On CNN’s Special Investigation Unit this past weekend, they ran a story by Sanjay Gupta called Danger: Poisoned Food.

It talked about the many incidences over the last few years of bagged greens being contaminated with E. coli 0157-H7, some of which resulted in fatalities. The main issues it discussed were:

1. Since 1995, there have been 20 E. coli outbreaks associated with California lettuce.

2. E. coli 0157-H7, the dangerous form, is usually associated with cattle.

3. Once contaminated, the greens cannot be decontaminated.

4. The process which mixes and tumbles greens actually spreads any bacteria that might be present. And chlorine and washing cannot eradicate all bacteria.

5. Control measures on farms are voluntary, not mandatory.

6. The FDA does not inspect farms.

This is nothing new. We knew all this three years ago when we were starting to grow lettuce. I predicted then that there would be more cases of E. coli 0157-H7 contamination of bagged lettuce and greens.

And nothing significant has changed. There will be still more cases of E. coli 0157-H7 contamination. People will probably start to shy away from industrial, assembly-line production of leafy green bagged products.

This is why we chose to grow our vegetables hydroponically. We are able to address the E. coli 1057-H7 issue confidently through hydroponic farming.

The following is our approach to the problem. It is not very complicated. Cattle manure is the main problem, so we have made sure to minimize the ways that cattle manure can affect our operation.

We do not use compost. Incomplete composting is a risk factor.

We treat the water our leafy greens grow in with chlorine at 650 ORP. This means that bacteria are killed on contact before we plant. And because of the way we operate, it is very unlikely that our water can be contaminated by E. coli 0157- H7 after that. Also, only county water is used should we need to top off the raceways.

We only use county water when we spray the leafy greens. Contaminated spray water is a risk factor.

Our plants are protected from rain. This avoids rain splash, which is another risk factor for the spread of E. coli 0157-H7.

We only sell whole heads of lettuce. E. coli 0157-H7 cannot be washed off. And it can spread far and wide when mixed and tumbled in a industrial leafy green bagging system. Selling only whole heads avoids this serious problem.

We only sell what we grow ourselves. The food safety chain is only as strong as its weakest link. We don’t have any weak links.