Protecting families from contaminated food and water
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Protecting families from contaminated food and water
Posted in Our Blog,Outbreaks & Recalls,Salmonella on November 13, 2022
The “Cleanest Lettuce in the World” issue a recall.
Kalera Public Limited Company, known as Kalera issued a recall for 633 cases of their Krunch, Butter, and Romain whole head lettuce earlier this month due to potential contamination with Salmonella. These products sold under the Kalera brand tout a logo indicating they are the “cleanest lettuce in the world.” The recent recall may hurt the brand’s reputation under that stance.
The voluntary recall involved 633 cases of Krunch, Butter, and Romain whole head variety lettuce with lot codes 001293 and 001294. Affected product was distributed to retail and food service customers in Florida.
The recall was initiated following discovery of the potential presence of Salmonella during the company’s food safety testing procedures. According to the recall, so far the company have no knowledge of illnesses or injury as a result of consuming these product to date.
Only products matching the lot codes and sold in the state of Florida originating from the Orlando farm are included in this recall. No other farms are impacted at this time.
The firm has several other farms located in different cities across the United States and in other countries.
Normally healthy individuals generally experience milder symptoms and often resolve without medical intervention. Symptoms often include fever, diarrhea (sometimes bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
Those in more vulnerable populations such as the very young, frail or elderly people, and those with a weakened immune system are at higher risk of serious and sometimes fatal symptoms.
In rare cases, infection of Salmonella bacteria may leave the digestive system and enter the bloodstream. This causes more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (infected aneurysms), arthritis, and endocarditis.
Why does Kalera call themselves the “cleanest lettuce in the world?” It all has to do with how they grow their plants. It is all about the vertical growing approach.
Instead of growing outside in the dirt, Kalera uses vertical growing practices in an indoor hydroponic environment. Without dirt, pests, or animals walking through the crops, the crops are cleaner and safer. Right?
Wrong.
No growing method is completely infallible. Neither is the “cleanest lettuce in the world.” According to David Ceaser, Agritecture’s Lead Agronoist with over 20 years of agricultural experience, this misnomer is dangerous. “Many people think that vertical farms are inherently safer than conventional farms regarding food safety,” he says. “But this is not automatically the case.” While vertical farms can be much safer than conventional farms, it hinges on whether or not they are designed and operated correctly.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), vertical farming is the farming of the future.
Vertical farms can use hydroponic, aquaponic, and even aeroponic methods often using pipes as a growing structure. These farms do not need a lot of real estate as they can be grown floor to ceiling depending on how it is set up. Hence the moniker, “vertical” farm.
These farms can be located in urban environments, allowing for a shorter distance from farm to store. Talk about local. With the controlled environment, many crops can be grown year-round – increasing the local food diversity of some food deserts.
There are both pros and cons to this growing method. While the generally outweigh the cons as far as food safety goes, the method is not without risk.
Vertical farms allow food to be grown in a more controlled environment, which mitigates many factors a traditional farm cannot avoid. Reduced need of pesticides, modular design reduces risk of contamination spreading throughout the farm, and automation, and increased traceability head up the “pros” column.
One key factor in food safety is limiting harmful chemicals that go into foods. Vertical farms “exclude disease vectors that are found in conventional agriculture,” so pesticides used for pest management are largely unnecessary.
Most vertical farms are set up in a modular design. Each setup provides a closed irrigation environment, reducing the chances of farm-wide contamination.
In large vertical farming complex, robots do most of the labor. Without the need for human hands touching the plants throughout the growing process, contamination risk is minimized.
When crops are grown in such a controlled environment, all aspects of the supply chain can be controlled and documented. From the seed, to the nutrient lots, to the growing, packing, and shipping schedules. Everything can be traced. If something goes wrong, specific lots can be identified.
As the current recall confirms, despite all the positives of a vertical farming environment, contamination and spread of harmful bacteria can still occur. This is often due to complacency and the nature of the growing environment in vertical farms.
The general cause of anything that goes wrong is often linked to complacency. Currently, “there’s too much complacency about food safety protocol in indoor growing environments and recalls will eventually erode the trust we’ve [vertical farms] build,” says Brac Webb of Fifth Seasons. “The major food safety recalls have occurred in greenhouses, which lack certain design controls that a truly controlled environment can provide and therefore can’t minimize the risk in the same way vertical farms can.”
Assuming the growing method is safer and not following through with safety protocols is where things go wrong. Trust the process, but follow through to ensure the process is achieving the goal.
Bacteria love a humid and warm environment. While vertical farms eliminate pests, potentially contaminated irrigation, and the human aspect of tromping through the field, the vertical environment cannot remove the warmth and humidity.
Even if you feel that you can recover without medical intervention, if you have consumed Kalera products and fallen ill, it is a good idea to report it and retain packaging and/or leftover product to assist traceback investigations. More data will help investigators to potentially link other lots to the outbreak. A Food Poisoning Lawyer can help navigate your through the process and answer any questions or concerns you may have.
The Lange Law Firm, PLLC can help!
Call (833) 330-3663 or click here to email for a free, no obligation consultation.
By: Heather Van Tassell (contributing writer, non-lawyer)