Bills face Friday deadline to pass California House

VEGGIE INSPECTIONS

Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, has three bills that would step up efforts to prevent contamination of green leafy vegetables with E. coli bacteria. The bills were introduced after officials linked Salinas Valley spinach and lettuce to E. coli outbreaks last year that killed at least three people and sickened about 300. Florez’s proposals would give state public health officers the authority to set sanitary standards for growers, conduct field inspections and adopt recall procedures.