinach
- Earthbound Farm scrutinized over spinach
- Wis woman, 77, dies in multistate E. coli outbreak
- How a Deadly Strain of E coli Bacteria Could Have Found its Way into Spinach
- E. coli Outbreak Hits 7 in Ohio
- FDA Issues Spinach Warning
- State death tied to E. coli: Outbreak linked to spinach
- State Health Department Advises Consumers Not to Eat Fresh, Bagged Spinach
- FDA Warning on Serious Foodborne E.coli O157:H7 Outbreak
- County investigating E. coli cases
- Health officials investigate possible E. coli outbreak
