Spinach Processor Lays Off 164 Workers
From the Associated Press
The company at the center of a nationwide E. coli outbreak linked to contaminated spinach laid off 164 employees, most of them seasonal hires who had expected to leave when the growing season ends next month.
Natural Selection Foods, a processor of bagged spinach in San Juan Bautista, Calif., terminated 116 plant workers whose jobs would have normally lasted three or four more weeks, spokeswoman Samantha Cabaluna said.
The other terminations were blamed on a 70% drop in sales of bagged salads since authorities began warning consumers not to eat bagged spinach Sept. 15.
