Six new samples of toxic E. coli bacteria have been found on a California ranch, a state health official said. Similar strain in tainted spinach killed three Americans and sickened 200.
Investigators have now discovered a total of nine samples of the matching E. coli 0157:H7 strain on the ranch where the spinach was raised, Kevin Reilly, a deputy director with the California Department of Health Services, told reporters during a telephone conference call.
The ranch is in the area of Monterey and San Benito counties, among California’s most productive agricultural regions and top producers of fresh, bagged spinach.