E. Coli Outbreak Update - Partial List of Spinach Brand Names Recalled

http://www.ebfarm.com/ ^ | 9/15/06 | earthbound farms

[stlnative]

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 multiple states nationwide 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, 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.

Products were distributed within the United States nationwide, Canada and Mexico. No illnesses have been reported to date outside of the U.S.

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, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems. The condition can lead to serious kidney damage and even death. If consumers are experiencing any of these symptoms, contact should be made with their local health provider.

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 888-736-2840.

Consumers with any of the products described above should dispose of the products.

[stlnative]

Please note that the FDA does not know as of yet if only the brands listed above are effected. There could be others.

SYSCO which is listed is a very large distributor for restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes, etc.

here is the URL for the parent company
http://www.ebfarm.com/

[perfect_rovian_storm]

'Natural Selection Foods', eh? I guess they decided to put the name to the test.

[Joe 6-pack]

Is this the spinach that would cost $30 if Americans had to pick it?

[stlnative]

Feds Link National E. Coli Outbreak To Calif. Firm

(AP) SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, Calif. Federal health officials have linked the E. coli outbreak to spinach products from Natural Selection ...

http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_258205327.html

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FDA Warns Spinach Tainted, Washed or Not

http://www.normantranscript.com/feeds/apcontent/apstories/apstorysection/D8K5HJPO0.xml.txt/resources_apstoryview

By ANDREW BRIDGES
The Associated Press


WASHINGTON —

Even if you wash the spinach, you still could be at risk. Sober warnings for salad lovers came from federal health officials Friday as they struggled to pinpoint a multistate E. coli outbreak that killed one person and sickened dozens more.

Bagged spinach _ the triple-washed, cello-packed kind sold by the hundreds of millions of pounds each year _ is the suspected source of the bacterial outbreak, Food and Drug Administration officials said.

The FDA warned people nationwide not to eat the spinach. Washing won't get rid of the tenacious bug, though thorough cooking can kill it. Supermarkets across the country pulled spinach from shelves, and consumers tossed out the leafy green.

"We're waiting for the all-clear. In the meantime, Popeye the Sailor Man and this family will not be eating bagged spinach," said Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of preventative medicine at Vanderbilt University. The Tennessee university's medical center was treating a 17-year-old Kentucky girl for E. coli infection.

By Friday, the outbreak had grown to include at least 11 states: Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Utah and Wisconsin. Wisconsin accounted for about half the cases, including the lone death, Gov. Jim Doyle said.

"We are telling everyone to get rid of fresh bagged spinach right now. Don't assume anything is over," Doyle said.

Health officials also were investigating possible cases in California, Pennsylvania and Washington. In all, the bug is known to have sickened roughly 60 people, ages 3 to 84, the majority of them women.

FDA officials said they issued the nationwide consumer alert without waiting to identify the still-unknown source of the tainted spinach.

"Early is good," said Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, adding that the alert may have prevented hundreds more cases.

An industry spokeswoman said public health concerns justified the blanket warning: "It needed to happen this way," said Kathy Means, a spokeswoman for the Produce Marketing Association. "Public health has to trump economics at this time."

Initial suspicions focused on California's Monterey County. Farmers there grow more than half the nation's 500 million-pound spinach crop, according to the Agriculture Department.

"We're trying to get to the bottom of this and figure out what happened. Everybody is terribly concerned," said Dave Kranz, a spokesman for the California Farm Bureau Federation.

Even before the latest outbreak, a joint state and federal effort has been under way in the California county to find and eliminate any possible sources of E. coli contamination.

"We need to strive to do even better so even one life is not lost," said Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, FDA's acting commissioner.

The FDA's top food expert stressed the importance of stopping the bacterium at its source, since rinsing spinach won't eliminate the risk. "If you wash it, it is not going to get rid of it," said Robert Brackett, director of the agency's Center for Food Safety and Nutrition.

Messages left with two major bagged vegetable producers, Dole Food Co. Inc., of Westlake Village, Calif., and Ready Pac Produce Inc., based in Irwindale, Calif., were not immediately returned Friday.

E. coli lives in the intestines of cattle and other animals and typically is spread through contamination by fecal material. Brackett said the use of manure as a fertilizer for produce typically consumed raw, such as spinach, is not in keeping with good agricultural practices. "It is something we don't want to see," he told a food policy conference.

Meanwhile, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Safeway Inc., SuperValu Inc. and other major grocery chains stopped selling spinach, removing it from shelves and salad bars.

"We pulled everything that we have spinach in," said Dan Brettelle, manager of a Piggly Wiggly store in Columbia, S.C.

Local doctors began seeing the first of the ongoing E. coli poisoning cases in late August. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Wisconsin health officials alerted the FDA about the outbreak at midweek.

Consumer activist Barb Kowalcyk said fixing the nation's "fractured network" of food safety agencies could save lives. In 2001, her 2-year-old son, Kevin, died of E. coli, possibly after eating tainted ground beef.

"How can we improve communication between agencies? That needs to happen," the Loveland, Ohio, resident said.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and other lawmakers seek a hearing on legislation that would consolidate all federal food safety agencies and establish the Food Safety Administration, her spokeswoman said.

Not all strains of E. coli cause illness: E. coli O157:H7, the strain involved in the current outbreak, was first recognized as a cause of illness in 1982. That strain causes an estimated 73,000 cases of infection, including 61 deaths, each year in the United States, according to the CDC.

When ingested, the bug can cause diarrhea, often with bloody stools. Most healthy adults can recover completely within a week, although some people _ including the very young and old _ can develop a form of kidney failure that often leads to death.

Sources of the bacterium include uncooked produce, raw milk, unpasteurized juice, contaminated water and meat, especially undercooked or raw hamburger.

Anyone who has gotten sick after eating raw packaged spinach should contact a doctor, officials said. Other bagged vegetables, including prepackaged salads, apparently are not affected.

"At this point, we are focused on the issue of the spinach. As we learn more, as we go further, we will alter or change that recommendation," von Eschenbach said.

[RushCrush]

Is it organic? as in cow-shat-upon organic?

YUM

Prayers up for those who have gotten sick.

[frankjr]

"...Cheney Brothers..."

Cheney's fault.

[nctexan]

I believe that this particular brand was 'Mexi-poop' organic... extra spicy!

[Moonman62]

More likely shat upon by illegal aliens.

[KoRn]

I wonder how this happened. Has terrorism been ruled out?

[beaversmom]

My mom called my brother tonight to tell him. He's been eating it all week. Uses it like lettuce. Puts it on sandwiches. He said he's got half a bag left--don't think he's throwing it out.

[stlnative]

It is suppose to be - but not all the brands they package under are considered "Organic" and don't even have the "Organic" word on the package. They also sell unbagged spinach bundles but so far they are only recalling the bagged spinach and bagged salads that contain spinach in them.

Much more info on what they sell under several brand names if on their website.

http://www.ebfarm.com

[TommyDale]

I worked in the agricultural fields as a teen in California. We watched the Braceros relieve themselves on a regular basis while working in the fields, then laugh about it. It took me years to be able to eat fresh vegatables, especially from that area, without scrubbing them thoroughly.

Prediction: It will be found that this was perpetrated by a militant Hispanic movement as a deliberate "shot across the bow".

[quantim]

Is this the spinach that would cost $30 if Americans had to pick it?

But, but, that's class warfare!  According to McPain he claims we won't pick lettuce for $50 an hour.

[Joe 6-pack]

"But, but, that's class warfare! According to McPain he claims we won't pick lettuce for $50 an hour."

It sounds like someone's been picking mexican road-apples with their spinach for a lot less than that!

[stlnative]

I know I have read many freepers are not going to throw theirs out, this was before the partial Brand Name list was out. This is why I started a new thread as I hoping these freepers will take notice and throw the darn stuff out.

Here is the company logo... (lol - click the link)
http://www.taproduce.com/images/en/about/NSFPartnerLogo.gif

[gotribe]

Spinach for toilet paper. Whoda thunk?

[BenLurkin]

Good post.

Thanks!

[308MBR]

It may be worth $30 a pound if the folks picking it weren't also picking their cans, defecating in the product, ect.

[Humbug]

Uh oh, i just checked the label on my half eaten container of spinach and it's on the list (Earthbound Farm). Haven't felt great lately but nothing too bad.

[stlnative]

Other Spinach E.Coli FR Threads

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FDA Warning on Serious Foodborne E.coli O157:H7 Outbreak
FDA ^ | September 14, 2006 | FDA
Posted on 09/14/2006 9:53:13 PM CDT by Shermy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1701797/posts

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Serious E.Coli Outbreak - FDA Issue Alert - 50 Ill - 1 Death Bagged Spinach
MyFoxBirmingham ^ | 9/14/06 | milford421
Posted on 09/14/2006 9:07:33 PM CDT by milford421
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1701764/posts

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Milwaukee Family Suing Over E-coli Infections (Bagged Spinach)
WFRV.COM ^ | 15 SEPTEMBER 2006 | AP
Posted on 09/15/2006 8:29:06 PM CDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1702422/posts

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FDA: Bagged Fresh spinach Linked To Deadly E. coli Outbreak
Fox News ^ | 09/15/06 | Unknown
Posted on 09/15/2006 9:52:47 AM CDT by Froufrou
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1702077/posts

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E. coli outbreak in 8 states tied to fresh spinach
CNN ^ | 09/14/2006 | CNN
Posted on 09/14/2006 7:58:27 PM CDT by Post-Neolithic
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1701726/posts

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