The Dole Food Company, a large food producer, has improved testing for their produce to avoid E. coli contamination and other bacterium that can cause a food-bourne illness.
Dole will be testing samples from all the spinach and other food produced by the company. If anything harmful to consumers is found in the food, the plants from that area will not make it through the processing chain. Also, Dole is adding a new electronic system that can locate where any piece of produce was grown within only 30 feet.
Dole’s steps to more closely monitor produce — and to convince consumers it is safe — come as the company hopes to avoid outbreaks such as the one last year, where bagged spinach from Dole and other brands contaminated with E.coli 0157:H7 sickened more than 200 people and killed three.
Eric Shwartz, the president of Dole, said that other food production companies are trying to come up with better ways to safeguard food, which will only help the industry by making consumers more comfortable about their food products.
Another spinach recall by Metz Fresh this week has raised concerns about food safety. Dole hopes to lessen consumers fear, and prevent future E. coli breakouts.
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