E.Coli in Spinach?

[Polly]

Of course this is strange.  My beloved spinach is under attack.  I just had some last night.  I saw this on the evening news because CT has cases and CT is right next door.  All of that spinach will be thrown away.  Now who would want to put E.Coli in spinach?

WASHINGTON (AP) Federal health officials say an outbreak of E. coli traced to bagged spinach in eight states has killed at least one person and sickened 50 others.


WASHINGTON (AP) An E. coli outbreak has spread to a ninth state, with Ohio officials reporting seven cases.

[Polly]

WASHINGTON (AP) Federal health officials have linked the E. coli outbreak to spinach products from Natural Selection Foods based in California.


And the plot thickens......

Natural Selection Foods is North America's largest grower of organic produce and is engaged in the national distributing, growing, processing ...
http://www.nsfoods.com/

 

[DreamTime]

This was all over the news today. It is spreading all over the U.S.  Wisconsin is the worst, with 20 cases of illness and 1 death! That's where my sisters live and where I'm originally from. :eek: 

I just got through calling my sister to warn her about it, and she said on their news they said that 7 have died from it so far. Hmmm...CNN only reported 1. That just shows you how they hide the real facts.

[Polly]

DreamTime, more of my thoughts are -- there are probably cases of E.coli reported every day in this country and some of the people who succumb to the bacteria don't make it.  The bacteria is likely in all sorts of foods. 

What I picked up from this story initially last night is there is more to the story and that a particular company would be targeted for spreading E.coli resulting in a huge financial loss.  Interesting that the company is the largest organic produce grower in the U.S.

There is still more to this story and I am waiting to see how much of it is revealed.

In the meantime Natural Selection Foods speaks:

FDA Investigation; Packaged Fresh Spinach Recall

A statement from Natural Selection Foods, LLC.

SAN JUAN BAUTISTA; CALIF; September 15, 2006: We are aware of reports of illnesses in several states including one death, possibly related to e coli contamination in fresh spinach. We have been working closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) to try to understand the scope and locate the source of any contamination.

In an effort to minimize risk and afford the maximum possible protection to consumers, the FDA and CDHS have recommended that fresh spinach that is currently in the market be recalled. We have decided to voluntarily recall all of the products which contain spinach in all the brands we pack with “Best if Used by Dates” of August 17th through October 1st. Brands include: Dole, Natural Selection Foods, Pride of San Juan, Earthbound Farm, Bellissima, Rave Spinach, Emeril, Sysco, O Organic, Fresh Point, River Ranch, Superior, Nature’s Basket, Pro-Mark, Compliments, Trader Joe’s, Ready Pac, Jansal Valley, Cheney Brothers, Coastline, D’Arrigo Brothers, Green Harvest, Mann, Mills Family Farm, Pro*Act, Premium Fresh, Snoboy, The Farmer’s Market, Tanimura & Antle, President’s Choice, Cross Valley, Riverside Farms. Products include spinach and any salad with spinach in a blend, both retail and foodservice products. Products that do not contain spinach are not part of this recall. We are working with the FDA and CDHS to offer consumers the greatest possible protection with the limited information available.

E. coli O157:H7 causes diarrhea, often with bloody stools. Although most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, some people can develop a form of kidney failure called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). HUS is most likely to occur in young children and the elderly. The condition can lead to serious kidney damage and even death.

The health and safety of those who consume our products is our top priority today and every day. We remain absolutely committed to providing a safe, nutritious product to all of our customers and we will continue to work with the FDA and CDHS on their ongoing investigation. Consumers requesting additional information may contact Natural Selection Foods at 800-755-0879.

[Polly]

I initially felt this was an intentional terrorist attack on widely distributed spinach and those who became ill from eating it using an "especially virulent strain" of E. coli.

I am going to suggest that the upper echelon of a well-known retail chain who recently started selling "organic" foods may know how this strain of E.coli found its way into bags of spinach grown by Natural Selection Foods.

:shock:

[PurpleParrot]

well..I saw this on the news as well. I had spinach a few days ago!!! I'm alive!!! wheee!!!

Unfortunately I'll have to get my iron, folic acid,green colored energy and whatever else that spinach is nutritiously valuable for... elsewhere...

sigh.

I wonder if this is a plot to overthrow all organic health food products...

where are those pretzel assassinators when we need them.