October 2006

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Spinach is inspected at a farm near Castroville, Calif., on Friday. The consumer warning on most fresh spinach was lifted last week.

THE CALIFORNIAN/RICHARD GREEN VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Spinach is inspected at a farm near Castroville, Calif., on Friday. The consumer warning on most fresh spinach was lifted last week.

SAN FRANCISCO — Despite the recent E. coli spinach outbreak, food may be safer now than at any other time in the past decade, with illness occurring at record-low rates, new federal statistics show.

Consumers get part of the credit, for handling food more safely at home, but experts say the biggest improvement came from better industry controls and inspections. Continue Reading Food illnesses at record lows

Monday, October 02, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO — Despite the recent E. coli spinach outbreak, food may be safer now than at any other time in the last decade, with illness occurring at record-low rates, new federal statistics show.

Consumers get part of the credit, for handling food more safely at home, but experts say the biggest improvement came from better industry controls and inspections.

"The food is actually cleaner to begin with," said Dr. Robert Tauxe, top food scientist at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Certain germs have dramatically declined, and "that to me is really solid progress."

However, the trend could reverse in coming years if fruit and vegetable growers do not address problems like those that led to the spinach scare, Tauxe and others said. Continue Reading U.S. Food Illnesses at Record Low Rates