US Launches Criminal Investigation Into E. Coli Outbreak
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Contributed by William Angelos| 05 October, 2006  19:49 GMT
 The FBI and FDA raided two Salinas Valley spinach growers to investigate whether criminally unsafe practices may have led to the recent outbreak of E. Coli. One person died from the bacterial infection, while nearly 200 others fell ill.
The criminal investigations unit of the US
Food and Drug Administration has teamed with the
Federal Bureau of Investigations to determine whether any laws may have been broken in connection with the recent E. Coli outbreak linked to tainted spinach.
The agencies raided two California companies, Natural Selection Foods and Growers Express, looking for violations of food safety or environmental laws that may have led to the health crisis that killed at least one person and sickened about 200 others in 26 states.
Fresh bagged spinach products were recalled from grocery stores nationwide, and the leafy green all but disappeared from American dinner tables for a period of several weeks, while health officials attempted to trace the source of the bacterial contamination.
Officials are not suggesting that any deliberate action was taken to cause the outbreak.
However, they are looking for any signs of negligence or malpractice that may have contributed to the unsafe spinach making its way into the market. |
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