SPINACH UPDATE
Bagged produce items including spinach, have been big sellers due to their washed, and ready to serve convenience.
Spinach’s popularity has grown in part because of this enhanced convenience and the development of plastic packages that allow consumers to buy pre-washed, pre-cut produce.
In Sept 2006 there was an outbreak of food borne illness caused by by Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria found in uncooked spinach. The outbreak was traced to bagged fresh spinach grown on the spinach fields of Salinas Valley, California.
Two companies in California have voluntarily recalled spinach and spinach-containing products: Natural Selection Foods LLC based in San Juan Bautista, and River Ranch Fresh Foods. Later, a third company, RLB Food Distributors, issued a multiple East Coast states recall of spinach-containing salad products for possible E. coli contamination.
Natural Selection Foods announced on September 18, 2006 that its organic produce has now been cleared of contamination by an independent agency, but did not lift the recalls on any of its organic brands. The warning remains in place for spinach recalled by Natural Selection Foods LLC of San Juan Bautista, which covered 34 brands in packages with “Best if Used By” dates between Aug. 17 and Oct. 1.
As of October 03, 2006, 26 states had been affected, and at least 192 cases of the disease have been reported.
The Food and Drug Administration effectively declared all spinach safe in an amended advisory on Friday, Sept. 29, announcing that most spinach is now “as safe as it was before this event.” The FDA’s initial broad consumer warning not to eat any fresh spinach was a cautious approach to its uncertainty as to the source of contamination. Now that this has been definitely tied to one processor, customers can have restored faith in their trusted spinach suppliers.
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