E Coli Bacteria

The Salinas company that issued a recall of green-leaf lettuce said Tuesday that neither the greens nor its irrigation water tested positive for the potentially deadly strain of E. coli that has sickened nearly 200 people and killed three in a separate spinach outbreak. A private lab ran tests for the company. "We are relieved that all results were negative, and we are confident our product is safe," company President Tom Nunes said in a statement posted on its website Tuesday.

Contaminated lettuce apparently caused an E. coli outbreak that sickened at least 29 people in Washington state, federal health officials said in warning consumers nationwide to avoid romaine lettuce packed by Spokane Produce. The problem: The lettuce was sold under several different brand names, and the Food and Drug Administration doesn't have a complete list and isn't sure whether other states received shipments, said FDA acting commissioner Lester Crawford.

As dumpsters filled with bags of spinach last week, Americans were forced to forgo eating one of the most healthful green leafy vegetables in their diet. Questions linger about the contamination source and farming and irrigation practices. But in this E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, at least word got out quickly. Less than a week elapsed between Sept. 8, when Wisconsin notified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of an uptick in E. coli cases, and Sept.

Dole Food Co. is voluntarily recalling salads sold in the U.S. and Canada labeled "Hearts Delight" because of possible E. coli contamination. No consumers have reported being sick, though a store in Canada found E. coli during a random screening, Westlake Village-based Dole said. The salads were sold in Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and neighboring states.

Ontario will airlift about 1,000 residents out of a remote northern community because of contaminated water on the Cree reserve, a spokeswoman for the provincial government said. In declaring a medical emergency, the central Canadian province said it would evacuate about half the 2,000 residents of Kashechewan, about 600 miles north of Toronto. It is accessible only by air. The water has been contaminated by E.

The company at the center of a nationwide E. coli outbreak linked to contaminated spinach laid off 164 employees, most of them seasonal hires who had expected to leave when the growing season ends next month. Natural Selection Foods, a processor of bagged spinach in San Juan Bautista, Calif., terminated 116 plant workers whose jobs would have normally lasted three or four more weeks, spokeswoman Samantha Cabaluna said.

A girl's death is being investigated for a possible connection to an outbreak of E. coli bacterial infections among people who attended fairs that included petting zoos, the state's top health official said in Tallahassee. Florida Health Secretary John Agwunobi said there were 14 confirmed cases of people becoming ill after attending the Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City or the Central Florida Fair in Orlando. The 12-year-old girl who died reportedly had visited the strawberry festival.

Cargill Inc. is voluntarily recalling more than 840,000 pounds of frozen ground beef patties distributed at Sam's Club stores nationwide after four Minnesota children who ate the food developed E. coli illness. The children became ill between Sept. 10 and Sept. 20 after eating American Chef's Selection Angus Beef Patties from three Sam's Club stores in the Minneapolis area. The Cargill recall comes on the heels of Elizabeth, N.J.-based Topps Meat Co.'s recall of 21.

A 15th person has tested positive for E. coli linked to the outbreak originating at a Foothill Ranch Souplantation, authorities said Thursday. The latest victim, a young adult who ate at the restaurant March 23, was not hospitalized, an Orange County Health Care Agency spokesman said. Fourteen of the infected people were customers at the restaurant, and one is an employee. Investigators do not know if the worker was infected by eating at Souplantation or through an outside source.

An illness linked to E. coli contamination has prompted the recall of about 250,000 pounds of ground beef and frozen patties distributed nationwide and in Puerto Rico. The meat was produced April 2 by Jac Pac Foods of Manchester, N.H., which recalled the meat voluntarily. A boy in Monroe County, N.Y., became ill after eating a hamburger made with the meat, state officials said. The meat was sold through BJ's Wholesale Club stores. E.