E. coli outbreak leads to nationwide spinach recall

Two California companies have issued voluntary recalls of raw spinach products following an FDA investigation into the nationwide E. coli outbreak.

A serious outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 prompted the FDA on Sept. 14 to issue a broad advisory to consumers to avoid spinach or any product containing spinach.

The FDA reported Sept. 15 that Natural Selection Foods, San Juan Bautista, Calif., had issued a voluntary recall of every retain and foodservice product containing spinach with a “Best if Used By Date” of Aug. 17 through Oct. 1. So far, only non-organic spinach from the company has been implicated in the investigation, according to a Sept. 17 statement on the Natural Selections Web site.

The Natural Selections brands included in the recall are: Natural Selection Foods, Pride of San Juan, Earthbound Farm, Bellissima, Dole, 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, Premium Fresh, Snoboy, The Farmer’s Market, Tanimura & Antle, President’s Choice, Cross Valley and Riverside Farms.

According to the FDA, River Ranch Fresh Foods, El Centro, Calif., also issued a voluntary recall of its spring mix salad products containing spinach. The spinach used in the salads was supplied by Natural Selections. The River Ranch brands include Farmers Market, Hy Vee and Fresh and Easy.

The contaminated spinach was distributed throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. So far, 109 cases of illness in 19 states have been confirmed, including one death and 16 cases of kidney failure. The first confirmed case was on Aug. 2, but most of the illnesses were reported between Aug. 26 and Sept. 9, according to the FDA. The investigation is continuing, and more confirmed illnesses could be reported.

Spinach was implicated in the outbreak because about 80 percent of the available food histories, or 22 people, said they had consumed spinach recently. In a random sample, only about 10 percent of Americans would say they had consumed spinach recently. Wisconsin health officials determined that the genetic fingerprint was the same for 19 cases in the state, including the one death, and reported the information to FDA and other states.

The FDA chose to act quickly because there was evidence that the outbreak was ongoing, and product could still be on shelves. Although there was no recall issued, customers were urged to avoid eating spinach, and many retail stores and processors pulled all spinach products, including fresh bundles, bagged and ready-to-eat bags.

In a conference call Friday, Sept. 15, representatives from Western Growers Association, United Fresh Produce Association and Produce Marketing Association (PMA) told industry members that the groups were working with the FDA to resolve the issue quickly and thoroughly.

“We are taking a very strong position with FDA that they need to move quickly,” said Kathy Means, PMA’s vice president of government relations.

Some state officials have advocated washing all produce, even bagged spinach, before consumption, but the industry groups and the FDA advised against it. In a contamination such as this one, rewashing will not completely eliminate the risk.

“The official FDA line is ‘throw it away,’ and that is what we’re going with,” Means said.