Just Say ‘No’ to Fresh Spinach…This Week’s Update

Since last week’s blog, the E coli bacteria-spinach contamination continued to spread with about 175 cases of illness being reported in a total of 25 states. At least three deaths have been attributed to the bacteria. Twenty seven people are dealing with hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious type of kidney failure resulting from infection with E coli bacteria. As of this past Friday, the FDA has reported that they believe the contamination to have occurred in the Salinas Valley of California and that spinach produced outside of that area should be safe to consume.

According to the FDA, reports will continue to come in well into October due to the turn around time from symptom recognition to performance of needed tests with the end results. No doubt, the farmers as well as all of us as consumers want to see resolution of the issue.

My mind runs the gamut from care and concern for the families coping with this potentially life-threatening issue to the anxiety this type of event can cause in terms of people deciding not to eat fruits and vegetables packaged in some type of bag. At a time when the stakes have been raised for daily fruit and vegetable consumption to upwards of nine servings per day, cutting out conveniently bagged fruits and vegetables would put a dent in many people’s intake. Don’t forget the financial burden on our farmers and the entire food production industry. The cost and effect trickles down and touches the lives and pocketbooks of so many people and businesses.

What I hope comes out of all of this is the recognition of the need for up front, strong preventive sanitation measures across the board. Prevention through specific guidelines, whether we’re talking about health measures, terrorism, or food production is key to stopping future outbreaks of E coli, botulism or some other killer menace.

The spinach is not the problem…it’s the sanitary procedures that are or are not in place along the production continuum that must be addressed and fortified.

Check the CDC http://www.cdc.gov website and your local news for updates regarding the alert.

Dr. Susan