E. coli outbreak traced to bagged spinach; 1 dead: DON'T EAT

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN/AP: E. coli outbreak traced to bagged spinach; 1 dead
POSTED: 9:07 p.m. EDT, September 14, 2006

WASHINGTON (AP) -- An outbreak of E. coli in eight states has left at least one person dead and 50 others sick, federal health officials said Thursday in warning consumers nationwide not to eat bagged fresh spinach.

The death occurred in Wisconsin, where 20 others were also sickened, said Dr. David Acheson of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. The outbreak has sickened others -- eight of them seriously -- in Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah.

FDA officials do not know the source of the outbreak other than it appears to be linked to bagged spinach. "We're advising people not to eat it," Acheson said.

The outbreak has affected a mix of ages, but most of the cases have involved women, Acheson told reporters in a conference call. He had no further information on the person who died.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Wisconsin health officials alerted the FDA about the outbreak Wednesday. Preliminary analysis suggests the same bug is responsible for the outbreak in all eight states....

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/09/14/tainted.spinach.ap/index.html

[Greeby]

1. Not a problem

I wouldn't eat spinach if you paid me :puke:

[Warpy]

4. I don't like it in salads

It's not bad if it's cooked properly. That kills the e-coli, too.

[donco6]

6. I posted just the opposite!

To each his/her own, I guess. Just thought it was funny.

[Gormy Cuss]

36. Odd that the article doesn't say to cook it.

I thought that was pretty standard advice when there is a possibility of contamination in raw food.

[KurtNYC]

39. The Times article is better

Thorough cooking kills the bacterium.

''We're telling people if they have bagged produce and they feel like it's a risk, throw it out,'' Michigan Department of Community Health spokesman T.J. Bucholz said. ''If they feel like they have to eat it, wash it first in warm water.''

E. coli lives in the intestines of cattle and other animals and typically is linked to contamination by fecal material. It causes an estimated 73,000 cases of infection, including 61 deaths, each year in the United States, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Tainted-Spinach.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

This warning is irresponsibly vague -- have they tested any spinach? Are they asking for infected people to preserve their spinach for testing? Earthbound should sue the FDA IMHO.

[Karenina]

51. DOLE

Who's protecting THEM with this general, light on substance warning?

[donco6]

5. It's good!

Now, COOKED spinach - yecchh.

[donco6]

2. This is scary.

I've eaten bagged spinach a million times. I really like adding it to salads. And - ashamed to admit - I usually don't wash it. I will from now on.

[TomInTib]

7. That's the deal - wash your produce.. twice.

[Megahurtz]

53. The problem is that

I think the E-Coli is somhow in the water that they watered the Spinach with,
so it's inside the leaves as well. Washing it would do no good.

[Rowdyboy]

18. We had a flawless (unwashed) spinach salad tonight....

Don't want e-coli but shit happens. I've known people who've survived it, and I've survived worse. Life happens.

I'll probably eat more bagged raw spinach tomorrow, daring fate to curse me with that one in 3 million bags of spinach thats "bad".

[AngryAmish]

73. e-coli almost killed my buddy's daughter

10 days in intensive care.

[Catherine Vincent]

3. A DUer ate some tonight. Hopefully it wasn't contaminated.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2138694&mesg_id=2139262

[Fridays Child]

8. Not taking any chances. Bye-bye spinach!

[Demonaut]

9. They can't find the source of the contamination?

all fresh bagged spinach? I need my spinach!

[Sabriel]

10. I had to laugh at that gender mention

"The outbreak has affected a mix of ages, but most of the cases have involved women, Acheson told reporters in a conference call. He had no further information on the person who died."

More women eat spinach than men? Shocking!!! Who'd a thought.

I picture households full of women eating spinach salad with a lite vinaigrette while their menfolk chow down on chips and dip.

[mainer]

55. I thought that was interesting too

when my husband took over the cooking duties, I had to teach him that there must always, always be some "green stuff" on the plate. He'd cook just meat and potatoes, and would never even notice that something was missing.

[fshrink]

67. Women need more iron than men.

[IDemo]

11. We had four bags total last week

[kestrel91316]

12. Always better to buy whole bunches of fresh spinach (as opposed to the

bagged kind) and clean and wash it yourself. Never trust bagged greens to be clean. It's just one more processed-by-human-hands uncooked food, and should always be suspect by definition.

[BattyDem]

13. How can you NOT wash produce before eating it?

:puke:

I don't care if it's bagged or not. I always wash EVERYTHING ... twice! It amazes me that people will eat the stuff right out of the bag, without washing it first. I don't care if it says "clean and ready to eat" - I don't trust them, LOL! It's already chopped up, so there's no preparation involved. All you have to do is rinse it a few times.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

15. Will washing it eliminate the e coli?

I always wash the stuff too. And we use the bagged variety a lot. Sometimes I cook it...other times I eat it raw.

[BattyDem]

16. From what I understand ...

it won't eliminate the risk, but it will reduce it.

My local news advised people to throw out any bagged spinach they had, but said that if people were going to eat it, they should wash it first.

I did a quick search and found an article at Forbes that pretty much said the same thing:

"We're telling people if they have bagged produce and they feel like it's a risk, throw it out. If they feel like they have to eat it, wash it first in warm water."

http://www.forbes.com/business/commerce/feeds/ap/2006/09/14/ap3019019.html

[GoddessOfGuinness]

17. In warm water...

Interesting...I've always washed it in cold, to keep it crisp, unless I'm going to cook it. Then I'm not particular about the temp...

[BattyDem]

19. that article said warm water - but the CDC doesn't specify the temperature

From the CDC web site - What can you do to prevent E. coli infection?

"Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly, especially those that will not be cooked."

No mention of the water temp ... so I don't know if it matters or not. :shrug:

[heliarc]

20. Of course the temperature matters...

My advice is to get yourself a copy of the Joy of Cooking. They do a good job of telling you all of the temperatures that kill various bacteria and squirmy wormies. I'm sure there are other good sources too. Get a good kitchen thermometer too.

[Triana]

21. E.Coli is from feces...

...how pray tell did they get feces in/near spinach?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

27. When food handlers don't wash their hands properly after using the toilet

[Bridget Burke]

30. E. coli contamination has several causes....

...health officials have seen an increasing number of E. coli cases in recent years associated with fresh produce such as spinach or lettuce.

Keene said it often is difficult in these cases to determine the ultimate source of contamination. It could stem from wild animals in the fields, contaminated irrigation water, the lack of sanitation and toilets for field workers or contamination in processing facilities.

An estimated 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths occur in the United States each year from E. coli, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention....

http://159.54.226.83/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060915/NEWS/609150321/1001

From the same article, some info on a possible complication:

Eight of the people affected suffered a severe complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure, and one death was reported in Wisconsin.

Wherever you get your greens--wash them! Even the unprocessed ones aren't exactly safe. And I'll be casting a cold eye upon those salad bars...

[Blue Diadem]

28. depending on conditions and country of produce origin, some toilets

are right there by the fields...at least for strawberries..but I'm betting it's that way for other crops too. I saw footage quite a few years ago showing the human waste running over and flowing into the edges of the fields where workers could easily carry it on their shoes etc. There were no sinks near those toilets either.

Our country is supposed to have standards in place to protect from that..but like another poster said all it takes is someone not washing their hands.

[MaraJade]

59. Laws about whether farmers have to even provide toilets are lax

at best; however, if the workers involved are not in the country legally, toilets and sanitary facilities may not even be provided at all. So when workers have to go, they just squat somewhere and go.

http://www.floridalegal.org/facts.htm

Then the contaminated produce is merely included in with the larger batch. After sitting in the sun for a while to germinate, as it were, the infected vegetables are rinsed in cold water (contaminating the water), bagged and there you have it.

One worker with diarrhea could have caused all of this damage--

[Nihil]

29. Nice big leaves ...

... not too absorbant but better than nothing ...

:evilgrin:

[heliarc]

44. Uh, I'm not an expert, but a lot of fertilizer is manure.

dust to dust.

[BattyDem]

22. Temperature matters for cooking - but does it have an impact on washing?

I have a thermometer and I know what the "safe" temperatures are when cooking. I also take all the necessary precautions when handling and preparing food, so there's no cross-contamination. But what about washing? When washing spinach and other produce, does using warm water instead of cold water really make that much of a difference? If we were told to rinse in hot water or boiling water, then I could see it having an impact. But warm vs. cold ... I don't know. If there was a significant difference, I would think (and hope) that the CDC would make that distinction.

I think the easiest and safest thing to do is simply avoid bagged spinach for a while. :-)

[yellowcanine]

34. Actually, slightly warm water is recommended but it will not kill bacteria

So if you are in doubt, throw the spinach out or actually cook it.

[wickerwoman]

56. You can't wash it in hot enough water to kill bacteria.

You have to get it up to at least 160* for more than five minutes and at that point you're cooking it not washing it.

[yellowcanine]

32. It may or may not. It would actually be better to buy unwashed spinach

and wash it yourself, though. Contaminated wash water is one likely cause of this outbreak.

[FlaGranny]

38. Fit - in the supermarket

they've got this stuff called Fit. It is a detergent for vegetable washing. It works really well and after you wash whatever you're washing it rinses off easily without any residue or taste.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

50. I was wondering about the various "veggie washes" that are on the market

Do they kill e coli? Are there any nasty side effects from them? Are they ecologically ok?

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

61. I don't know about killing e. coli but...

there are no nasty side effects that I know of. Whether or not they're ecologically okay would depend on the company. I know Earth Friendly and another company Bio-Kleen (I think) make produce wahes. In both companies, their whole line is biogdegrable and ecologically okay, down to the toilet bowl cleaners.

[Truthiness Inspector]

69. I'll go check that out tomorrow

at the natural foods store. I've never used a veggie wash, but I think I will start.
Thanks for the info on that.

[bleedingheart]

33. I wash even the stuff that they say is "salad ready"...

I just don't trust stuff like that..

[CountAllVotes]

40. Same here, bagged or not

I wash every thing I eat with filtered water in fact. I don't trust the food we are buying to be safe and clean as it should be. I have one of those plastic salad spinner things and I dry all lettuce, spinach, etc. in that after washing and soaking it in the filtered water.

I've had food poisoning in the past. I ended up in the hospital and was very sick with IVs hooked up to me. This was 30+ years ago, but I have not forgotten how very sick I was from the food poisoning. I realize that e-coli is another type of food poisoning that some cannot recover from.

:kick:

[Nevernose]

58. Washing it won't help - it's in the roots and leaves

On the NPR article earlier today, the expert (I'm just assuming he was, since he was on NPR) said that flooded cattle fileds sometimes overflowed into vegetable fields.

And that the spinach would actually take the e coli into the roots and leaves.

That you could not wash it, it's INSIDE the spinach.

[fishwax]

14. yikes. I eat a ton of the stuff n/t

[grasswire]

23. had some bagged spinach wednesday night, unwashed

Okay, I'll start washing greens now.

[sakabatou]

24. A hate spinach, so no problems

[heliarc]

46. More for the rest of us.

... and those of us who wash ours have nothing to worry about. Incidentally, how can people "hate" food anyway. Tapioca I understand. I despise tapioca, but hate? Not really enough time in the day to hate much of anything except nazis and repugs.

[BronxBoy]

25. Support Your Local Farmer's Markets

If you have one, support it. There is much less chance of your getting e-coli from something we've picked and sold to you on the same day you buy it.

[yellowcanine]

31. Not to mention you know who raised it and you can visit the farm where

it was raised if you wish and see how they do things. In this case my money is on contaminated irrigation water or the water used to wash the spinach. You might be better off buying unwashed spinach and washing it yourself at home.

[Vinca]

26. I've got baby spinach growing in the fall garden.

Salad, anyone?

[0007]

35. It sez right on the package washed and ready to eat.

All those salads and other expensive bagged veggies are just waiting for us.

I got sick off of 'freshly cut collard greens' that said it was ready to be used right out of the package.

No more for this guy....Fuck 'em!

[yellowcanine]

37. It says "ready to eat", doesn't promise you won't get sick.

:sarcasm: Caveat emptor.

[0007]

48. yores so right yellowdoggie!

[Megahurtz]

54. That kitchen looks just like mine!

That is SO funny!

Exact same Stove, Microwave over it, window over the steel double Sink,
same color cabinets, but I have no design or handles, lightswitches etc. in the same places.
Some of the colors are different but everything else is the same.

Except no TV. I need me a TV in the Kitchen!

And what the hell is that weird round thing next to the Microwave?

[Parche]

41. spinach

Popeye is going to be really mad, or really sick................

[IronLionZion]

42. SHIT! I love spinach and salads

I guess I'll have to do without the spinach for a while. I'm not sure how much bacteria is removed by washing and spinning it but it's got to help.

Everyone should go get a cheap plastic salad spinner if you don't already have one. And maybe I should try those vegetable sprays they sell.

[heliarc]

45. Exactly... Shit. n/t

[IronLionZion]

49. E. Coli contaminated shit on our spinach! nt

[Javaman]

43. Dateline Palookaville, USA...

CNN/AP: E. coli outbreak traced to spinach; Popeye the Sailor found dead.
POSTED: 9:07 p.m. EDT, September 14, 2006

WASHINGTON (AP)- There is not a dry eye today in Palookaville, USA today, Popeye the Sailor is no more.

Witnesses at the home of Mr. Sailor state that a certain Mr. Bluto may have been involved some way with the tainted spinach.

A Miss Olive Oil, Mr. Sailors sometime live in girlfriend said, "Bluto and Popeye were going at as usual. Life in a trailer park, I guess, heh heh." Miss Oil took a long drag on her cigarette and continued, "I was like, poor popeye, when is he going to break out the spinach? I mean how many chairs over the head can he possible take?"

Mr. Bluto has been booked on assault and battery charges pending a further investigation.

Miss Oil, "Finally, Popeye whipped out his can of spinach from under his sailor uniform, squeezed the can like he usually does, I love that part, it shot into the air..." Choking up, Miss Oil was to overwhlemed with grief to continue. A neighbor, one Mr. Whimpy filled in the details, "popeye and I had our run ins, no he wasn't prone to heated out bursts, but once he got that spinach in him, it was like he was tweaking on crack or something. I will miss the old guy. No sooner was it in him, he just sort of stopped, doubled over and that was it. His last words were, "oh my goshsk", that was so him." Mr. Whimpy was to distraught to continue.

Preliminary investigation has show that the spinach can in question was of a lot that was recently recalled due to e.coli contamination.

Letters of sympathy world wide have been pouring into this small town.

Popeye, strong to the finish, lived his life without compromise. He will long be know to his friend family and fans by his signature line, "I yam what I yam".

[stepnw1f]

47. I Boil My Spinach and Then Add Butter and Salt... YUM! (nt)

[Megahurtz]

52. That's Scary.

I wonder if it's affecting any of the other bagged lettuces.:shrug:

Yikes!:scared:

[u4ic]

57. That's what I was wondering as well

I get the tub of baby spring greens that includes spinach...

[Nevernose]

60. NPR says that washing won't help; fruits & veggies cause more disease

NPR cliamed this morning that WASHING WON'T HELP. Apparently, flooded cattle pastures overflowed into spinach crops somewhere, and that the spainch actually takes the e coli into the roots and leaves. Washing won't help; it's inside.

The "expert" also said that, in the last ten years, contrary to conventional wisdom, the FDA has covered far more complaints about tainted vegetables than tainted meat.

If organic was within my price range, I'd go for it.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

62. It's affecting organic brands too.

Earthbound Farms and Trader Joes are on the list of companies that may have tainted spinach.

[LiberalHeart]

63. Link to list of brands involved....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2513957

[MsKandice01]

71. From what I've read...

Organic fruits and vegetables tend to have more incidences of bacteria contamination than non-organic.

[cap]

74. fruits and veggies that have the potential to be infected with e.coli

need to be cooked. That is the advice given when traveling in the third world with inadequate sewage systems.

[Ayesha]

64. My partner and I got sick

last week after eating at The Olive Garden. We're 99% sure it was from the salad, however there was no spinach in it. We both had diarrhea followed by nausea and extreme fatigue. It lasted less than two days. Was that too mild to be E Coli?

[peacebuzzard]

65. May have been the cheese.

(edited for spell check)
improperly stored cheese can have horrendous side effects.
Difficult to determine, but that's just an early morning guess, since most other items would have been cooked.

Had that happen once when I consumed poorly stored cheese from a Mexican fast food location.
(I heard later, others suffered the same consequences and I actually saw how/where the cheese was stored for this airport outlet)

I have since given up dairy....

[fleabert]

68. i'd suggest letting the board of health in your city/state know.

it takes at least two-three complaints to cause an inquiry into the restaurant, so unless another patron had the same problem, you won't cause any harm to the business. (if that is your concern) but if they have unsafe food handling issues, it's a public service to let the BoH know you got sick.

I was a restaurant owner, and I would want to know if my food had made someone sick so I could fix the problem. Sometimes it comes from the supplier tainted and the only way to know is after someone gets sick. One employee can fuck it up for the entire restaurant if they don't wash their hands or improperly store food overnight. Large restaurants are more at risk because there are more employees who can make a mistake.

(for the record, I never had a complaint, and never scored less than a 98 on my inspections, tyvm!)

[cap]

66. my question is: Is this a domestic Katrina???

Does this contamination result from imported food from a third world country or does it result from lack of federal oversight? We know the Bush administration has been quietly stripping our federal inspectors of any power or resources to do their job. Has there been a rule change allowing laxer standards on farm safety or has funding been stripped from the agencies within the Department of Agriculture or FDA that ensure food safety?

If so, I think we have an election issue here. Safety of our food supply is one part of the war on terrorism.

[Cha]

70. The e coli was traced to Earthbound Farms

in California.

Snip~

"WASHINGTON, September 15, 2006 - A California natural foods company was linked Friday to a nationwide E. coli outbreak that has killed one person and sickened nearly 100 others. Supermarkets across the country pulled spinach from shelves, and consumers tossed out the leafy green."


More..
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=nation_world&id=4565712

At the co-op where I work we are buying back all the Earthbound Mixed Salad Greens and Spinach that were sold last week. I ate some Tuesday and Wednesday and bought another one for today but threw that one a-way!

This really sad for the customers and the Farms.

[leesa]

72. I saw some fools at the checkout at Vons today worried about spinach

in the produce section. The checker assured the couple they had pulled the ones they were required to pull. What cracked me up was that the couple was buying a bag of lettuce....as though the lettuce could not just as easily be full of e-coli. They seemed to think e-coli was endemic to spinich instead of coming from someone's gut and getting on the produce by no handwashing. God, people are stupid!

Quit being such frightened nellies America! You've probably eaten your fair share of e-coli in your life. Sometimes you get unlucky and get a big dose...it's like getting hit by lightening. I eat bagged greens at work all the time. Great timesaver.