— OPINION —
People always ask me why do leafy green E. coli outbreaks keep happening. I think the bottom line is that retailers, restaurants, growers, processors and the government simply do not give a cow’s pie about the sickened and/or dead consumers – they are simply the cost of doing business or staying in office.
I am working on a recent major E. coli outbreak – I represent several children who developed HUS and will have a lifetime of complications – that was likely linked to iceberg/romaine hybrid grown in Santa Maria in California. The red spot is the particular lettuce grow field, and thanks to Google Earth, we can pan in and see what is less than a stone’s throw away – you guessed it – cow pies.
Growing lettuce in a location like this should be against both common sense and the law. Perhaps it fits the standard for punitive damages – a conscious disregard for a known risk.
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