On a small farm on Jacksonville’s Westside, Simon Hoek Spaans grows up to 50 vegetables a year.
One of his offerings is locally grown romaine lettuce.
“One of the biggest benefits for the consumer is he knows where it comes from,” Hoek Spaans said.
Families are being told to throw out any romaine lettuce grown in Salinas, California.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 72 people have been hospitalized because of food poisoning linked to E. coli. At least 138 people reported getting sick across 25 states.
As the CDC investigates the cause of the outbreak, Hoek Spaans believes it comes down to how many people handle the lettuce and its freshness -- how long bacteria has to spread.
“Somebody grows it, might be touching it. Harvesting might be somebody else, a team of harvesters. Then it goes to a washing facility and a packing facility. Then it goes into a truck to a trucking facility,” he said. “Then it comes to the supermarket, where somebody touches it again.”
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Concerns about contamination have gotten so high, workers have a slogan at Urban Folk Farms: “Romaine you can trust.”
They offer a weekly delivery of fresh produce and sell their goods at Riverside Arts Market each Saturday.
“The lettuce I’m going to take tomorrow to the Riverside Arts Market is going to be harvested tomorrow morning at 8 o’clock and it will be on the market by 9 o’clock. So people can literally eat harvested lettuce that is less than three or four hours old,” he said.
He told Action News Jax the only hands touching his lettuce and other vegetables from seed to harvest are his.
“I know my hygiene is up to standard and it is consumed within the time frame that the disease cannot develop,” he said. “By growing it local and harvesting and consuming it in a shorter period of time, you almost guarantee those diseases won’t happen.”
You can learn more about Urban Folk Farm’s services here.
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