SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials on Friday concluded their investigation into the E. coli outbreak blamed for killing three and sickening 200 consumers of fresh spinach last fall. In a joint statement released by the California Department of Health and the FDA, authorities said for the first time that the deadly strain had likely originated on the Paicines Ranch in San Benito County, Calif., describing samples found on the ranch -- which breeds cattle and quarter horses -- as “indistinguishable from the outbreak strain” found in river samples and in the contaminated spinach fields. In separate news, Boskovich Farms, the Santa Ana-based supplier whose green onions were initially linked to the unrelated Taco Bell E. coli outbreak earlier this year, last week sued Taco Bell for libel, claiming the company continued to blame the farms for the outbreak long after it had been proven that it was not the source. Boskovich Farms said these accusations have led to millions of dollars in lost business.
