E. coli Traced to California Cattle Ranch
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and state officials in California announced that a recent field test of cattle feces on a Salinas Valley cattle ranch showed a match for the same strain of E. coli that has caused three deaths and sickened 199 people in 25 states. According to the FDA, the investigation into the source of the recent E. coli outbreak “has narrowed to four implicated fields on four ranches”, and “the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 from cattle feces was identified on one of these four ranches.” The four ranches (in Monterey and San Benito counties) are not currently being used to grow fresh produce.