Posted on 09/20/2006 12:12:04 AM PDT by stlnative
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Tainted spinach may harbor very virulent E. coli strain
By ANDREW BRIDGES THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- Federal health officials are investigating whether a more potent strain of E. coli is behind an outbreak linked to fresh spinach that has sickened at least 131 people, half of whom have been hospitalized.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that fully 50 percent of those reported sick in the outbreak were hospitalized. That's more than the 25 percent to 30 percent seen in other E. coli outbreaks, said Dr. David Acheson of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
"We're running higher than that," Acheson told reporters in a conference call. "One possibility is this is a virulent strain."
Also unexpected was the 15 percent of food poisoning victims who developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic-uremic syndrome. Five percent is more typical, Acheson said.
He cautioned that the numbers could be skewed by underreporting of less-severe cases of illness: "It's too early to say at this point."
Reports of illness continued to trickle into the CDC -- the tally was up from Monday's 114 sickened, though the death toll remained at one, a 77-year-old woman from Wisconsin.
E. coli cases linked to tainted spinach have been reported in 21 states, including two confirmed cases in Washington state: a 23-year-old Oak Harbor woman in Island County and a case in Longview.
Two cases of E. coli in Benton County have been confirmed, the Benton-Franklin Health District reported. But it will take a week or more before further testing proves a bacteria match with the contaminated bagged spinach from California, health district officials said.
Officials said that the cases appeared to have occurred earlier but were only now being reported and that consumers were no longer being exposed to contaminated spinach. No one appears to have fallen ill since Sept. 5, according to the CDC.
Still, the FDA continued to warn people not to eat raw spinach.
Natural Selection Foods LLC, a San Juan Bautista, Calif., company whose multiple brands many people reported eating before falling sick, has recalled spinach products distributed throughout the United States. The company also distributed spinach to Canada, Mexico and Taiwan.
River Ranch Fresh Foods of Salinas, Calif., recalled spring salad mixes containing spinach purchased from Natural Selection.
On Tuesday, a third company said it was voluntarily recalling salad mixes that may contain spinach supplied by Natural Selection.
RLB Food Distributors LP, based in West Caldwell, N.J., said the recall included various salad mixes sold under the Balducci's and FreshPro brands and distributed on the East Coast.
Meanwhile, FDA inspectors visited nine California farms Tuesday, seeking signs of past flooding or cases where contaminated surface areas had come into contact with crops, said Robert Brackett, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
They were on the lookout for animal droppings in the fields; checking on sanitary conditions inside the plants where produce is processed; and taking samples from produce itself, as well as from common areas in the processing plants that could harbor bacteria.
Some Salinas Valley, Calif., farmers started plowing their spinach crops under and preparing to plant broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.
Spinach farmers were also laying off field hands, but most quickly found work picking other crops in what is typically a busy harvest season, said Marc Grossman of the United Farm Workers union.
MORE BRAND NAMES ARE POPPING UP
Or, could be the victims just got a big dose because they ate a large spinach salad?
<< Muslims Are Only Guests In Western Countries >>
I wish that were so.
Instead of what they actually are, for:
Radical islam is The Beast and;
"Moderate" islam is its Trojan Horse!
You guys sound like Bluto and Popeye for crying out loud.
Appreciate the further info- I sent this link to everyone on my list with a commercial kitchen- although I'm sure they have heard plenty about it, it won't hurt to be redundant.
I harken back to the day when we took cow manure straight from the barn to the garden for spring fertilizing and wonder how we didn't kill ourselves. We always tilled it in, so perhaps it composted all the bugs out by the time the vegetables came on weeks later.
I can tell you one thing for certain, nothing grows sweet corn like chicken poop. It must have anough nitrogen in to make rocket fuel.
Recommendations: Third world sanitation precautions. Sterilized or pasteurized fruits and vegetables only. I stick with stuff by known producers in the can. Anything labelled "organic" is a potential killer. No buffets ever again. Wash cans and bottles thoroughly before opening them.
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Oh...that is GOOD!
DeNiro - "Goodfellas"
I knew it was DeNiro, but didn't know it was "Goodfellas".
I had a hard time with that movie, and didn't watch the whole thing.
You've got spinach in your teeth!!
Basil
Moss?
I used a bag of this spinach BEFORE we were told not to eat it. Even though I always wash my fruits and veggies before consumption, why should I suffer the runs if I didn't know? And I think that it's just a tad bit more serious than just the runs.
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