The cover story catches up on the condition of the California leafy greens industry in the wake of last year's spinach recall due to E. coli contamination. If you will recall, spinach specifically was off market shelves for more than two weeks and news of the contamination was more than well-publicized. In the aftermath, growers turned specifically to marketing to help spur their business' rebound and regain consumer confidence in the safety of its product.

Read the story. It's a good one. And I'm not just saying this because I wrote it (well, maybe just a little). The spinach growers took a major business hit and needed to dig themselves out of a dark, deep hole to survive. And they did it by banding together (in the form of a statewide industry marketing agreement that standardized best practices for growers and handlers) and rebuilding their image. And man, did they move fast. The marketing agreement was written, signed, and in effect for nearly 100% of the leafy greens industry by July.

Which brings us today, and a story update. On August 28, Metz Fresh, a spinach grower in King City, Calif., announced that it had uncovered salmonella contamination in one of its facilities during routine testing and was now voluntarily recalling product that was shipped to consumers in the United States and Canada. The timing for the industry is tough--nearly a year to the day of the E. coli outbreak--and the press the recall is getting is likely reopening the old wounds.

I caught up with Joe Pezzini, one of the executives cited in the story, this morning to find out what impact the new recall might have on the industry and the marketing agreement. Joe is the vice president of operations at another vegetable grower, Ocean Mist Farms, and also chairs the advisory board for the marketing agreement. While agreeing that the timing is pretty unfortunate, he expressed that the speed and traceability of the packages with infected spinach actually demonstrated some of the key points of the agreement. "Metz Fresh had a good trace back system. They knew where it came from and where it went, (which is) precisely what GAP (good agricultural practices) requires. Despite the situation, the systems work. No one was injured and the product was contained. (The outbreak was discovered) by an internal test (Metz Fresh) did themselves, which is very precautionary and (demonstrates) they have consumer safety in mind. They did all the things we want a responsible company to do. They immediately notified the FDA and they are working in collaboration with them," he says.

As for the impact on the industry as a whole, Pezzini thinks it is too soon to tell. The Metz Fresh packages are currently being rounded up and none are thought to have reached consumers' plates. "Anytime anything like this occurs--even though it is a much different situation and was caught before it got to market--it does shake consumer confidence. Hopefully we can demonstrate that the measures in place made a difference and that makes people feel better," he says.

Calls to other sources cited in the story were not immediately returned. I'll post an update if I hear anything more or if the story changes.