Todd Janzen in the Indiana Lawyer: Are E. coli Outbreaks a Concern for CAFOs?

Todd Janzen was recently interviewed by the Indiana Lawyer on a story about e.coli outbreaks and livestock farming. Katie Stancombe writes:

At the start of 2018, the end seemed to be in sight for salad lovers after a multistate E. coli outbreak contaminated leafy greens. At least one death was reported, and 25 people were sickened, including two Hoosiers.

But in March, a similar strain was detected in a batch of romaine lettuce traced back to Yuma, Arizona. That outbreak ultimately sickened more than 200 people across 36 states, ending with 27 cases of kidney failure and five deaths.

Then in November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned consumers about romaine lettuce harvested in parts of northern and central California after a third E.coli outbreak was confirmed. Since November 20, there have been 43 reported cases and 16 hospitalizations from the outbreak.

Around the same time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released its Nov. 1 environmental assessment of potential contributors to the Yuma outbreak. It found that a large concentrated animal feeding operation — better known as a CAFO — was located adjacent to the same canal used to irrigate fields where the romaine lettuce was grown. Although the FDA noted that the limited number of samples taken at the CAFO did not yield that specific E.coli outbreak strain, the FDA did not offer any other possible explanations for the contamination.

Whether that CAFO played a role in contaminating the irrigation canal — and what that might mean for consumers and farmers — are lingering questions.

Could it happen here?

Continue Reading at the Indiana Lawyer: Are E.Coli Outbreaks a Concern for CAFOs?