FBI Seeks E. Coli Clues at 2 Produce Firms

By Michael Muskal
Times Staff Writer

1:58 PM PDT, October 4, 2006

Federal agents today searched two Salinas Valley produce companies in connection with the nationwide E. coli outbreak, the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of California announced.

The searches were the first indication that authorities were looking at potential criminal charges in last month's outbreak of tainted spinach. At least one person was killed by the contaminated vegetables that sickened about 193 people in 26 states.

The FBI was joined by agents from the Food and Drug Administration's criminal investigations office. The warrants were executed at the Natural Selection Foods LLC plant in San Juan Bautista and at Growers Express in Salinas to see whether food safety rules were violated, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco.

There is no indication that the spinach was deliberately contaminated, U. S. Atty. Kevin V. Ryan said in the statement.

"We are investigating allegations that certain spinach growers and distributors may not have taken all necessary or appropriate steps to ensure that their spinach was safe before it was placed into interstate commerce. Moreover, the investigation has not revealed any evidence of a new or continuing threat to public health in connection with the matters under investigation," Ryan stated.

Natural Selection packages spinach sold under more than two dozen brands. It was implicated in the spinach outbreak after bags of Dole spinach tested positive for E. coli. Growers Express grows and packs produce.

Last month, the federal government warned consumers not to eat fresh spinach after reports of contamination surfaced. Companies, including Natural Selection, voluntarily pulled the product from supermarket shelves.

The federal warning was lifted Sept. 29.